Ramble: Why I Shoot Film and Why it is Terrifying
Hello,
I shoot film. Lets get that out of the way. Once upon a time I shot it because it was new and exciting, my fiancee had bought me a camera an old Halina. I researched the camera, read the manual and I was hooked. I was down the rabbit hole so to speak. As I digged deeper and deeper into my research and my practise in film photography became more pronounced I realised I was chasing in why and what I was shooting film for.
One of my first serious purchases in the name of film photography was that of a Leica III from 1935 with a Russian FED 50mm f/3.5. I went out a lot with this camera and started my short-lived foray into street-photography.
Slowly I started buying more cameras on whim. Nothing too serious. However in late 2015 I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar Effective Disorder and now with a better understanding of why I acted the way I did I read a book. Buddhism Plain and Simple, recommended by my fiancee's brother who is a practising Buddhist. It was an enlightening book that made me look back on how I viewed a lot of things in life. Though far from practising myself it helped me with some key-issues I had with my perception of life and how to live it.
Fast forwards and I started working at my current employment as a 'Camera Salesman'. I stumbled across a video by Nick Carver on YouTube (which you should check out) and his adventures with large-format photography. Intrigued I dug into some research and soon I came across Ansel Adams. I had already heard the name before and was aware of Adams. But I hadn't see this photo:
When I first saw this picture I simply stopped and looked at it. It was one of those images I cannot help but look at. Everyone has one of those pictures, a picture the inherently draws you in, that you cannot help but gaze upon.
This is where I was truly introduced to the wonders of Large-Format photography. Soon I bought three books by Ansel Adams, The Camera, The Negative and The Print. They are brilliant books for the technically minded as Adams describes the technical know how behind the three areas mentioned in the titles.
With this in my head I wistfully looked at Large Format as something to aspire to. But I needed my fix sooner than that. Whilst talking to a colleague and good friend of mine he mentioned his time using the Mamiya RB67 and how the results where as good as if not better than Digital Medium Format for a fraction of the price.
So I skimped and saved and eventually bought a Mamiya RB67 Pro S with a 90mm and 150mm lens. So far I have only put one role of film through as a test and the images are tac-sharp. My mistake was in understanding the film I was using. However I now have a box of Ektar and a holiday to the South Coast coming up quickly. I am also taking my Rolleiflex with some XP2 to do some portraits of my fiancee along the beaches in a white dress. But thats all for future updates hopefully.
It wasn't until I was shooting with my Mamiya or my Leica that I realised why I shoot film. It's because I have to rely on myself to get it right. I can't look at a screen and delete the shot if its not right. I can't look and shoot until I get it right. In that moment my resources are limited. I have to figure out the solution to the shot I want to take.
Not only in composition. But I have to figure out the exposure for the tone of the picture. I have to know what exposure to set above the average if I want to highlight a certain bright point or shadowed area of the image. Its all on me.
Now this lesson that film teaches me is something I strongly inferred over to my 'Professional' work as a Wedding Photographer. When I began Wedding Photography I basically sprayed and prayed capturing everything. My approach now is that I have limitless photo's but limited moments. Whereas I say took 2000 pictures and got 300 good ones I now take 1000 to 800 with 300 being good enough for the client. It has slowed my approach to how I approach the job. I shoot digital with a film photographers mind-set. And it has improved my photography massively.
However film photography does terrify me. It like shooting with it in my mind is limited. With few camera companies still making film cameras and film becoming popular again it is limiting stock. Sure film itself will be more and more produced but with cameras being cannibalized for parts to creating working models I often wonder how long does it really have left. Or will by some saving grace a major manufacturer return in some form to its roots and in my opinion save film-photography from its eventual oblivion.
Don't believe me? Twin Relfex Cameras are pretty much a thing of the past outside of instant photography. No new ones are made leaving whats left a limited supply. And it scares me in how much of history may eventually be lost. I collect cameras to use but I also collect because I'm a strong believer in history. Especially that of photography.
Thanks for reading.
I shoot film. Lets get that out of the way. Once upon a time I shot it because it was new and exciting, my fiancee had bought me a camera an old Halina. I researched the camera, read the manual and I was hooked. I was down the rabbit hole so to speak. As I digged deeper and deeper into my research and my practise in film photography became more pronounced I realised I was chasing in why and what I was shooting film for.
One of my first serious purchases in the name of film photography was that of a Leica III from 1935 with a Russian FED 50mm f/3.5. I went out a lot with this camera and started my short-lived foray into street-photography.
Slowly I started buying more cameras on whim. Nothing too serious. However in late 2015 I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar Effective Disorder and now with a better understanding of why I acted the way I did I read a book. Buddhism Plain and Simple, recommended by my fiancee's brother who is a practising Buddhist. It was an enlightening book that made me look back on how I viewed a lot of things in life. Though far from practising myself it helped me with some key-issues I had with my perception of life and how to live it.
Fast forwards and I started working at my current employment as a 'Camera Salesman'. I stumbled across a video by Nick Carver on YouTube (which you should check out) and his adventures with large-format photography. Intrigued I dug into some research and soon I came across Ansel Adams. I had already heard the name before and was aware of Adams. But I hadn't see this photo:
 |
| The Tetons and the Snake River - Ansel Adams |
This is where I was truly introduced to the wonders of Large-Format photography. Soon I bought three books by Ansel Adams, The Camera, The Negative and The Print. They are brilliant books for the technically minded as Adams describes the technical know how behind the three areas mentioned in the titles.
With this in my head I wistfully looked at Large Format as something to aspire to. But I needed my fix sooner than that. Whilst talking to a colleague and good friend of mine he mentioned his time using the Mamiya RB67 and how the results where as good as if not better than Digital Medium Format for a fraction of the price.
So I skimped and saved and eventually bought a Mamiya RB67 Pro S with a 90mm and 150mm lens. So far I have only put one role of film through as a test and the images are tac-sharp. My mistake was in understanding the film I was using. However I now have a box of Ektar and a holiday to the South Coast coming up quickly. I am also taking my Rolleiflex with some XP2 to do some portraits of my fiancee along the beaches in a white dress. But thats all for future updates hopefully.
It wasn't until I was shooting with my Mamiya or my Leica that I realised why I shoot film. It's because I have to rely on myself to get it right. I can't look at a screen and delete the shot if its not right. I can't look and shoot until I get it right. In that moment my resources are limited. I have to figure out the solution to the shot I want to take.
Not only in composition. But I have to figure out the exposure for the tone of the picture. I have to know what exposure to set above the average if I want to highlight a certain bright point or shadowed area of the image. Its all on me.
Now this lesson that film teaches me is something I strongly inferred over to my 'Professional' work as a Wedding Photographer. When I began Wedding Photography I basically sprayed and prayed capturing everything. My approach now is that I have limitless photo's but limited moments. Whereas I say took 2000 pictures and got 300 good ones I now take 1000 to 800 with 300 being good enough for the client. It has slowed my approach to how I approach the job. I shoot digital with a film photographers mind-set. And it has improved my photography massively.
However film photography does terrify me. It like shooting with it in my mind is limited. With few camera companies still making film cameras and film becoming popular again it is limiting stock. Sure film itself will be more and more produced but with cameras being cannibalized for parts to creating working models I often wonder how long does it really have left. Or will by some saving grace a major manufacturer return in some form to its roots and in my opinion save film-photography from its eventual oblivion.
Don't believe me? Twin Relfex Cameras are pretty much a thing of the past outside of instant photography. No new ones are made leaving whats left a limited supply. And it scares me in how much of history may eventually be lost. I collect cameras to use but I also collect because I'm a strong believer in history. Especially that of photography.
Thanks for reading.
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