A professional photographer friend of mine recently invested in a film camera and shared a few photos on Instagram. I didn’t take much notice of them at that moment, but when I recently visited London, it struck me that the best medium to capture London would be 35mm film (I know this is arguable, however, this is just a perspective I had in those moments). You see, we live in this world of instant gratification where digital cameras and cell phones have sped up our photography process. I am not a city photographer, but when I made an attempt to take photos of people and buildings in London, I felt that I was in a rush. When I am in nature, my methods to approach a photo are calm and slow, there’s no urgency. The other problem these modern devices introduce is that important aspects of photography such as contemplation and being deliberate have been forgotten by most. It’s far easy to press the shutter button without focusing, checking your camera settings, and also composing. It’s because we know that if we don’t get it right we will “take another one”. Once we are happy with a few attempts, a little bit of post-processing, the addition of a few filter effects and a few clicks on social media means that we need the reward instantaneously to get likes and thumbs-up.

Isn’t this an issue with our life in general nowadays?

I was born in the 1980s, and I grew up knowing what film cameras were, but I never owned a camera until I was an adult and earning for myself. I started photography with a digital camera and didn’t think of film until my trip to London this year i.e. 2023. 

I now wish that I had invested in a film camera a long time ago. At the time of writing this blog, I have only shot one film roll, but the experience has been a game changer for me and I can’t wait to load the second Kodak Portra 400 roll on my Pentax ME Super. I see myself shooting on a 35mm for quite some time now. It doesn’t mean that I am moving away from digital media, but for now, my heart is in the film grain that lacks digital sharpness. Film cameras are also more tactile, manually loading film, setting the aperture and shutter speed, and then winding the film after each shot is an incredibly rewarding experience. My film camera forced me to slow down and be more intentional with each shot, since I knew that I had a limited number of exposures on the roll, 36 to be exact. I also caught myself a few times looking at the back of the camera to view the results. By not getting that instant gratification, I learned to be patient. After my 36 photos were taken, unwinding the camera and then eventually taking it to the film lab was also an exciting part of the journey.

I guess, my purpose in sharing my story today is to suggest that you be patient and intentional with your photography and also, life in general.

For those who have never tried film, if you want to take your photography to the next level and experience the charm of film photography, investing in a film camera is definitely worth considering.

regards

Muji