That I love shooting film is no secret. My love for film is well documented in these pages and I’m becoming more and more known as a “Polaroid photographer” rather than just a “photographer”, which thrills me. I’ve also found a community of people, including most of my fellow muses, who are equally smitten with film shooting. There are so many film shooters in my day-to-day that it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago at Shuttersisters Oasis, when I was asked to explain why I like to shoot Polaroid, that I realized I’ve been living in a bit of a film bubble. While film shooting has become the norm for me and many of my photographer friends, I came to remember that digital is the go-to, and often the only photographic medium for many photographers. Still, at the time I was a little surprised to be asked flat out why I shoot film. It only took a beat though, for me to list the top three reasons that I love film:
1) My number one reason for loving film is definitely the most intangible one. It’s the special way that the world looks when captured on film. There is a quality to the light, the colours, the blur that varies from one film type to another but simply cannot be exactly produced in a digital image. Using actions to process digital images is great, I’m all for them. I’m a particular fan of VSCO FIlm (no surprise, I’m sure) but I’ve yet to find one that effectively reproduces true film effects. The beautiful images below, selected from the Film Friday Flickr pool, exemplify that unique film quality in such a great way.
2) My second reason for loving film is that it helps me to silence (or at least quiet) my inner control freak and perfectionist. Shooting film means embracing imperfection. Oftentimes we’re shooting with films that are experimental or expired. No matter the film type there is a certain unpredictability. Add to that that many film shooters are shooting vintage cameras, each with their own idiosyncrasies, and we are just throwing predictability right out the window! When we shoot film we have to rely on our knowledge, our experience and sometimes more than a little luck. As well, because we can’t see the image we just shot on the back of the camera, and even “instant” film images take 30-45 minutes to develop, we have to trust our knowledge and our instincts to be satisfied that we have captured what we were aiming to.
3) And number three? I love that shooting film slows me down. There is no “knocking off” a random shot with a film camera. The manual nature of many film cameras necessitates slow and deliberate shooting. As well, because there is little room for trial and error (film is expensive!) shooting film has taught me to be deliberate about my composition. Before I press the shutter I am confident that everything I want (and nothing I don’t) is within the frame.
Much of my film shooting takes place with a Polaroid SX-70. The process is several steps long – from making sure there is film in the camera, to setting the exposure dial, composing, focusing, recomposing and then steadying my stance and pressing the red button. Then, of course there is the waiting for the image to develop. Most often when I shoot Polaroid I take the image from the camera and tuck it into a book or a pocket and go on shooting. Sometime later, often over coffee in a location far from where I pressed the shutter, I look at the images that I produced. If I’m lucky there’s a moment when I see the “fully cooked” image and a huge grin spreads across my face (often accompanied by joyful cursing, *ahem*). For this photographer there is no feeling better than that of seeing my vision produced on film.
So what about you? Are you a full-on film convert or are you wondering a bit what all this fuss is about?
Debra ~ Manifeisty
I totally agree with your love of film. I picked up a SX-70 earlier this year and LOVE it. It was very frustrating at first as my digital eye wasn’t used to the imperfection AND I didn’t know what I was doing so I wasted a lot of film. But now I’ve tuned the corner getting dreamy images with a mood that could never be replicated with dslr. Love film!
I’m so glad. There are always lows when we shoot film but the highs are pretty amazing, aren’t they?
Oh Debra, I adore this post. Huge grins! x
i am in love with film and i think you perfectly captured all the reasons!!!!
Oh I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by.
Those are three very special reasons! Love it!
I love that you love film, so we get to see a post like this! xo
yep, those are some of my reasons, too. love this.
film was my first love and i’ve fallen in love all over again…
i love everything about it… deciding between a Portra or a FujiPro… loading it up, winding it, hearing that click (no 2 cameras have quite the same…), and then actually seeing them on my computer screen (or on paper, even better…)…
there are so many reasons to love it…
thanks for including one of my photos, Debra 🙂
Great post, Deb! I learned on film and my heart yearns for it still. I haven’t settled on any one type (and I’m becoming a collector of film cameras as people bequeath them to me), but that seems to suit my personality anyway. There’s just a magic with film that you just can’t get with digital.
You are speaking my language in every way. I LOVE film. And you. xo
Oooh I love the bit about embracing imperfection. So good. So true. xo
There is so much to love in this post – thank you Debra!! 🙂 I think the pause-and-consider aspect of film is perhaps my very favourite reason for shooting film – I remember to breathe before pressing the shutter now both with film and digital/phone.
i’m with you on all counts. as much as i love the things i can do with my digital camera, an image somehow seems more precious and alive to me when i am able to capture it properly on film.
it’s because of that intangible you mentioned – a kind of alchemy in the way the chemicals and light combine with film. and these pictures are all perfect examples.
All the reasons I fell in love with film. I have found a new fascination with the Fuji film, and the fun little plastic polaroid camera I found for next to nothing. This is a wonderful muse on the art of film photography. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts Debra!
Such a wonderful post and images. My SX70 and its film is so very precious to me. love how I need to think before I press that little red button!
what a wonderful post!
you have captured all of the reasons why I love film so much too.
the photos in this post are soo beautiful.
Love this post (I can see you tucking your prints into your book!), your so very very true reasons for loving film and that I caught the polaroid bug from you my friend. Our rendezvous for cupcakes and to visit the hotels was a highlight of Oasis. Keep rocking that shutter finger with your black heart ring!