I love shooting film (if you couldn’t tell...), but recently my shooting film-to-digital ratio has gone completed in the film direction. I am now thinking that I will likely be shooting film for the foreseeable future, and I am hoping to have some more of my friends involved in my videos.
It is important for me to be creative, and shooting film allows me to enjoy both the technical side of the process, working out exposure, cool mechanical cameras, and allows me to both restrict myself and shoot videos more readily.
So what are the advantages to shooting film constantly? Well, I find there is both more pressure and less pressure at the same time. I know I need to get a few shots I like from each roll, but at the same time I am limited only to the number of exposures on that roll. This means the process is more enjoyable, and I will only take a shot if I need to.
Secondly is the cameras and lenses. To me, film cameras are just so much more beautiful to look at and use than digital cameras. Not only do they look aesthetically better, but they feel ‘right’ in the hands. Winding the film on, changing the aperture and shutter speed rings, manually focusing the lens. This whole process is my preferred method of shooting film.
So what is the main downside? A lot of people would say price, but I believe it is worth paying for something that allows you to be creative. The biggest downside in terms of finance, at least for me anyway, is that B&W film costs more to get developed than C41. Now, this is something I will have to live with, as despite trying to develop at home, I have found that it is not for me. Usually this would be the easiest way around this concern for most people.
That also means I can’t get the same sort of results with B&W as I want. I love 2 hour stand development in rodinal, and I am yet to find somewhere that is willing to do this (and not overcharge).
As I am writing this, I am sat in a coffee shop in Brighton, two days after getting back from Helsinki, and I am exhausted! I was meant to pick up my Olympus 35SP from the workshop, but it isn’t open today. So I have no film camera to shoot! and I haven’t found anything here I wish to purchase.
I final word of the day: Something something film!! ...ahem. - Sly.