Whew. Sometimes I wonder how I ever used a 35mm camera – I know I didn’t use it to it’s full potential, but just a few years after switching to digital it seems I forgot how to cut it on and load the film. Talk about trial and error. I’ve been playing around with film for personal photos for the past year, never pulling it out to photograph a session..until now. I just got my film scans back from Indie Film Lab & I was scared to open them! Scared because I had anxiously been awaiting the results for a few weeks and I didn’t want to be disappointed. Scared because film & processing is pretty expensive now so I was fearful of how much money I might have blown. Overall I am happy with the turnout and know I have alot of work to go playing with settings, film types & printer choice.
Film is most definitely not dead. It seems a bit trendy right now, but that truth is it never really went anywhere. I love film, the creamy romantic soft look, the color tones, grain, the process. I know some photographers who are making the move to all-film and I say more power to ya’! I enjoy playing with it & although I don’t see myself shooting primarily film it’s fun to incorporate it every now & then.
I really decided to try my hand at film again because I love the process of it. It reminds me to shoot with intention, to think about my why, to observe, to breathe, to wait for the right moment, to up my technical game. There are only 24 shots on a roll and at about $4 a roll and $20 a pop to develop at a quality developer – that’s costly so I don’t want to be freely shooting anything and everything with reckless abandon. It’s a great break from the fast paced digital world (which I am not giving up!), already teaching me new technical skills that I can apply to my digital work. And since I just acquired the gift of a boat load of film I look forward to more play time.
My first ever photoshoot film scans (from the Style Collaborative -digital images here & here) using Kodak Ultra 400 & Kentmere 400. Any tips or resources for film are welcome! (I love the books by Elizabeth Messina & Jose Villa)
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