Number 5 - GAS

No, film does not give me gas but it does allow me to indulge in Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS). Shooting film in the age of digital allows me to buy all different types of film cameras from online trader sites, EBay and opportunity shops. I have cameras as old as 70 years and can find all sorts of inexpensive cameras from any decade in my price range …. And that’s not a very big range at all!

*Yashica Electro GSN using Kodak 400TX film*

Being able to afford multiple cameras has meant I can experience different camera styles such as the traditional SLR, folding cameras, rangefinders, pinhole, point and shoot and even vintage instant film cameras. In the digital world to experience the power of a larger format like medium format digital requires an investment of tens of thousands of dollars but film allows me the ability to explore other formats from 35mm to the larger medium format (120) to 4x5 sheet film for a fraction of that cost.

*Mamiya C220 TLR and Kodak Ektar 100 - medium format film (120)*

So, film shooting has fueled GAS and an incredible sense of exploration and discovery.

Number 4 - Magic

Magic, the noun, is defined as “the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces” and as an adjective as “wonderful; exciting”. Shooting film relates to both the magic noun and adjective for me.

I have learned to develop black and white film in my home. Using a combination of chemicals, mix ratios, agitation, drying and even throwing in the bit done in total darkness reminds me of ancient alchemy. And at the end of this mysterious alchemical process, I find images - moments trapped in time, that have spontaneously appeared on a piece of celluloid. Sometimes the moments captured are from times I can not recall but, there they are, captured for all eternity as if by magic on these rolls of film.

*Taken with a Fujica STX1 with Kodak 400TX*

I have not yet ventured into developing my own colour film yet so I send those off to a lab for developing and scanning. I typically send in 5-6 rolls of film to the lab and impatiently wait for the email announcing my film has been developed and a link to the scanned images. Waiting for the scans to come back is akin to a kid waiting for Christmas. I’m so excited to see what has been captured and when I finally get the scans … magic!

Number 3 - Creativity

With digital, I have several Fujfilm X series bodies and most lenses in the Fujifilm lineup. I can set my ISO depending on the conditions and I can even change the look of the jpgs files in-camera with Fujifilm’s inbuilt film simulations. But, technology, gear and options makes it all too easy to get a good shot quickly and move on.

Film sparks my creativity through its limitations. I am limited by the ISO of the film I’m using and the gear I have. Most of my film cameras are manual focus and I may not have a large selection of lenses to fit them. Therefore, I must make the best with what’s at hand. This forces me to think creatively and work out how to get the best shot. The resulting shot is always very different from what I would have taken and settled for with digital gear.

*Double Exposure taken with a Canon AE1 Program (my Dad’s camera) and Kodak Gold 200 film*

My film images may never have the crispness, focus and exposure of the digital but they have a certain power and mystique, emotion or soul if you like, that is missing in my digital shots.

Number 2 - Zen of the Shot

Photography is a mindfullness activity for me. It allows me to free the mind of anxiety and clutter and be in the moment, experiencing the environment and the particulars on the scene before me. With film this is even more so as it slows me down and causes me to think deeply about what I am trying to capture.

*Taken with a Pentax Z1-p using Agfa Vista 200 film*

With film I carefully consider each shot, I slow down, no spray and pray with a roll of 36 exposures. The process and experience of finding and executing the shot is as important and satisfying as the final image itself. There’s a certain Zen with acknowledging your limitations and then working through them to find the perfect capture of the subject matter.

Number 1 - The Look

And the number one reason why I shoot film, it just looks way cooler than digital. Yes, digital shots are sharper, have more dynamic range, more colour, more latitude for editing but there is something about the grain and look of the film stock that I love. If you think about it, most editing apps these days have built in filters. Many of those filters mimic the look and feel of classic film stock. Each type of film had a particular look, feel and mood. For example, if I am shooting a bright sunny day, I may want to use Kodak Ektar because this film will pop colours, especially the sky and look stunning. If I want a more desaturated, dreamy look I might use Kodak Portra and so on. Today there are heaps of different film stock and new ones coming on the market on a regular basis. This means, with film, I have these uber cool filters built right into my shot.

But that’s just with colour films. The black and white films have a look to die for. The bold contrasts and grain patterns of these films can not be recreated in digital … I have tried. The black and white negative film stock is also relatively easy to develop at home so I can take up a roll, develop it and scan immediately.

I shoot both digital and film but if I had to choose, I would choose film for its more artistic and mood evoking images.