THE IMMORTAL MEDIUM OF THE MASTERS
Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Start To Shoot Film
01.
FILM HAS SOUL
Why shoot film? I prefer film because it speaks to me in the way I see the world. I don’t want my images to be perfect or razor-sharp; I like the photos to have a soul. Digital cannot give that without applying filers or plugins. Besides, it’s just different from the real thing. It’s about more than how the clients see your images. Would they know if you shot on film? It’s a state of mind and a feeling that is hard to pinpoint.
02.
THAT GRAIN
I love film grain. Digital plugins in Lightroom have come a similar way, but they cannot duplicate the film look.
03.
TO CHIMP OR NOT TOO CHIMP
There’s no ‘chimping’ on the back of the camera – I’m not losing my concentration checking my camera. In fact, these days, when shooting with my digital rangefinders, I turn off the LCD so I’m not tempted.
04.
FILM IS STILL CHEAPER THAN DIGITAL
In the long run, the film is cheaper to use than digital. If think about the cost today per roll – $10-$14 and then develop and scan $25-$30 per roll. A film camera on Ebay is $250-$1000. You shoot less but get much better images because you’re slowing down and hesitant to waste. With digital, you shoot and burn, and digital cameras have to be updated every few years. A film camera doesn’t need updating.
05.
UP SKILL SET
Film takes more skill to get correct than digital. When nailing the exposure, things are lovely. In general, err on exposing for the shadows. With digital cameras, expose for the highlights.
06.
STUDY THE MASTERS
With film, there’s only a way of checking once you can get the film back from the lab. You’re forced to wait for the lab to send the results, a delayed form of gratification. So, what do you do? I suggest studying the master’s of art via Canon of Design. There are excellent resources out there, and this is my favorite. Study, practice, study, and practice. A vast topic and one all artists and photographers should learn about. It’s a fun and eye-opening journey I discovered ten years ago.
07.
IMPERFECT
35mm film can be gritty and imperfect. Which is perfect.
08.
SKILLSET
Sharpen the saw. With digital, it’s easy to start letting your skillset get lazy. With film, your skillset has to improve to get great compositions.
09.
AHH, BREATHE
35mm or 120 roll film forces you to slow down and concentrate before tripping the shutter. Our modern world is crazy fast. Technology has enabled our lives to expect things with almost immediate gratification. Amazon deliveries, phone pictures. Using film provides a little balance in my productivity.
For example, about ten years ago, I would work crazy hours for my clients. Well, that’s very noble of you, you might think. No. It’s not. I was spending less time with my family. I would sit in my studio at crazy hours trying to meet deadlines. I had a choice as a photographer. That night, a violent storm passed through San Antonio, Texas, and lightning hit our house and caught fire. We escaped with our toddlers under our arms and moved out as repairs were made.
During that six-month hiatus from our home, I made changes to my life and found balance. Not as extreme, but shooting film is like that. You can breathe. Recalibrate. Think. Focus. It’s an artistic decision.
10.
LESS IS MORE
The art of less is more. I was a kid who grew up shooting film. In my newspaper days, I shot film. Digital compact cameras came along. Before I knew it, those images suddenly went from a 36-exposure roll to hundreds of pictures on one card. Most of those images were crap.
I thought the expensive digital cameras would pay for themselves since I wasn’t paying for film. But with the improvements in digital technology, I would purchase new cameras almost every year. With film, you only need one or two cameras. And they last as the technology doesn’t get old. It’s timeless.
The digital camera you purchased even ten years ago is probably worthless. Oh! And no sensors to clean – No need to spray canned air in a film camera as there’s no sensor!
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FILM IS
EMOTIONAL,
ORGANIC AND
A CHOICE OF
ARTISTIC CONTROL
MAMIYA RZ67
LOCATIONS; JAPANESE SUNKEN GARDENS, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Henri
cartier-bresson
WHY LISTEN TO WHAT I THINK? READ WHAT THE MASTER OF STREET PHOTOGRAPHY, HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON THOUGHT ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY
“You have to forget yourself. You have to be yourself and you have to forget yourself so that the image comes much stronger — what you want by getting involved completely in what you are doing and not thinking. Ideas are very dangerous. You must think all the time, but when you photograph, you aren’t trying to push a point or prove something. You don’t prove anything. It comes by itself.”
