As of writing this line, it has been thirteen years since I took my first film photography course and developed my first roll of black and white film by hand. That was 1996—film photography was just how it was done back then.
These days digital photography has the majority of the photographic market share, leaving us film photographers as some sort of strange or exotic beasts in the world of photography.
I say strange or exotic because, at least from my experiences, there doesn't seem to be much middle group about how people respond when they find out that my camera records to film instead of bits. Either it is the strange—people who peer down at me quizzically as if there is something wrong with me, or that I'm ignorant since I haven't jumped on the digital bandwagon. Else it is the exotic—people who for some reason or another, seem to believe that I am going above and beyond by sticking with film for my photography.
So why film photography?
There are many reasons why film is my preference over digital photography. Notice I used the term preference, not film photography is better than digital photography. I've seen plenty of photographers who seem to react to notion of doing things any way other then their way as a slap in the face. The way I see it, digital photography has many different characteristics versus film photography. Given a photographer's personal and professional needs, those characteristics very often do make digital the correct choice for those photographers. For the world view of photography that I find myself working in, film fits in very nicely, so I've decided to stick with it till the bitter end.
Reasons why I prefer film photography.
- The ease of archiving.
This list is small at the moment. But it will get larger as I convert all the thoughts floating around in my head into readable text.
February 2012 - first full month of dedicated 8x10 shooting. Twenty exposures made over the course of about 7.5 hours and 9 miles of hiking according to RunKeeper. Given that my backpack and tri-pod weighs in at forty pounds, it is quite a physically demanding experience for the simple act of photography. Fun though. I... Read more »
So last month I wrote a post about moving into 8x10 format which can be seen here. This month I just wish to say that I'm now diving in head first. I've gotten myself an 8x10 Deardorff with a modern lens along with a bunch of the other fixin's needed to manage this format. Tri-pod,... Read more »
Yup. PBS aired a little bit about my work & methodology last night. A fun blend of some medium format street photography and large format portraiture. Watch away!
As you may have noticed, the posting frequency on this blog has slowed down dramatically over the past few months. Don't worry, I haven't given up. I just started to feel that instead of trying to be a blogger who photographs, I should focus more on being a photographer who has a blog. Writing posts... Read more »
26 rolls of medium format film shot in a single day of street photography. Can it be done?
A great film vs digital quote by Thanos Siozos.
Selection of my best steet photos from 2010 taken in and around Duluth, MN
A short story about color film.
There are many reasons why I prefer film photography. This is just one of them. I see two certainties involved with computing: Hardware failure and data loss with happen at regular intervals. I will always hate having to back up files. Thinking about backing up those backups as the backup media gets outdated makes me... Read more »
Quick post today. I've really been enjoying using my Yashica Mat 124G out on the street lately. Medium format street photography is a lot of fun, and the image quality just blows away anything I've done on 35mm. So much fun that I went ahead and acquired 2400 exposures worth or Fuji 400H to feed... Read more »
A goodhearted laugh I had with another photographer at some confusion between my Mamiya RB67, and a digital camera.
Just a few random thoughts about photography I've spewed out over Twitter over the past few months. This is the kind of stuff you're missing out on by not following me. ::hint:: ::hint:: Woke up this morning and found my camera in my bed. Great. Now I'm that guy. Bad art openings make me feel... Read more »
Twelve photos depicting my street photography adventures through Duluth, MN during the course of 2009. One photo for every month.
Infrared Street Photograph from Duluth's, 2009 Christmas City of the North Parade.
Comparing Ilford SFX 200, Rollei Infrared 400, Efke IR820 and Efke IR820 Aura for use with an infrared flash modified Olympus XA2.
A few thoughts on the recent discovery of the Vivian Maier cache of negatives.
Everything old is new again.....Photography 180. "Digital? You're talking to a man who shot 180 rolls of medium format film in the last two weeks!" He shouted. (He didn't really shout but it seemed like it). He's got a digital SLR but only uses it for clients who (and I'm paraphrasing here) "Don't give a... Read more »
Are the Legacy Pro films really rebranded Fuji films? I've got a smoking gun.
Flashback to late 2008. Digital has completely obliterated 35mm sales. Kodak, Fuji, and Ilford are about to shut down their film processing lines and go under. Digital SLR owners worldwide cheer in a unified rejoice as they drink the blood from the severed heads of film photographers in the jubilee that followed once they've finally... Read more »
Simple tip to help you load film like a rockstar.
How to scan curled negatives flat using a glass insert, and packing peanuts.
Today's topic: Sports Photography! Wait? Don't I shoot film cameras that lack motor drives and 300mm lenses? Don't I use crazy contraptions that won't focus for me and often require me to stop shooting while I empty it? Yes! Yes I do! And I'm proud to say that I enjoy shooting sports with them. I've... Read more »
The images that I pick as my favorite from yesterday's shoot with slowly be filling up the Grandma's Marathon 2008 set at my Flickr account. For now, the first two images I've deemed as keepers. More will trickle in as I process the film & images.
Greetings!
I just wanted to congratulate you on your choice of medium for photography! Although I pack a digital camera for daily snaps of my surroundings my true love is film photography.
I found your page by one of those lucky accidents that make the Internet such an interesting place while trying to get some facts straight for a comment I was making to a friend (haven't found what I was looking for because of this digression but I will.) I was celebrating having found an online source of 120mm film with which to feed a beautiful working classic that was given to me some years ago, a Vest Pocket Autographic Kodak, Model B and a couple of other "ancient" cameras that I have collected in car boot sales and Sunday markets. I've always wanted to breathe new life into old cameras and have the romantic thought that it would be interesting if one could gather together the last pictures taken with each of them.
I shall read the rest of your posts with more time.
Best regards all the way from Spain!
P.S. Looking at the information I printed and stored with the camera I see I might have to keep looking. It says to use Film 127 on the back of the camera!
[Lomo link removed]
P.P.S. I have no affiliation with the above site, I simply wanted to share the source. If anyone knows other places, please share!
I'm killing the Lomo link Mike. Their prices are always a bit steep for expired film stock.
If you are looking for 120 film. B&H, Freestyle or even Amazon.
B&H even carries 127 film.
Fair enough. Huge thanks for the links to the other sources of film! I never even thought of Amazon! B&H look like they know what they're doing so that's the way I'll go.
Like what I see so far stumbled upon your site while looking for images of the graphic 4x5 and saw you night shot, "awesome". I my self love film photography I also like shooting low light, available light and night shots. I just wanted to throw out a shout I will have to delve into your site more.
P.S. Shocked that you are still able to find the film. Long live film, well as long as possible.
while i currently use my Fuji X10 for my daily commute, my film camera's still take a space in my bag and gets to have a walk early mornings while walking with my son around the neighborhood. see you around!