Film Dump, 7.25.18
A great photographer will impress you, a great photo will leave an impression on you. Being a photographer, though I haven’t shot much lately, I prefer the look of film as opposed to digital. There are pros and cons to both, but there’s nothing like having a good film shot. Nostalgic, emotional, timeless; these are some of the adjectives that come to mind when film photography is brought up. Certain photos make you feel things that leave you at a loss of words to articulate what emotions you experience when viewing them. This is one of the main reasons I began taking photos.
A lot of apps have made a killing off of this phenomenon. VSCO and Instagram are two that come to mind. Although both applications offer filters that emulate film photos, nothing can ever replace real film, whether it be 120mm or 35mm. I have 3 film cameras. The first one I bought from Urban Outfitter’s years ago. It’s a Holga 120mm. It’s a cheap, black plastic camera I’ve used only a handful of times. My second film camera I bought off of a lady on Craigslist. It’s a Minolta 160C. She sold it to me in a Walmart parking lot. She must’ve smoked a pack a day, because the camera case it came in still smells like cigarettes til’ this day. I bought the camera in 2014. My third and most recent film camera purchased, is a Canon AE-1 Program. This is such a phenomenal range finder I found in great condition off eBay. I use the AE-1 Program when I want to sharpen my manual shooting skills. It helps tremendously as there is no viewing the photos you take until you get them developed. The gist of film to me though, is the convenience and ease of it. I like the idea of point & shoot without thinking. Fully automatic film shooting is one of the most enjoyable parts of photography to me. When shooting digital, I shoot fully manual controlling the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Digital to me is about the technicality of photography as equipment is much more advanced. Developed film has such a nostalgic aesthetic property to it, I tend to utilize film as a means to document my life. No thinking, just shooting. It’s liberating in more ways than one.
Here are a few shots from a couple of films that have sat for some time in my equipment closet. Do you feel anything when looking at these photos? Which do you prefer, film or digital? Let me know in the comments!
CANON AE-1 PROGRAM
MINOLTA 160C
