In the last years there has been a shift in peoples experience of photography. Previously the first camera would have been a film camera, mainly because of the fact that there was no other option for a first camera. Now the first camera of many is either a smart phone or a digital camera. I count myself in the later group having a digital camera and progressing to film after years of working with a digital workflow.

My first film camera other than disposable film cameras was an Olympus trip35. While that got me by, it didn’t do anything to inspire me about the medium but it did make me wonder what a better camera and better film might be able to produce.

The biggest limitation of my film photography for me is cost and this is something that can add up fast. I know that there are a lot of cheap old film cameras and there is a reason behind that, because they are just not that great. But if you want a good film camera its going to cost, and then the lenses that you want they need to be sought out and bought at a premium because good lenses are no secret and in limited supply. Then the cost of film and development comes in, it’s not like a memory card or piece of software that you buy once. The simple fact is the more you shoot the more it costs.

Then why Film?

Film photography is one of those things that cease to make a lot of sense today, there are cameras that take far better photos, there are even phones that take better photos than the majority of film cameras. But I think there is a reason why a heap of filters and apps try to replicate the look and feel of film.

I know my photos are not technically perfect by any means but I believe they carry much more emotion and feeling than the same composition on a phone or digital camera. The feeling of releasing the shutter without the instant knowledge of how it will turn out is something that digital photography can’t and will never offer.

After a few years of shooting film here and there, learning to develop and scan my own film and acquiring gear I am at a point where my passion for film starts to self replicate. I still have that Trip35 albeit hiding in the back of a cupboard but usually I use a Minolta CLE with a Voigtlander 40mm f1.4. The film of my choice is Kodak 50d a cinema film that I load in old canisters, develop and scan myself.