Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\nHopefully, one or two of you reading this will be inspired to return to film or to try it out for the first time. Or, all this might serve as a reminder of why you happily kicked film to the curb and will never go back. Either way, it's food for thought. Here are five reasons why I love shooting film, in no particular order.<\/p>\n
1. Happy Accidents and Unexpected Treasures<\/strong><\/p>\nI tend to approach film photography with somewhat of an \u201cart project\u201d mindset, so I\u2019m far more tolerant of imperfections as opposed to when I\u2019m shooting digital. I don\u2019t consider light leaks and lens flare to be problems, even when I\u2019m not expecting to see them in a photo. And since I\u2019m admittedly bad at reading manuals (I just don\u2019t do it), I\u2019ve made my fair share of accidental double exposures. Turns out I\u2019ve enjoyed the results of most of those accidents.<\/p>\n
2. The\u00a0Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\nI would never go so far as to say digital photography is easy. But film photography sure isn\u2019t convenient. Film photography forces me to be much more deliberate and thoughtful when I\u2019m working. There are no do-overs. No delete button. If I don\u2019t get it right the first time \u2014 get it right in camera \u2014 then I\u2019ve just wasted a frame. As noted above, it doesn\u2019t always go right but I am ever cognizant of the fact I have a limited number of frames to work with. Not all of my film cameras have working light meters, so getting the exposure I want (rather than a \u201ccorrect\u201d exposure) has become second nature.<\/p>\n
3. No Post Post-Processing<\/strong><\/p>\nOnce I get my film developed and scanned, that\u2019s it. The images remain untouched. I simply feel no compulsion to alter or \u201cimprove\u201d my film shots in any way \u2014 even when they\u2019re not very good. It\u2019s a nice break from Lightroom\u2019s develop module.<\/p>\n
4. Grain Versus Noise<\/strong><\/p>\nLike virtually everything else on the list, this is entirely subjective (and, perhaps, a figment of my imagination), but film grain wins the war of aesthetics over digital noise every time. I understand the semantic use of noise as an analogy for grain, but that\u2019s where that relationship ends for me. I\u2019m partial to real film grain.<\/p>\n
5. The Analog Personality<\/strong><\/p>\nNot to be overly anthropomorphic here, but I thoroughly enjoy the personality of film and old cameras. While I love my DSLRs, I don\u2019t feel they have much personality beyond what I assign to them. My old cameras, on the other hand, each come with their own distinctive quirks that generally escape being put into words, but if you shoot film you\u2019ll know what I mean. A similar case can be made for film. I have a particular attachment to Kodak Tri-X 400 and Kodak Portra 400 because, well, I just like the look of them and that\u2019s all the reason I need. But I\u2019m determined to try as many different kinds of film as I possibly can; and as I make my way through the different Fujifilm, Kodak, Agfa, Ilford, and other films (including rolls of expired film and instant film), I\u2019m learning the many different \u201clooks\u201d associated with each one \u2014 looks that are rather difficult to replicate with plugins and presets<\/p>\n
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As far as the drawbacks of film photography (such as the waiting period and costs associated with developing film, cost of buying film, etc.), they\u2019re not significant enough to keep me away since film doesn\u2019t account for the bulk for my photography. Digital is still my go-to medium. If you find yourself stuck in a creative rut or are in need of adding a new feature to your photographic repository, I highly encourage you to give film a try.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
They say that everything old becomes new again. Indeed, life does tend to unfold around us in a cyclical fashion. But what about film photography? There surely seems to be a growing interest in film photography but, for many, the idea that film photography is \u201cnew again\u201d doesn\u2019t really fit, as they never completely gave up film even after the digital revolution took firm hold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13817,"featured_media":137364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[59136,59145,59134,59153],"yoast_head":"\n
5 Reasons I Love Film Photography | Light Stalking<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n