me and film

FrankS

FrankS

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disclaimer: i am a photo hobbyist looking for an enjoyable creative passtime. I am not a professional working to meet deadlines.

when using film, the time between taking the shot and seeing the developed negs and then the enlarged prints, is much longer than with digital where one can immediately see the image on the camera's lcd screen. this longer span of time with film creates a certain specialness for me that is not there with digital. during that span of time i imagine/hope/pray/whatever, that does not happen with digital. the uncertainty felt during that span of time causes an emotional investment within me that is not there with digital. maybe that's one of the reasons i find the film photography more satisfying.

another reason that i like film photography is because of the history of the process and following on in that tradition.

another reason is that i can use older cameras built in the past when many consumer goods were still built with quality materials and workmanship, were built to last, and not with planned obsolescence in mind. i like the feel of metal, mechanical cameras better than the modern plastic wonders. these older cameras were designed to give the user control over the process, and this makes me feel more involved.

for me it is definitely not all about the image. it is also about the process.

please, this is not a film vs. digital thread! i'm interested in hearing from others who find photography with film more satisfying to them, (not from digital enthusiasts who prefer to use digital.) what is it about using film that does it for you?
 
Like you, I find film is a kind of artisan process on which you control a lot of the output. Sure, there are as many variables as in other media (light temperature, grain, exposure) but then the charm in film is that a particular image, with flaws and all, is unique on its own...

And, again, the artisan aspect of the process is what fascinates me.

I did buy a nice digital rig, and I like the fact that I can see my photos right away. However, shooting film, having to wait for the results... and then finding out that I did nail the exposure or got the composition I expected, makes me feel really good.

There you go! 🙂
 
another reason that i like film photography is because of the history of the process and following on in that tradition.

for me it is definitely not all about the image. it is also about the process.

+ 1. For me it is making a photo not taking it. I like to do all the steps involved because the spent effort and time let me reconsider if a photo that I took is really worth it.
 
I also do agree on the two sides - process and the results. I like using my film cameras (from 35mm to 4x5) and I like developing my own BW film.

However - the main point is - I prefer the look of the film. I just find that in most prints I have seen (not TOO may after all) it was rather easy to say that they were digital. One of the features I am able to describe in words is how the detail which is just on the edge of being resolved is handled. On film it somehow gently disappears leaving the feeling "if I look closer it is there", while digital it just stops. Even when the film is scanned beyond what the lens/film combinations was able to deliver - it just does not look boring and plain as there is always the film structure that supports the image.

If I need large image from film I will get a scan with higher resolution. If I go too far the image may lack the detail but it will not look as if one resizes a digital capture (which already suffers from Bayer filter and others) - which just looks empty.

Well - lot of words - but that how I feel about film. I hope I will be able to use it for the years to come.
 
Every year, my wife puts together a photo book from my 20,000 recent pictures of the kids, and sends it to the grandparents. She knows nothing about photography, but has a flair for assembling these photo books.

I used to shoot film exclusively. This year, I went digital: purchased a Panasonic G1 in June, and have been using that exclusively. So anyway, I turned over the 30,000 photos to the wife. She went through them and said, "What the hell is going on here? There's no good pictures from after June!"
 
thanks francisco. the artisan process. this reminds me of folks that build wooden furniture using only hand tools. done to find satisfaction for themselves, not as the most efficient way to build funiture.
 
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maybe i shouldn't post because i'm not in the camp that outright prefers one capture medium over the other. i like both ...

but i appreciate your point that the choice is very personal for those who don't face professional deadlines, etc.

in terms of process i like using film in much the same way i like to brew coffee and tea, if it's not too pedestrian a comparison. i buy loose tea of asian origin. i brew it quite precisely with the appropriate hardware. similar for coffee. i simply like the process and, of course, the superior end result.

film often suits me in a similar way, a matter of preference, taste, and style. i hope this makes a bit of sense.
 
Allow me to differ, retnul. I don't think your wife is seeing the difference between digital and film. She's noticing your approach (careless, casual, less deliberate) with digital. 🙂

I have sensed something like that. In fact, I'm not always happy with my digital snapshots... or at least not as happy as I am with my Leica snaps. The reason? With film I have to think, consider, compose... whereas with digital I always can retake some photographs.
 
maddoc said:
another reason that i like film photography is because of the history of the process and following on in that tradition.

for me it is definitely not all about the image. it is also about the process.

+ 1. For me it is making a photo not taking it. I like to do all the steps involved because the spent effort and time let me reconsider if a photo that I took is really worth it.
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+2. I agree completely. Learning to develop film, experimenting w/ different film/developer combinations, searching for a look to a photograph that appeals to me, has greatly enhanced the pleasure of using vintage cameras and lenses.

Besides, it doesn't have to be an either/or, film v. digital, dichotomy. I shoot film w/ older cameras, develop the negs, and then scan them, and adjust the digital image, so I'm using digital but just at a later stage in the process.
 
You're welcome, Frank!

I like Mike's analogy. That's why I stay away from the pre-packaged beverages that you pop into a filterless coffee maker. I like grinding my coffee (coarse for the French press, a little less coarse for my drip-coffee maker, and fine for the Italian espresso maker) because I know how to make it to get the results I want.

BTW, I'm lousy at making espressos... 🙁
 
I enjoy the slow and deliberate process of using film with a manual camera because I am more invested and connected to the photos. There is also personal satisfaction in recalling the details and motivation behind each shot.
 
Am I something of a rarity? One of the main reasons that I like to use film (B&W only) is that I particularly enjoy darkroom printing. It feels like something creative, although I do use scans of negs as replacements for contact prints...computerised records, you know.
I do digi too, but I spend enough time in front of the PC already, so my digi shots get the minimum of post processing.

Enjoy it all!

Dave
 
I prefer film for a number of reasons. I enjoy the process. I really could do without developing the film, but making prints in the darkroom is enjoyable and I love the results I get. I also end up with more prints that way; I almost never printed my digital photos. I think my percentage of keepers is higher, but the number of keepers about the same. However, I am more satisfied with my keepers. With digital I was always in the mindset of having to perfect everything. I enjoy the cameras. I cannot shell out for an M8, or really even an RD1, and so film is the only way I get to use rangefinders. Plus, I have different gear that I can switch around on a whim.

I've recently even lent out my DSLR to a friend that has been cameraless for a while. So far I really haven't missed it.
 
FrankS said:
another analogy: i bake bread even though it's easier to buy it, it is satisfying to make it yourself.
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This is only a difference of degree. How much do you do yourself? Do you coat your own plates and make your own chemistry, or buy prepackaged film and developer at the store? Do you grow and mill your own wheat? Do you build a wood fire in your oven to bake your bread? Imagine you are a photographer in 1850. Now you are doing it yourself...but then along comes a painter who says to you, "I prefer painting because I like to make the picture myself rather than have that machine do it for me".

I do understand and agree with the first paragraph of the original post, though. About the uncertainty, the waiting, hoping, praying. That is well put. But even then, one can certainly refrain from looking at digital images for as long as one likes, no? Or consider polaroid. Is that more akin to digital in this respect?

Cheers,
Gary
 
I am excited to start my own development over the Xmas vacations 🙂

GAS is very familiar to me, but digital cameras have never attracted me.
 
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tritiated said:
it's the foreplay.
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i love that.

gns, i agree that it is a matter of degree of involvement. the amount of involvement is often a compromise between the amount of satisfaction one desires from an activity and the amount of time one has to devote to that activity. the greater the degree of involvement the higher the potential for satisfaction, imo. but there is only so much time to spend on a hobby.
 
FrankS said:
i love that.

gns, i agree that it is a matter of degree of involvement. the amount of involvement is often a compromise between the amount of satisfaction one desires from an activity and the amount of time one has to devote to that activity. the greater the degree of involvement the higher the potential for satisfaction, imo. but there is only so much time to spend on a hobby.
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That makes sense, but to claim that the level of involvement that I practice constitutes "Doing it myself", and someone else's level does not. Well?

The bread analogy is better if you compare BUYING a photograph to buying the bread.

Gary
 
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