Film shooters!! Come clean!!

[kshapero]

How many of us who shoot film are just playing out a fantasy that you are aspiring to be one of the greats of old (Robert Capa comes to mind)? Cause when you think about it, if they were alive today, they would most likely be shooting only digital. Come clean or is it just me?😀

 

[gilpen123]

I still love doing my film in B&W zero color for me that's reserve for digital capture. I would say the digital converted to B&W is getting better and better though.

Film B&W from an M3 and Canon 50 1.4

 

[umcelinho]

135 = cheapest solution of that era for taking a huge amount of shots in a short period maintaining a minimum level of image quality and detail, right? that applies to digital nowadays.

 

[Gumby]

No fantasy for me. I use film the same way I always have, to make images of my own. It's just you... but enjoy yourself!

 

[Gumby]

p.s. you may be right about the "greats" using "D" of they were alive today... or you could be incorrect. Who knows, really. Images are images... really!

 

[PointOmega]

No question, film has romantic appeal, but at the end of the day I enjoy the process, the textures and the feel of analog photography. I shot film as a kid, tried digital a few years ago but was recently drawn back into film. Love the excitement of waiting for a roll to get developed and "processing" in silver efex. Love the organic vibe of the photos (tri-x mainly). Would love to learn how to do it all at home eventually.

 

[oftheherd]

I just have a preference for film and the film process.

 

[Livesteamer]

I am in no way great. I'm a stay at home dad who loves old cameras and making photos of family and friends. I have spent over 45 years with film and don't much like computers. I also like the fact that many of my cameras were built to last a lifetime. That's an idea you don't see much of anymore.

Now, if they ever make steam powered computers... Ahhh, the smell of burning coal and steam oil.

Crazy and Loving it. Joe

 

[Kenj8246]

In all honesty, with film, I feel like I'm making something; it's for someone else to say what that something is. Shooting digital is kinda like I'm 'holding it when it goes off'. Mind you, I still shoot digital but prefer film much more.

Kenny

 

[bojanfurst]

Just you 😉

Seriously. I enjoy working with film. With digital, I find the process monotonous and kind of always the same. I am not sure if that makes sense. Every time I use film, develop film or make prints, especially make prints, I find that I learn something new. Now, that may be because I have so much to learn, but the whole process feels much more exploratory, much more engaging and I like that. I think a big part of it is that I feel like I am crafting something with my hands throughout the process and I just don't have that same feeling of a process, same engagement with digital photographs.

 

[jwc57]

Actually, I'd guess that digital has allowed a majority of people to fulfill their "dream" of shooting like Capa. Almost anyone shooting film today, shot film before digital. I know many photographers who have gone into business solely based on the fact they can chimp or post-process their way out of a technical problem. If you were to hand them a film camera, they wouldn't have the confidence or knowledge to shoot successfully.

 

[Pherdinand]

"if they were alive..." but they are not.
No way you can figure out what they WOULD shoot if they were alive today.

Yeah i wish i would be as cool as Capa 🙂 looks like it's not enough to be hungarian, which i am.

in any case, i shoot film mostly because 1. i can use coool cameras 2. i like the process more.

 

[thegman]

Not for me I don't think, but I think the beauty and feel of the cameras has a lot to do with it. Also, I'd like to shoot 4x5 one day and that just feels like more of a craft than digital.

 

[Pherdinand]

by the wya, if Capa was alive today, he probably would be shooting a bunch of waterproof-shockproof point and shoots 😀
definitely not a leica m8/9, that thing would not survive a d-day (and neither would the images on a card)

 

[filmfan]

I don't understand the intent of the question...

 

[leicapixie]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1930044#post1930044

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1930044#post1930044

i love film, but i cannot take the problems. Sub-standard processing at so called "pro-labs'. Negatives damaged by being cut in half..fingerprints, footprint(toe! honest) and filth of hairs and dust at one lab.The turd claimed it was on film! One Kodak and one Fuji.
Printing poor quality, better now with digital..
My own processing judging by my scans(just started) are so bad, it simply not worth the trouble! Easier and better to shoot with a P/S digital.
i love my old cameras but it's more like the "Walking Wounded". Nikon F all no longer have meters, my Leica M2 and M3 very old, some parts no longer MADE available.
I say i love film, but have not entered or set up darkroom for more than 4 years..Yes i do process my own B/W but that looks like a bad idea if scanning..
I did all my own B/W and some color in past (+40years) for pro work and portfolio. i simply no longer feel the effort justified for me!
i never thought of myself as one of the greats! would Capa, HCB etc used digital. i'd bet in a nano-second! They used 35mm when it was considered a toy!

 

[Gumby]

I don't understand the intent of the question...

It has to do with guilt or embarassment... neither of which would have been known to the rest of us had the original post never been made. 😀

 

[Gumby]

... or maybe just idle curiousity. 🙂

 

[zauhar]

I like the material aspect of film - every image stands by itself, and who knows how precious it might be. I like the material aspect of developing the film, and I like the material aspect of printing (even though I will certainly be dead before I master any of this).

I do understand the attractions of digital photography, and if I find a digital that I can both afford and "bond with", I will consider it.

I watched the documentary on Ron Galella that Ampguy started a thread on, and I was fascinated by his basement archive - row upon row of boxes of prints, and binders with negatives. Inefficient? Sure, it would all fit on a few hard drives in the digital era, but there would no PHYSICAL magic in that. I don't care how"efficient" digital is, or how stunning the image quality of the latest camera, everything about digital still seems quick, cheap and uninspiring.


Randy

 

[zuiko85]

No fantasy here, least wise at my age. For me, well....I just love the old mechanical film cameras. By their very nature digital will always require electrical power to operate and I choose to have all mechanical cameras in my collection of film cameras. Let me be clear. There is no rational reason to eschew cameras with electronic control of shutter speed or the advanced electronics found in digital cameras. This is a personal preference that does not comment on or judge the personal preferences of others.