Why do you use film:
- Thread starter Bill Pierce
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semilog
curmudgeonly optimist
Why do I still use film?
1. Because the best (most enjoyable to use) camera body ever made, the Leica M, takes film. (The M8 and M9 have inferior proportions and consequently inferior ergonomics. If they are M's, they are inferior substitutes for a proper film M.)
2. I like the way film images look (though the B&W I get out of the X-Pro1 is pretty damned nice).
3. Watching a wet print come up in the dev is still magic — every. single. time. Watching a print come out of an inkjet will never have that magic.
4. It can be good to not be able to chimp.
5. The best films ever made are currently available.
6. XTOL and red wine.
7. It kinda freaks people out when they discover you're shooting film.
8. The Leica's paid for.
9. Film is still cheap, and readily available.
10. #9 won't always be true.
1. Because the best (most enjoyable to use) camera body ever made, the Leica M, takes film. (The M8 and M9 have inferior proportions and consequently inferior ergonomics. If they are M's, they are inferior substitutes for a proper film M.)
2. I like the way film images look (though the B&W I get out of the X-Pro1 is pretty damned nice).
3. Watching a wet print come up in the dev is still magic — every. single. time. Watching a print come out of an inkjet will never have that magic.
4. It can be good to not be able to chimp.
5. The best films ever made are currently available.
6. XTOL and red wine.
7. It kinda freaks people out when they discover you're shooting film.
8. The Leica's paid for.
9. Film is still cheap, and readily available.
10. #9 won't always be true.
bwcolor
Veteran
Great thread.
I use film for much the same reason that I make my own ammunition.
To shoot things.
There is a magic to film, but it is difficult to argue that 35mm film can compete in any way with digital... except that some B&W has a look that I really like and I love Velvia. I also love having a limited number of chances to get things right. I also like waiting for the film to develop and then finding out that my skills were lacking, or not. I would rather lose a shot than drain a battery trying to get that same shot. I also wish to prevent my acquisition of a chimping addiction and then needing to join Chimpers Anonymous.
I use film for much the same reason that I make my own ammunition.
To shoot things.
There is a magic to film, but it is difficult to argue that 35mm film can compete in any way with digital... except that some B&W has a look that I really like and I love Velvia. I also love having a limited number of chances to get things right. I also like waiting for the film to develop and then finding out that my skills were lacking, or not. I would rather lose a shot than drain a battery trying to get that same shot. I also wish to prevent my acquisition of a chimping addiction and then needing to join Chimpers Anonymous.
seakayaker1
Well-known
seakayaker1
Well-known
I started back using film again last July when I attended a workshop and three photographers who attended were using film cameras. The last time I had used a film camera was at least a decade ago and seeing folks using film only sparked a fuse and I bought a used M7 within the week.
I enjoy the slow pace and enjoy the process of taking the photograph with a film camera vs. the digital. There are days when I still use the digital but the majority of time I am out and about with one of the film bodies.
I enjoy the slow pace and enjoy the process of taking the photograph with a film camera vs. the digital. There are days when I still use the digital but the majority of time I am out and about with one of the film bodies.
bhop73
Well-known
I dunno.. I have a few digital cameras, and I use them regularly, but I just get more satisfaction from my photos that are shot on film.
I carefully read the entire thread, thought that there were some good points there, and then said to myself, "well, enough of this, let's read something else". And I went to the (Australian) ABC site to see what's news, clicked there on the Arts section, and the first thing I saw was:
"Rejecting digital photography - In Focus: Joni Sternbach’s nostalgic photography"
"Rejecting digital photography - In Focus: Joni Sternbach’s nostalgic photography"
loquax ludens
Well-known
I do use digital for convenience and utilitarian reasons sometimes, but it doesn't hold excitement for me or especially captivate my interest the way that film does.
I use film because I like the processes involved in using film. I like the care and feeding of a wonderfully made mechanical marvel or a simple wooden camera. I enjoy going into my darkroom to develop film and make prints. The workflow is relaxing and fun. Seeing a gorgeous transparency emerge from my processor or an image form before my eyes in the developer tray seems magic, even though I know it's not.
I like the pace of shooting film. I think 36 frames on a roll of 135 is a lot, actually. I think a couple of film holders loaded with 8x10 film is a lot too. Twelve square images on a roll of 120 never fails to delight me. I always grab a spare roll or two to take along when I head out with one of my cameras, but even the tough decisions about what to spend my last few frames on are an interesting part of the game.
I like the look of wet prints from film. I like to select the film for the conditions I'll be shooting in, and for the look that the particular emulsion renders. I like to vary my processing or my printing to get the effect I want. I like trying to do things and to perfect processes that most people aren't doing anymore.
I think more than anything I like having that tangible piece of developed film at the end of the day. I can file it in a drawer, look at it on a light table, project it on a screen, or make a print from it with my enlarger. There is simply no satisfying way that I know of to handle a digital image.
One thing I really do not care about at all is the argument over which is "better" or "superior", film or digital images. That has no bearing on my preference for film. Photography is a hobby for me. I do not make my living from it, so things like productivity, fast turnaround, and cost really don't factor in to the equation. I shoot film because everything about it fascinates me, and I can get photographs I like from it.
I use film because I like the processes involved in using film. I like the care and feeding of a wonderfully made mechanical marvel or a simple wooden camera. I enjoy going into my darkroom to develop film and make prints. The workflow is relaxing and fun. Seeing a gorgeous transparency emerge from my processor or an image form before my eyes in the developer tray seems magic, even though I know it's not.
I like the pace of shooting film. I think 36 frames on a roll of 135 is a lot, actually. I think a couple of film holders loaded with 8x10 film is a lot too. Twelve square images on a roll of 120 never fails to delight me. I always grab a spare roll or two to take along when I head out with one of my cameras, but even the tough decisions about what to spend my last few frames on are an interesting part of the game.
I like the look of wet prints from film. I like to select the film for the conditions I'll be shooting in, and for the look that the particular emulsion renders. I like to vary my processing or my printing to get the effect I want. I like trying to do things and to perfect processes that most people aren't doing anymore.
I think more than anything I like having that tangible piece of developed film at the end of the day. I can file it in a drawer, look at it on a light table, project it on a screen, or make a print from it with my enlarger. There is simply no satisfying way that I know of to handle a digital image.
One thing I really do not care about at all is the argument over which is "better" or "superior", film or digital images. That has no bearing on my preference for film. Photography is a hobby for me. I do not make my living from it, so things like productivity, fast turnaround, and cost really don't factor in to the equation. I shoot film because everything about it fascinates me, and I can get photographs I like from it.
amateriat
We're all light!
Whoa, there...I resemble that remark! 😉 As someone who immerses himself in the tech world for some semblance of a living (and owns a BlackBerry), I'm damned good at conversation. Of course, I regard my gadgets more as tools than toys, so I'm not prone to bumping into lampposts or people on account of excess digital distraction.
Not entirely sure how true that is now...the M8/9 body is, of course, bigger than an a typical LTM body (an R-D1 comes a bit closer), but it still feels good in the hand and responds as I think a proper camera should. Can't afford one, though, but that's cool - my Hexars and little Contax Tvs keep me quite happy.
I'm no spring chicken myself, but perhaps a bit less stubborn: my LP collection snuggles up cozily next to my CD collection, the latter of which has largely been ripped into iTunes, where it snuggles up nicely with my purchased digital downloads, and all play nicely on my iPod classic. As mentioned earlier, I still shoot film roughly 80% of the time, but I've been scanning and digitally printing from all that film almost exclusively for almost fifteen years,
No argument there!
Ditto.
- Barrett
seakayaker1
Well-known
. . . . . another video for wet collodian work for your viewing pleasure, Silver & Light: http://vimeo.com/39578584
Enjoyed the link you provide above.