Shooting with Film

I like film: the rough mechanical sound of the shutter opening and closing; the texture that is almost tangible when I see the finished product; the way it captures light.

One of my favorite things about film is the process: Loading the film, being able to get the light meter working and figuring out all the settings. But the best part is the aspect of time. It can take a week to use a roll of film or it can take several months and the results are always surprising. I love how shooting with film allows you to capture images but still be present and in the moment—I often get caught up in trying to get the right shot or looking back through the images and trying to adjust and tweak all the little details. With film, you can take the shot and you’re done. It reminds me of when I would collect caterpillars from the back yard and desperately wait for them to turn into butterflies; always something beautiful and unexpected. Photography has a way of doing that, but film just has that added element of surprise which never gets old.

Also, anybody can go to Goodwill/thrift store and get a decent point&shoot film camera and start sharing their own perspective.