A Kind Of Magic...

Lately I've been shooting film again. I said lately, but I never really stopped- it was just a rare occurrence. Digital capture took over my photography- at least the work that I get paid to do. Still, every now and then I'd grab the Leica and some black & white film and go on a trip or just for a walkabout. There's just something about it that's... therapeutic?

Film is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, especially among the young folks who were raised on digital cameras. Let's face it- film is cool! In the past few years I've had lots of aspiring photographers in their 20's asking me questions about vintage cameras and black & white film processing, and their excitement for the medium inspired me to get some of the old cameras out and shoot with them again. You see, I'm a bit of an equipment junkie... I got out the 4x5 camera and a friend hooked me up with some rare Polaroid Type55 film. I shot the Hasselblad on a pro-bono shoot for a local cat shelter. The old trusty Nikon F3 has gone on a few walks with me, and of course the Leica is still my go-to walkabout camera. A good friend gave me a screw-mount Canon IVsb, and out of pure nostalgia I bought a Pentax K1000. My wife got herself a Rolleiflex and we started going on "photo safaris" together. Why would I choose these old, sometimes clunky tools to go out and make images? It's the experience, the craft, and the magic.

Hasselblad 500C, 80mm f2.8 Planar

Vintage film cameras each have their own quirks, their own little idiosyncracies in their operation. While digital cameras all seem like computers these days, jam packed with features accessed through huge complicated menus, vintage film cameras are like fine mechanical watches. The controls are simple- shutter speeds, aperture, and film speed. Some have meters and some don't, and we used to know how to expose our film without a fancy meter. Even the sounds are different. The click-chunk-wind of the Hasselblad is quite satisfying, as is the clack-clack of the F3. The barely audible click of the Leica is legendary, and makes me want to find another picture right away- just so I can hear it again.

Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7

Film shooters are more keenly aware of the importance of each frame, after all- there's a limit! Perhaps 12, 24, or 36 exposures and then you have to spend a couple of minutes reloading- back turned to the sun to avoid the film fog. Every click costs money, with film and processing costs rising every day. The extreme is shooting the 4x5 camera. Usually I take 8 film holders, which each hold 2 sheets of film. 16 exposures is all I get before I have to go back to the darkroom and reload. I've been calling the 4x5 my anti-digital. It forces me to be extremely careful while shooting. My work must become slow and methodical, even purposeful. It's hard- which makes it all the more satisfying.

Canon IVsb, Canon 28mm f3.5

But I think the greatest attraction to film photography is the magic... Everything comes together, you click the shutter, and a moment in time is captured on that thin piece of film. Now it's locked away in total darkness, and we can't see it yet. Did you get that once-in-a-lifetime shot? To find out we have to get it into the darkroom, where the alchemy begins. Once again in complete darkness we apply various chemicals to the film to unlock the latent image that's captured in silver-halide crystals. Once the fix and wash is done we hang our film to dry, and can't help but start looking at the negative images to try to determine if that great shot is there. Then we start the process of turning the negative into a positive image, either by scanning the film into the modern age, or traditional printing where the alchemical process begins again. Film photography just feels like more of a craft than digital photography does.

Hasselblad 500C, 80mm f2.8 Planar

I hope more people discover (or re-discover) the magic of film. In the past few years we have been losing some of the great emulsions, as companies succumb to the demands of economics and reduce the variety of film stocks they produce. Kodachrome is gone, and there's a limited supply of PlusX left. E-6 slide film and processing is hard to find, and Polaroid went away years ago. Still, there are lots of emulsions still out there. Ilford film is alive and well, Kodak still makes a small variety of color & black & white negative film, and Fuji makes B&W and color negative as well as their E-6 slide films. Impossible Project, New55, and Fuji pack film are keeping the Polaroid dream alive. Still, there's a good chance that one day it will all go away. We are fortunate to be working in a time where we can choose between so many tools and so many processes in order to make our images. So by all means, keep shooting digital and exploring that medium, but do yourself a favor and go out and shoot some film from time to time. While you still can...