You probably noticed a new tab in the upper left labeled “Analog” and are wondering what the heck that’s all about. Recently I’ve decided to change things up with my photography, and this change involved me stepping backwards. What do I mean? Well, I recently purchased a time machine.
Yes, the title is not wrong. I decided to get into film photography. This post will explain my reasoning.
Like I mentioned in a previous blog post, I have been experimenting with other forms of photography in order to keep this hobby fresh and to further push my own boundaries. The main type of photography I’ve been trying to branch out into is street photography. More and more I’ve been going out into the “wild” with my trusty DSLR by my side and shooting street, but I was finding myself just snapping photos of random things and coming home to realize that the majority of the photos I took were junk. I felt like I was lacking discipline with my photography and wasn’t thinking about my shots. Maybe I should have read my last blog post and taken my own advice about planning out shots in my head.
For me, the solution to this problem was film photography. With film photography, you only get either 24 or 36 shots per roll of film and you get no re-dos. There are no LCD screens on the back of film cameras that let you see the picture you just took. It’s up to your skills as a photographer to make sure that you maximize the number of “good” shots you get per roll of film. Because of these limitations with film, I felt that shooting film would force me to be more aware of what was around me, evaluate the “image” before I took the photo, and think about the camera settings that I am using to capture the photo.
The camera I chose to begin this journey with is the legendary Nikon F4. Originally released in 1988, the F4 was a revolutionary SLR camera in that it was the first professional 35mm film camera with built in auto-focus. The technological marvels do not stop with the focusing system. This camera also came with a matrix metering system that works flawlessly (even better than my more modern DSLR) and is 100% electronic. No mechanical film advance lever and the built-in electric winder will save you a minute or two of hand winding. Additionally, this camera is compatible with every Nikon F-mount lens made from 1959 and onward (something that Canon users cannot say about their cameras). Oh, and you can get them now for under $200. Lens choice is the trusty Nikon 50mm AF F1.8D and currently I am still experimenting with different film types to find something I am happy with.
My first roll of film was a humbling experience. Only 2 of the 36 exposures came out in focus, but of those 2 good shots, I got the following:
Zuma Trail (9/1/2019) - Kodak Ektar 100
I was blown away by how sharp the image turned out and how perfect the colors and lighting are. All of my photos with the camera are currently shot in aperture priority mode, so the fact that the exposure of the photos turned out so well meant that my old camera’s metering system works flawlessly. After being humbled by my first roll of film, I realized I needed to take a bit more time with each shot and also wanted to start committing to my plan of using this camera for street photography.
Lately I’ve been making a point to go out every weekend and spend a couple hours in LA snapping photos. I have made a point of only bringing the F4 with me so that I can focus on getting good shots with film and not have the temptation of my DSLR in the back of mind. Below are some of my more recent photos from different rolls of film:
One of the things that I’ve started to love about film photography is the look of the photos. The above photos have a certain look depending on the type of film I used (whether it’s 30 year old expired slide film or ISO 400 color negative film) and the photos I have been receiving all have this flat, pastel look to them that is really growing on me. I don’t think this look is something that one can easily replicate in digital without heavy use of post processing.
Currently I am thoroughly enjoying my adventure with film photography and am trying to develop a style of street photography that I am happy with. Jumping into film has been an insightful experience for me as it’s forcing me to think about who I am and who I want to be as a photographer. This experience is forcing me to move further and further outside my comfort zone as I am beginning to explore even more of LA, and my photography skills / technical knowledge of photography are being challenged to the fullest. I don’t plan on going away from digital. Digital photography is superior to film in numerous ways and allows me to capture the car content that got me into this whole mess. However, moving forward you will begin to see more and more street photography content on the “Analog” portion of this website.
I understand that film photography is not for everyone and it is true that I didn’t necessarily need a film camera to give myself discipline, but based on my experience with film so far I encourage anyone into photography to try film out. Like always, feel free to leave a comment below.
Thanks,
J. Stitt