Working with a 100% manual camera & 35mm film is both challenging and rewarding. I absolutely love the fact that I have to put more thought into the pictures I take, that they don’t always come out how I wanted them to, and that by the time I develop the film I have largely forgotten what I photographed so it’s always a fun surprise to look at the prints.
I was also thinking about what a gift it is to take a photo of someone on film. Every single childhood photo that I have of myself was taken with a film camera. How many kids these days will have even one photo taken of them with a film camera? Probably not many, unless one of their relatives or friends is interested in film photography. The reality is that most of the photos our kids will have of themselves will probably be taken with a cell phone & will probably never be printed — if that’s not depressing, I don’t know what is.
I am so happy that I have a film camera, and that I am learning how to use it, because it truly is a special and unique way to capture someone you love. There’s something about the soft edges and the way the light falls that you just can’t get with digital, no matter how many filters you use. So, get a film camera and take pictures of your kids, your friends, your family and, of course, your cat! You won’t regret it. You can get the camera & lens that I use on ebay for next to nothing these days.
Here are some of my latest film photos, and you can see more by visiting my flickr photostream.
canon ae-1 program // canon fd 50mm 1.8 lens // kodak professional bw400cn (expired circa 2000) // processed by Monadnock Imaging, Keene, NH // scanned by me on the lexmark prestige pro805 (because I forgot to ask for a CD with my prints — d’oh!)
