Back in the long ago time, there was film. Sheets of chemicals and magic that transformed when they were struck by rays of light. And it was good.
But it was also kind of a pain in the ass because you could only shoot 24 or 36 frames at a time before you had to change the film. And you had to carry around lots of film in bulky little cans. And you couldn’t preview or delete your shots. And sometimes you’d find that you shot an entire roll with the wrong exposure but you didn’t find out until you got the film back from the developer a week later. Good times.
But some say there is also a certain quality to film photography that hasn’t been replicated by digital. A special and ineffable charm, difficult to express but instantly recognizable. And, contrary to what you might expect, there are quite a few new-to-film photographers out there, drawn to film by the novelty or the look or the antiques or the desire to practice arcane arts on the verge of becoming extinct. Film is Not Dead, a group on Flickr, has over 12,000 members.
Whatever your motivation, if you are interested in film photography, I can heartily recommend following Brian Auer over at Epic Edits. Brian has jumped into film photography with gusto (possibly to the detriment of his marriage) and seems to boast about a new camera or darkroom acquisition on a weekly basis.
Brian has written many articles about his adventures in film photography including several guides to getting into film photography and getting your first camera. Here are some to get you started:
Film photography is for everyone!
And Brian is awesome!
(PS. I sent him that film in the photo 😀 )
This describes me exactly. Although I won’t give up my digital I am making a concentrated effort to start moving more into film. Exciting and a little scary.
I’d love to know how much it would cost to set up your own darkroom these days – like the “bathroom” set up in the photo! I guess doing some more browsing of this site may give me the answer I’m looking for 😉