A Question for Starters
Before you start reading this, I want you to think this topic through. What are your opinions on Film Photography? Do you think it's a dumb hipster trend, or do you honestly believe there are some merits with it? There is a text box at the bottom of this blog, I would love to hear what your thoughts are about this, and possibly have a conversation with you about it as well.
Now, let's move on to the story.
Holding Out As Long As I Could
For the last year or so, I've been hearing photographers talking about returning to film photography, the biggest one being Peter McKinnon. For the last two years, I laughed at the idea of going back to film, thinking it was just a trendy idea coming back into popularity for a little while, and would just disappear quietly like so many other trends. While I listened to these photographers talk about how their experiences with film helped their photography, I got more and more curious about it.
Finally Taking the Plunge
The problem that I was having was that I didn't even have a film camera to work with, until about late 2021, when my grandmother gave me my grandfather's old Yashica Lynx 1000 mechanical film advance camera that he had bought in Japan when he was in the service. That camera sat on my shelf for about two years, primarily as a decoration. It wasn't until this summer that I finally decided that I would take a chance and use the camera.
Yashica Lynx 1000, Released 1960
Problems with Older Cameras
Before I began to jump into this, I wanted to be wise with my money and time, and work with what I already have. I was given a few rolls of expired film, so I tried honing my skills with them first before I started spending $10-$20 on a single roll of film. I went through my roll, but I was having an issue with the Yashica. After some exploring and research, I have found that one of the gears in the film advancement controls is broken, and does not allow the film to advance after taking an exposure. This is a common issue with working with old cameras, especially if they have not been worked with or actively maintained for several years. With that roll completely wasted and destroyed trying to extract it from the camera, I had to wait before I could start working with film.
A "New" Camera
After finding that my Yashica would require some work before I could use it, I remembered that my parents had a 35mm film camera since I was a kid. I then reached out and asked them if I could have their camera and use it with my film, which they happily said yes, since that camera had been sitting in a closet for almost 20 years. After I got the camera, I found that there was a roll of Kodak Portra 200 film still loaded and unfinished in the camera. So, I finished the roll of about 10-12 exposures, and started in on my other expired Fujifilm 200 rolls I had.
Minolta Maxxum 7000i, Released 1988
Time to Develop
After I was able to complete the rolls of film, it was time for the scary part: sending it off to be developed. This was a struggle for me to find a good, reliable place to develop my film, since most brick & mortar stores had stopped doing film development. The only physical locations that I could send my film to were CVS and Walgreens, and there were a plethora of places to send it in online.
What I thought I would do to do a price comparison, would be to send off a roll to one, and another roll to another store to compare not only the price, but the quality of the prints as well. The online location I chose to try was MPix, a very well known photo printer and film developing store based in California. I would actually recommend them for your film developing needs, because they take your film, create negatives, scan them and send them to you online, and then they also send you back your negatives if you choose to create developed images yourself. The images below are the ones I took with the Kodak Gold 200 that was still in the camera, and for my first real attempt to use the camera in manual mode, I was very satisfied with the results.
Minolta Maxxum 7000i | Expired Kodak Gold 200
Going Out with Fresh Film
After I saw the results of the expired film, I was determined to see what results I would get with fresh film. Fortunately, for Christmas, my wife got me three rolls of Kodax Ultramax 400 to try out, and I jumped in completely to see what I could do. I finished 1 roll, and recently got the images back, and I loved how they came out. There is something so satisfying about putting in the effort to capture 36 moments, and seeing what the results are, where when I was doing digital, I was able to snap away and have hundreds of shots, with the majority unusable. I've included some of the shots from that roll here.
Minolta Maxxum 7000i | Kodak Ultramax 400
My Thoughts on Film
I waited to tell you my thoughts about film, because I wanted to take you down my journey learning to shoot with film, and see if your opinion changed before you knew my own personal opinion. I see film photography as an inefficient and outdated medium, however, I have found an enjoyment in taking film photos, because it has made me learn how to think twice before taking a shot. See, with digital, you can take the shot, and if it doesn't turn out, you can just delete them and move on. Film, on the other hand, you have no idea what the image looks like until it is developed and in your hands. If anything, I have learned to practice restraint in my shooting, valuing the shots I do take, and living with the ones I don't. I plan to continue practicing with film, if anything, to teach my sons if they show an interest in photography to be careful and methodical when they intend to do something.
Tell Me Your Thoughts
What do you think about film photography? I would love to know what you think, or, if you would like to do a film shoot, let me know as well! I would love to talk with you and discuss it with you.
