I Shoot with Film

I was talking to a photog friend a while ago and he mentioned that he has never shot with a film camera and has no desire to start.  That got me thinking, I still have my film point-n-shoot camera from the late 80's, I should buy a roll of film and take it out for a spin.  Just after that conversation I came across a Nikkormat FT2 SLR film camera, it's a full manual focus camera that's 30+ years old.  I'm more comfortable shooting with an SLR (digital) so it was more appealing to put a roll of film in this than my point-n-shoot.  After replacing the small watch battery the meter appeared to be working.  I loaded attempted to load a roll of film and was successful after a few tries thanks to the online manual. After shooting two rolls of film here's what I've learned:

• Getting the exposure/focus right takes time.


• I can't chimp and that's ok because it makes me focus more on getting the composition and exposure correct.


• Film has a great dynamic range.


• Slowing down and thinking things through first produces better images.

I have roll of film in a Canon AE-1 that I'm currently shooting and will post those images when I'm finished.  I really enjoy shooting film, there is something that digital can't match.  Below are some of my favorite images, the images are straight out of the scanner.  I converted one to Black & White in Lightroom.

If you think film is going away you may want to read this article: "A Very Real Resurgence for Film".