It’s been over 20 years since I switched from 35mm film to digital photography. As fall photo season was wrapping up, I suddenly decided I wanted to start shooting film again. I’ve really been craving something different, more challenging and more creative. I’ve always been in love with the look of film photographs. It’s so nostalgic and reminds me of all the hours I would spend as a kid going through family photo albums. So I pulled out my old film camera from the box it had been sitting in for 20 years and found a 45ish year-old Pentax on eBay similar to the very first SLR I used in black and while film photography in college. I spent a couple of weeks running a few different kinds of film through them to see if they even still worked. It felt so different taking pictures and not seeing them right away. With only 36 images per roll, I had to slow down and be much more deliberate about each shot.
Once I got through all of my test rolls, I sent them off to the lab and then waited. And waited. And waited. Really, I only had to wait 2 business days and a holiday but after 20 years of shooting digital, it felt like an eternity. I was pleasantly surprised at the quick turnaround from the lab. It was like Christmas morning opening the email with my film scans attached. I was so relieved to see both cameras still worked perfectly after all of these years, ooohing and aaahing in the car with delight at each image while my family could not have cared less about my excitement.
Now that I know both cameras work, I am looking forward to shooting more film. I already have a roll of CineStill 400D in my camera with what I’m hoping are some amazing winter wonderland pictures from snowshoeing at Clear Springs and I’m hoping to drive over to the GR Christkindl Market for some colorful, holiday themed images.
I used to store jugs of chemicals in the bathroom closet at my parents and turn the bathroom into a makeshift darkroom. I may or may not start doing that again to save a little money on black and white developing. I’m also thinking it would be fun to start a little film photography club if I can find anyone who is interested.
It’s honestly been so much fun and there’s a whole underground world of film photographers out there creating some really cool stuff using everything from the most basic point and shoot film cameras from the 90s to insanely expensive medium format rigs. We have grown so accustomed to the instant gratification of the digital world and immediate reactions to images we share on social media that it was really quite nice slow down and be patient with the process of shooting film while sitting on pins and needles to see the results from the lab.
These are some of my favorite black and white shots from Duck Lake State Park shot with 35mm film on a Canon EOS Elan 7e with a 28mm and 50mm lens and a Pentax K1000 with a 50mm lens. Developed and scanned at Brooktree Film Lab followed by a very light curves adjustment in Lightroom to richen the shadows and add a light matte finish to reflect my usual vibe.
