(These are some of my last film images ever taken. It MAY have been on my last roll.)
I haven’t processed my personal work from NYC in November.
I haven’t looked at anything from Christmas.
It is happening more and more often.
I don’t want to be in front of a computer.
I am here to work, and then I go. I like it that way, but I have just begun missing my own family in front of my camera.
Over the last six months, my phone has been my main source of picture taking in my family, simply because IT IS SIMPLE and always with me. The phone is small, I have it on my person all the time. I don’t have a camera on me all the time. It is unobtrusive, easy to grab candid moments without anyone paying attention. Not so with my DSLR.
Most of the time, I am okay with sticking with my phone, but there are times when I miss shooting manually with a really rad lens.
What I want:
Something easy, manual, transportable, and done once I click the shutter.
Which is making me think: maybe shooting my family with film is what’s up.
Once upon a time I learned on a Canon Rebel. Just as the digital photography thing was getting going, I was learning how to manually expose and process film in a lab. I remember being in my local camera store, and the guy behind the counter telling a customer, “Digital cameras will NEVER be able to match the superior quality of film.” To give you an idea of where I came from. I was uninterested and happy to shoot my Kodak c41 and my Portra 400. The moment I finished a roll, I would race to one hour photo. I couldn’t stand the waiting.
Then, Jeff, the ever present gadget guy, bought me a digital camera. It gave me the instant gratification I was so impatient about with film. And I never looked back. I haven’t loaded a roll of film since 2003. (WHAT?)
I think I might get out the ol’ Rebel and see what that girl still has in her.
I wonder if it will be an answer to my dilemma.
Thoughts?
i totally get it. same here. completely. maybe you get an even more instant camera—- something like this? http://compare.ebay.com/like/350562807830?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y&cbt=y ha! i’d love to see you with one of these bad boys. i actually have liked shooting with the Canon Canonet lately. its kind of a fun in-between.
We just bought a Panasonic G3 and the 20mm 1.7 lens. It is so small, but it still has a viewfinder, no lag like a point and shoot, the 20mm lens is so awesome, it has amazing focus because of the touchscreen, and it was (relatively) inexpensive. My husband will also use it, as opposed to my 5DMII, which means that I am actually in some pictures now. That was my answer to not wanting the carry huge DSLR all the time, but it sounds to me like you are feeling drawn back to film for different reasons- and another digital camera will mean time editing, etc.
I get this. I found a roll of film in an old camera and am dying to get it exposed. It’s like secret treasure. Problem? Hardly any place around here develops film anymore. sad.
i remember running to walmart with you because we couldn’t wait. so remember.
Go for it!
I’ve been thinking the exact same thing, honestly. My only problem is…. I still need to learn film. Ha!
tara, just get out of my head, will you?! it’s freaking creepy.
that being said. i totally commiserate. i feel like blogging is the only way to get traffic, but then i sort of begin to resent blogging, because really, it does nothing for booking more etc and it’s more time just…sitting. i have many family images i’ve shot recently, of my own family, just sitting. as dusty digital jpegs. i finally unearthed my nikonF100 and shot a roll. now…to get myself to drag it into a store to be developed.
those pictures up top though. my god. that man was right. there is nothing that compares to film. i hope you have those bad boys printed and framed somewhere.
if you think of gathering a group of photogs to just shoot film (sort of like your round robin recipe thing) and share what they shoot i’d love to be a part of it. maybe that’s the motivation you/we/anyone who wants to try film but shoots digital for work/needs.
oh tara, i so hear ya. i miss taking photos of my kids. i miss the thrill of getting great photos – i don’t think going back to film is the answer for me… but i totally agree – photoshop and lightroom have totally lost their luster for me. they are my slave driver and i loath them and avoid at all cost.
Ohh I have totally thought of this as well.. we don’t have our own kids yet but I have my film camera tucked away in a special place for when that day comes. I was talking about this just recently with someone, reminiscing of those days when you’d take a few rolls of film and then send them off to the lab.. get the negatives and prints back and instantly file them away in an album. Nowadays parents just take thousands of digital pictures, put them on a hard drive, never print their favorites, and then one day lose them all in a hard drive crash because sadly a lot of people don’t understand the necessity or importance of backing up.. I think it’s a fantastic idea for you to do your family’s personal stuff on film. Nothing like looking back on your baby books and enjoying the nostalgia that film carries with it too.. :)
YES! I feel the same way… I’m hating being at the computer so much (and it isn’t helping my ass either;). I take FOREVER to get my pics done or delivered to family members… it feels like a heavy weight. I’m shooting all polaroid on our camping trip this weekend. We’ll see how it goes. I will probably miss my 50 1.2 but it will be SO freeing to just click the shutter and BE DONE! Mostly, I want to remember why I loved photography in the first place… hoping this helps.
Tara, I totally get it. My kids are so important and although the iphone is easiest, I feel like I miss a quality about them that instagramizing just can’t capture. I got a Fuji x100 last year and force-started another 365 project (http://aaroncourter.tumblr.com). I hate to bring up gear, but this Fuji camera is quirky enough to get pissed at it, but like a film camera to where when I capture something special, it gives me that elation to keep up. Looks good out of camera too and it’s nice ‘n small. But no matter what, I think it’s picking up something that has a familiarity to it (old or new) that can inspire us to look with different eyes into where we live.
I feel the same way!! So I took my TLR 120mm out and two rolls of film and my kiddos to just have fun. I found a place to develop them, http://www.thedarkroom.com and they develop and make a digtal copy for $10. I am sending them off now so I can’t say how great it was. But taking pictures of my kiddos with film is what I needed, it was where I started and I need to back to it. I hope you find the right answer for you.
Oh… The skin tones with Portra 400!! I want to see what you do with that with your kids bigger!
You are in my head, that is all.
I have my Rebel still, and I shot a roll last fall, but it still sits. Thank you for the reminder to get it developed.
I had the biggest internal struggle going digital, I loved my film. Then I was swayed and while I love my digital, the instant gratification…the film, it has my heart. There is something about holding a roll of photographs in my hand, some beautiful, some fuzzy, but all of them, mine.
It can’t hurt. xo.
I remember hunting down labs that had the fuji frontier machines.
Lady. Seriously…when I read your words, it’s like you are inside my head.
I’ve been slowly moving back to film this last year, and I’m August I’m fulfilling a dream and attending Jonathan Canlas’ Film is not dead workshop.
Film is where it’s at baby.
I still have rolls of expired film to use and just wait for the day that feels right. I miss so much about the days back when film was the only option and each roll held its own magic wrapped into the canister.
I got the fuji x100 for this reason. It’s small and always in my purse, and takes amazing photos. just takes a little longer to focus than a regular slr, but I love it :)
I’ve been spending that last few months organizing my personal photos. My son is graduating high school next week and I treasure these photos more than I could have dreamed. I use a point and shoot, but I also use my big camera depending on the occasion. Yeah, it’s a pain, but your personal photos don’t have to look perfect. Once I got over that, I felt the pressure was off. While organizing I found that I only took a few pics at certain holidays and now I’m bummed I don’t have those photos!
That is exactly what I’ve been doing since January, and I love it. I’m excited to take pictures of them again because it is such a relief not to have to edit them. And the best part is that I get prints! My kids love seeing their images on paper and so do I. I paste my favorites in my journal and it keeps me motivated to do my morning pages. Now I want to try a medium format camera. Who knows where this will lead?!
Tara, we went back to a film camera for our personal photography about two years ago! I love so many things about it. We keep it loaded at all times and within easy reach. It frees me from the perfectionism that I have developed with digital (good for my portrait business, not so much for photographing my own kids with abandon) AND it is so much fun to save a bunch of rolls and get them developed all at once since so much of what was captured was forgotten. :)
I think we should shoot more film! The only thing I hate is that so few people are doing it so it costs quite a bit to get it developed. Maybe if it becomes popular again prices will fall? Dunno, that’s a long shot, lol, but worth trying?
Tara, film is for you, I just know it! Do it!! It was time for me to upgrade to full frame from my 40D, but with the Mark III coming out, I waited, got in line, and was one of the first to receive it…during that time, I realized something about some of my favourite photographers I follow….a lot of them shot film! I looked into their pictures more, and something about those pictures just called out my name! (Just like your pictures in this post did…the second I saw them my heart did a little dance knowing they were film!). But what the heck, I just paid out the noes for the Mark III? Why would I even think about film? Because I HAD TO! I mentored with the amazing Yan from Yan Photography…she switched from the Mark II to film…anyway, I ordered an old Canon EOS-3 from eBay for $189, got me a light meter, got me some Portra 400, and am in the midst of my first role. I can’t wait to send it away! I don’t think I’ll eve give up the Mark III….maybe, who knows…but I can all ready tell that film just makes my heart happy. The best thing Yan said about switching was basically nixing editing…sounds like a dream doesn’t it! And more purposeful shooting!!
Thats so weird Tara, just like weekend my parents gave me their old much loved but long since used Olympus Trip 35, just yesterday Arron and I were out shopping and bought some film for it, and today he loaded it and I shot 12 pictures, straight off. I’m dying to finish the roll but don’t want to waste them as I know every image costs real £££!!! And can’t just be deleted. I love my Nikons and my little Leica but can’t wait to see what this film camera delivers. I think you should deffo go for it, you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain :) xxx
Love film but got tired of bad processing. I didn’t even realize that some of the “bad” photos I got back were the fault of the processor and that I could have redeveloped the negatives somewhere else and received a better product. I didn’t keep the negatives. Makes me sick.
I gave my film SLR away and sometimes regret it.
I never use my DSLR anymore either. Just the i-phone camera. The SLR is just so bulky and takes so much more effort to view and process the pictures. With the phone I can work on Istagram when I have a few minutes waiting somewhere, and can even order the prints from the phone. I still have my film SLR and I do miss that feeling of racing to process the film and see if I got 2 or 3 fabulous shots out of an entire roll. It was just more magical. I can’t wait to hear what you decide to do!
Visty, You can’t redevelop film. You *can* have it re-scanned or re-printed.
I’ve already started on this journey. I caught our Christmas 2011 on film and I’m so glad I did. :) I’m still trying to find my balance between my eos3 or my yashica or my holga or my pentax or… or… there are still decisions to make but it just feels right.
I am kicking myself for getting rid of my first 35mm SLR! I actually miss the feeling of wondering what’s on a roll… the excitement of opening the package and seeing how the pictures turned out. I probably wouldn’t use it as much as I THINK I would, because digital is so easy. But it sounds seriously fun. And makes it seem more nostalgic or something. Come to think of it, I actually have an old ’56 Leica that my father-in-law has let me play with and I think I’ve taken 3 pictures with it in the last 4 months because I’m scared of wasting the roll! :/
It must be in the air…I had the same thoughts last week. I have an old film rebel in my garage somewhere and I have been curious as to what it would feel like to dig it out.
I think your post here is a sign, an affirmation.
(Yet, I have no idea what film to use as I just used to grab the cheap stuff at Target.)
Looking forward to your photographs. :)
I have the same dilemma. For Mother’s Day, I was all set to order myself one of those small, but awesome, Olympus PENs. Talk about the convenience of a point and shoot (small) with the power of a dslr (interchangeable lenses, manual, etc.). I just couldn’t do it, though. I would have to remember to put it in my purse. And I just love my phone too much. The convenience of it is second to none. So I chose not to get one and continue shooting with my phone. I plan on upgrading from my iPhone 4 to the 5 when it comes out later this year. I love sharing my images on Instagram, and once I get more pixels (I hope the 5 has at least 8 mp like the 4S), I’ll be able to print out larger versions of them. I finally realized I need to stop fighting my natural tendencies…
Tara..I feel like you are speaking my life lately.
First…I have neglected regular pics of my family…I use to be so good w/ my kids. Now mine are done from my iPhone! =(
I learned the camera on my Nikon N-something??? I loved film!! I ran to the store right away too!! I got it out the other day and found 2 rolls of film…hmmmmwonder what is on them? I didn’t have back up batteries so I couldn’t use it at my son’s game like I wanted to. But, I’m thinking maybe tomorrow I”m going to try and shoot the baseball game with film. Nervous that I won’t be able to see the action shots and will run through the film fast…anyways…I say get it out and shoot some pictures and see how it makes you feel!!!
I need to refocus…find my priorities…slow down. Summer break starts this week for me, so I have the whole summer to figure me out. Good luck on your journey….I so understand everything you’ve written lately…you have no idea!!!
I went on vacation recently and only took my film camera. I knew if I took my digital, I would have spent the whole time with the camera on my face and in the face of my kiddos instead of playing with them and enjoying their first trip to the Caribbean. It was so nice to know I only had about 200 photos I could take the whole trip and I wouldn’t have to cull through 1000s when I got home and then spend another countless hours editing. The only bummer is the cost of developing and scanning but I think it is worth it not to have to sit in front of my computer.
You might enjoy Jonathan Canlas’s workshop…Film is not dead..he still shoots only film and shot our family a few months ago….and does such fine work.
AND….he does workshops in the Coolest places!!!
http://canlasphotography.blogspot.com/
http://filmisnotdead.blogspot.com/
I use a 2nd hand Canon A-1 and process at Walgreens -hr (usually). I always get a cd, prints and they usually throw in “doubles”. It’s awesome. There’s nothing like the feeling of racing back to your car to look at your pictures.
The Facebook group “film shooters” is active and awesome!
doooo eeeet!
Yes, yes and yes. YES! The only camera I have any interest in anymore is not digital. Love it.
Shooting with film is its own genre, for sure. But I like the way shooting with film forces me to let go…shooting with digital makes it too easy to try (and try and try and try) for the “perfect” shot. So when I occasionally opt for my film camera, there’s always the element of, “I’m going to frame the shot…I’m going to use what I know about my camera’s qualities…I’m going to take the picture and move on.”
Plus there’s always the fun moment of anticipation when you pull a stack of photos out of the envelope from the developer…that moment of, “I wonder how they turned out.” Even when a print wasn’t quite what I wante I’m still happy to have the moment captured. =)
Haha! Just be patient with yourself when you find yourself chimping again and again and again… (“dammit! There’s NO VIEWSCREEN!”) Ha! It is so fun to shoot film after a long time with digi. Enjoy!
i have personal digital photos that still need to be processed from over 3 years ago… in fact, i often find images on my hard drive i dont remember taking, let alone looking at cause i tend to download my cards and plan to come back to the images but i never find the time… i have film camera that i loved once upon a time and i have started to use them on my family adventures. last weekend we went away and i shot about a dozen photos on instagram and everything else i actually shot on film! im hoping using my film cameras will encourage me to shoot what matters most, more often because i know there is no editing! get out that old rebel and shoot some film! if you want something even smaller… my most favourite happy snap camera ive ever had is the contax T3… it has the sleekest aluminium body and a carl zeiss lens and and it has an exposure compensation dial for a little manual control! the images it produces are just beautiful… it does have a bit of a cult following so expect to pay between $700 and $900 for a second hand one in great condition! good luck, rowe x
Tara, I have a dark room and prefer film to digital everyday. Nothing beats, shooting, developing and processing your own film and prints. My love and energy are in it from the moment I load the film to when I hang the final print to dry.
i say go for film for family. i’m headed that direction too. then there no processing and you have PRINTS!
How ’bout a little range finder??? You’d look so sexy holding a little Leica! :o)
Tara, outside of my iphone, I only shoot film for my personal stuff (with a few exceptions, of course). I knew once Will was born that between caring for him and my wedding work, I would never, ever process or possibly even download personal stuff if it was on my digital camera. I can’t recommend it highly enough. It has made pictures of my family so much more enjoyable because there is no work involved in it for me. I shoot it, send it off to Richard Photo Lab, and eagerly await the results. Like Christmas!
Film fricken rocks! i wish i never went digital. now i have secretary spread.
Go and do it! Shoot the film! I only do film for my personal work – both my kids and my creative stuff. My Nikon N75 with cheapie 50 1.8 live with me. Getting the film back is like finding little gems and a little memory sparks all over again!
Tara, I just heard this the other day. One of my clients told me that my digital images ( minis ) are like music cds while my film images ( regular sessions ) are like vinyl. There’s just more soul to them. I thought that this a relevant analogy. It just feeds my soul. I also do shoot a lot of my personal on instagram because it’s easy and fun. But film is where my heart lies. Shoot a roll, I think it will take you back, if not for just a visit.
I may or may not be freaking out that you might be going back to film! I only shoot personal work now and only shoot film. I LOVE it so much. I think it is the perfect medium for you!
I love shooting my kids with film it’s just so much more fun than digital for some reason. and I love the look of it!
Haven’t shot film since 2001! And, really, wasn’t even sure it was still available – lol… Love digital — the instant gratification – the way I can enhance a bad photo to look better , and a good photo to look GREAT. I’ll not be going back – even though we still have the two canon AE-1s that brought me and hubs together…
Right there with you…was thinking about getting my old film camera out and see what’s what. There is something so final in film that I never, ever feel like with digital. The moment is captured and can’t be tweaked or improved upon – it just is and I like that, always have. With digital, I take soooooooooo many shots and seriously, they are all about the same – but I always think, oh, this one is it – or that one and on and on. Film – never happened and the anticipation of waiting to see what you really captured was nerve racking, but oh so worth the wait!