Shooting Film in a Digital Age

 


I use a digital camera to take almost all of my pictures but I shoot film too every now and then. Why do I do that in the age of digital photography? A simple answer is It slows me down.

It seemed that analog photography was going to die when digital cameras were becoming better and better every year. Our digital cameras are now more computers than just simple light sealed boxes. They can produce the sharpest images and almost shoot in the dark with their astronomical high ISOs. Don’t forget that you can take thousands and thousands of pictures. But all those qualities that I mentioned or didn’t make a great photographer or produce a great picture. Photography is not just a technical process it needs an artist behind the camera to create a captivating image. That is why slowing down is important which analog photography forces you to do.



When I slow down I try to compose each picture so that it will be a meaningful one. I don’t just shoot thousands to come up with one or two good pictures. Because I am limited to just 24 or 36 frames per roll of film. I have to make sure each frame counts which forces me to think. I stop and ask myself  Why I am taking this picture? What story do I want to tell? and How do I tell my story? and so many other questions.  This doesn’t mean I don’t pay attention to the technical part of photography. In fact, I will more likely make a technically sound picture because I will be paying attention to every detail since I don’t have a big option of correcting my mistakes in post-processing as I have with digital images.



I think analog photography is similar to writing with your hands. These days you don’t have to know how to write with your hands as long as you can type but who doesn't appreciate a handwritten note. We don’t have to use analog cameras anymore but we still do because as we sometimes choose to write with our hands when we can just use the keypad. Taking an analog picture is more of the process than the picture which makes the end more apricated. My digital camera does more than anything that my film camera can do but I still shoot film because it helps me pay attention more to the thought processes of making a meaningful picture. This helps me to be a better storyteller through my pictures.

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