why do you use film ????

jnanian said:

yeah i know its fun, you like to use old cameras, you like something tangible
you like using chemistry and feeling some sort of "kinship" with people from like 100 years ago
but
why do you use film ?

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John, you ask a question that you yourself have not answered. How about a statement by you!

PE

Film is real. It can be held. It is a chemical record of an energy state influenced by a physical world. It's a massive representation of a massless quanta. It's simply complicated in it's processes. It's predictably unpredictable in it's results. It's the logical contradiction of capturing an event with extreme accuracy from only a single perspective. It incorporates elements of physics, chemistry, art, history and philosophy. It takes more than a lifetime to master, yet can still be supremely executed by a complete neophyte. The most skillful master knows how large of a role luck plays into it all. Yet even a novice knows that the importance of skill is undeniable. The contradictions are too beautiful not to fall in love with!

Digital's great. It's the reliable workhorse. It goes where you tell it. But film is the wild stallion. It takes you along for the ride. You can never truly control film. But if you work hard enough at it, and find luck to be on your side, you can believe for a brief moment that you've achieved the impossible feat of controlling the uncontrollable and catch a brief glimpse of what the gods must feel. And that's a feeling I don't believe digital will ever be suited to render.

1 I enjoy tqking black and white, and printing the results in the darkroom, I personally would not get the same sense of satisfaction producing a great inkjet print as I do producing a good chemical print
2 every camera I use is at least 60 years old, for me collecting and using old/classic cameras is a part of what makes this hobby/obsession great for me. and as there were no digital cameras around when my cameras were made then it has to be film,
3 I would find using a computar to produce photographs very annoying, I am not that computer literate
4 I believe better the devil you know, I know film and darkroom work, it works for me, Maybe in my case you can't teach an old dog new tricks

I once heard of a concept in commercial radio called the rule of 17, meaning that whatever you thought was cool when you were 17 will be cool for the rest of your life. When I was 17, photography was as cool as it got. It was difficult, and for most of my adult life, just too expensive to be able to do enough of it to get good at it. So I forgot all about doing it seriously and just made the occasional family snapshot. But then digital happened, and suddenly all this equipment that had been nothing but fantasy for me was suddenly CHEAP! Now, at 60, I can do what I dreamed of at 17.

So it's not about anything beyond just having fun and trying to get good at something purely for the purpose of getting good at something.

Because I don't know where to put the SD card in my cameras.

A few reasons.
I initially got back into film re-discovering my old 600 series polaroid, which led to purchasing terrible expired film, which led to less terrible impossible project film, which led to a Polaroid 250 and wonderful packfilm.
Then I was given a Yashica LM and to test it and eliminate compensation during printing I used Provia transparency film. Seeing those largish positives got me hooked.
Although I have since purchased a Nikon F100 so I'd have a 35mm which could share my dslr lenses, by far most of my film use is packfilm and the TLR with Provia.
The instant print is something that in general digital can't compete with, and the 'magical' look of a large transparency is, well, magical.
I think the F100 will simply be to get a 'film version' of something I'm shooting in digital as well. More of an add-on to digital shots, And perhaps to try my hand at cross processing.

It's not electronic. It doesn't have an electronic "brain" that insults my intelligence. I have to do the thinking.

I use film for a certain look, or aesthetic, in the final image. I also shoot digital.

faberryman said:

I use film for a certain look, or aesthetic, in the final image. I also shoot digital.

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Yep this too. I know there are software filters that claim to mimic the look, but I a) don't believe it b) would feel like I'm being dishonest in a sense.

faberryman said:

I use film for a certain look, or aesthetic, in the final image. I also shoot digital.

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skorpiius said:

Yep this too. I know there are software filters that claim to mimic the look, but I a) don't believe it b) would feel like I'm being dishonest in a sense.

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I think that software does a pretty decent job with the colors but fails miserably when it comes to grain. What makes grain beautiful is it's random nature. Computers do a lot of things well, but they're terrible at generating randomness.

Hi PE
to be honest, i am not really sure .
i can't draw my way out of a paper bag,
and photography is the closest thing to drawing that i can do ...
i am also sort of selfish, i like making visual records of things
because i have a hard time remembering.
i am kind of adrift and was interested in reading what others
had to say on the subject.

john

jnanian said:

Hi PE
to be honest, i am not really sure .
i can't draw my way out of a paper bag,
and photography is the closest thing to drawing that i can do ...
i am also sort of selfish, i like making visual records of things
because i have a hard time remembering.
i am kind of adrift and was interested in reading what others
had to say on the subject.

john

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But I think his question was different, John. Its not drawing vs photography but film bed digital that you were asking of others. I can't draw either... that's why I'm drawn to both photography and staring.

Because buying a digital Leica or large format would be far too expensive

My reasons are simple.
1) I like film. Would you buy a car that you don't like?
2) Digital is what I have to do at work. It's a very efficient, quick process to turnaround marketable exposures, color-corrected and ready for screen.
3) I hate the way that digital cameras (except for the new Fujis, and of course, Leicas) are set up. The control schemes are abysmal. I'm trying to take a photo, not work an Xbox controller.
4) Film forces me to be a better photographer.
5) Film discourages the theory of 'accuracy by volume' that is, well, kinda the core of digital photography.
6) Film grain is beautiful.
7) Large format.
8) People like film cameras. I have a solid collection of antique cameras, and people love them, and are happy to pose.
9) The 'pro' DSLRs like the 1d or the D5 are hideous, bulbous creations that look like something found scattered around a statue to Cthulhu in the lost city of R'lyeh, and I always feel like they're going to sprout tentacles and slither inside my skin while I'm sleeping.

It's always been my experience that working within limits forces me to improve as an artist.

BrianShaw said:

But I think his question was different, John. Its not drawing vs photography but film bed digital that you were asking of others. I can't draw either... that's why I'm drawn to both photography and staring.

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in that case brian, i have no idea why i use film maybe i am just nostalgic

jnanian said:

in that case brian, i have no idea why i use film maybe i am just nostalgic

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That's better reason than mine. I said it was because I'm "thrifty"... which is synonymous with CHEAP.

Beecause I can, and whenever I do, it takes me on an amazing journey!

I went back to film because my digital camera kept blowing out the highlights. As it turns out, that wasn't the fault of the camera....but more a "user" issue. Now that I am better at obtaining proper exposures, I still use film for a lot of projects as it has a spatial feel (3D) that digital cannot mimic. Ever notice how a movie on film appears to have more depth than a video/digital recording? That's why I use film.

Nearly all the film I shoot is b/w, as I think it looks much better than digital. I shoot very, very little color film - I do think digital looks better (once processed) in color, with the exception of chrome, but that's too expensive, and it's more of a hassle to develop. And color printing is much more involved, so that's relegated to a scan and inkjet printing...so if that's the case, just shoot digital and get a better result from the start.

It's also therapeutic, and there's the nostalgic element as well.

Though I haven't shot much slide film in recent times, you can't look at a digital file on a light table. I love seeing film on a light table.

Like others, I just like the look and feel of film. I like to have it in my hands and to be able to make something from it with my hands in a darkroom. I have a thing with seeing the finished product of my projects. It is such a satisfying experience. I never got the same feeling when I worked on something in the digital world - graphic design included.

And, yes, prints from film - even if printed digitally - have a very different aesthetic than digital.

The image is better. The grain looks better. I enjoy the process: composing, taking the photograph, developing the film, and making prints.

jnanian said:

yeah i know its fun, you like to use old cameras, you like something tangible
you like using chemistry and feeling some sort of "kinship" with people from like 100 years ago
but
why do you use film ?

Click to expand...

Because at this time of my life, I use B&W film because I want to. I am not much interested in what others use nor why. Because I want to is the only reason I need. I am not a professional so I don't have any clients to please or any of that. Its a hobby for gosh sakes I try to treat it as one. I have only me to please, of course, it is nice if my wife genuinely likes one of my pictures..........Regards!

Because digital is an artificial facsimile that cannot render things as they truly look!

John, I am a fair artist, not good but fair and I am a good cartoonist. But, I still like film even though it is more difficult than digital. To me, the exposing and processing is more fun.

PE

I would be interested to know what percentage of people shoot film for two very important qualities I value.
First, the ease of archiving the film positives and negatives.
Secondly the ability to make a darkroom print.

A photographer has control when shooting slides, no computer or human photofinisher intervenes.
I can't imagine letting someone else print my work, other than proofing or snaps.

I love RC black and white paper. It's great for all kinds of work, most important to me is it allows me to visualize different variables before I get out the fiber base paper.

Film allows me to make a work on paper, whether it be silver gelatin, my favorite. Or Platinum, or other alternatives.

mshchem said:

I would be interested to know what percentage of people shoot film for two very important qualities I value.
First, the ease of archiving the film positives and negatives.
Secondly the ability to make a darkroom print.

A photographer has control when shooting slides, no computer or human photofinisher intervenes.
I can't imagine letting someone else print my work, other than proofing or snaps.

I love RC black and white paper. It's great for all kinds of work, most important to me is it allows me to visualize different variables before I get out the fiber base paper.

Film allows me to make a work on paper, whether it be silver gelatin, my favorite. Or Platinum, or other alternatives.

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I shoot film for those reasons as well (archiving and printing). I love working in the darkroom, even though I don't get many opportunities to do so throughout the year. Like others here, I value the process from start to finish, from choosing which camera and film I'll use, to knowing I've captured something great when all the elements are working just right, to developing the film and making the prints. I even like the challenging situations I sometimes get myself into, such as having the wrong film, or camera/lens, for a particular situation.

Mostly I shoot film because that's what my cameras use. I know that may sound facetious to some, but it's true. Most digital cameras, and some of the modern film SLRs, are too much like a computer in my hands - I feel more disconnected from the image making process than when I use an old TLR, or hear the shotgun mirror slap of my Nikon FE. I have a F100, but it rarely gets used, even though it's a great film camera because of that very reason. I bought a Fuji x100s a few years ago for low-light and colour work but I really can't get on with that camera. Of course, it doesn't help that I really don't care for spending hours at the computer doing any kind of post-processing, and that includes scanning film and prints.

I will admit that there are times when I think about how much easier it would be to just use a digital camera, as I travel a lot. Every time I prepare for a trip, I have to think about which cameras and lenses I want, plus film varieties and sizes. It would be nice not to have to worry about whether everything will fit in a carry on bag. But, even with those frustrations, I'll still use film every time. It's worth it.