Why shoot analogue colour photos?

[neuromantism]

Really interesting discussion about seriousness in photography.
In my view the answer to >>"If you're serious about photography..."<< is that you must have other people that want your work, that are willing to pay for your work and that you consistently deliver in your photography. So basically, you're a professional photog.
In this case I suspect that most of the people on this discussion board are no longer or never were serious about photography.
I was working for a short time as someone, who's tasks were not only limited to, but largely based on my photography skills and while it was fun, it was not something that I really wanted to do in a long term, despite that I was requested several times if I could continue so.
But I did not want to do photography, that I was relly enjoying otherwise, seriously.
Let people be unserious about their hobbies.
For me, what is important, is that if you want to share and show off with your hobby work, with your craft, is that you come out clean, or at least respond sincirely to questions, as opposed to obscuring or straight out lying about what you've done. I find exeption in a case, if it is something patentable - then, let it stay obscured, if that's your wish.

For me, I love shooting colour film emulsion because I love looking at it, being it in prints (that I have never done myself) or be it digital scans (which show an extreme amount of detail if done properly). I love the organic look of grain, which is different than what most of digital grain simulations are offering. I love the color transitions, which are too hard for me to recreate. I love the ruminary elements in the process, and I love the magic of science that is shown in photographic chemistry. I do also love the magic of science of electronic photosensors, but digital photography doesn't exhaust my curiosity and desire for taking/making pictures.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Really interesting discussion about seriousness in photography.
In my view the answer to >>"If you're serious about photography..."<< is that you must have other people that want your work, that are willing to pay for your work and that you consistently deliver in your photography. So basically, you're a professional photog.
In this case I suspect that most of the people on this discussion board are no longer or never were serious about photography.
I was working for a short time as someone, who's tasks were not only limited to, but largely based on my photography skills and while it was fun, it was not something that I really wanted to do in a long term, despite that I was requested several times if I could continue so.
But I did not want to do photography, that I was relly enjoying otherwise, seriously.
Let people be unserious about their hobbies.
For me, what is important, is that if you want to share and show off with your hobby work, with your craft, is that you come out clean, or at least respond sincirely to questions, as opposed to obscuring or straight out lying about what you've done. I find exeption in a case, if it is something patentable - then, let it stay obscured, if that's your wish.

For me, I love shooting colour film emulsion because I love looking at it, being it in prints (that I have never done myself) or be it digital scans (which show an extreme amount of detail if done properly). I love the organic look of grain, which is different than what most of digital grain simulations are offering. I love the color transitions, which are too hard for me to recreate. I love the ruminary elements in the process, and I love the magic of science that is shown in photographic chemistry. I do also love the magic of science of electronic photosensors, but digital photography doesn't exhaust my curiosity and desire for taking/making pictures.

Welcome to Photrio!

 

[zfshi]

I used to shoot color negative film but I printed them in my darkroom. Now having no darkroom I shoot color slide film and project them. It's fun to shoot film although expensive.

I plan to shoot slide films too. 135, 6x4.5, 6x6, since I have both 135 and 6x6 slide projectors. Now I have a 6x9 camera, I want to use it to shoot slide films too but can’t be projected, so I plan to buy some acrylic frames and archive the slides so I can view them on an LED light display.

 

[ChrisGalway]

Inspired by all the responses to my original post ... thank you! ... I shot 3 rolls of Kodak Gold 200 last week on holiday using my Mamiya 7ii and 80mm lens. One of the attractions of film photography for me (incl colour neg) is that I now have to wait to see if any or all of the shots come out! Maybe the camera leaked light and everything is fogged? Or I might screw up the processing when I get around to it in the next week or so!

I like slow photography.

 

[Pieter12]

Inspired by all the responses to my original post ... thank you! ... I shot 3 rolls of Kodak Gold 200 last week on holiday using my Mamiya 7ii and 80mm lens. One of the attractions of film photography for me (incl colour neg) is that I now have to wait to see if any or all of the shots come out! Maybe the camera leaked light and everything is fogged? Or I might screw up the processing when I get around to it in the next week or so!

I like slow photography.

One can slow digital photography, too. Turn off image playback or cover the camera's monitor with a bit of black card and artist's tape (comes off easily, leaves no residue). Then don't download the files for a week. Simple.

 

[gbroadbridge]

One can slow digital photography, too. Turn off image playback or cover the camera's monitor with a bit of black card and artist's tape (comes off easily, leaves no residue). Then don't download the files for a week. Simple.

For real fun, lock the ISO and turn off the AF too.

 

[BMbikerider]

This post was stimulated by https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...p-better-than-kodak-gold-or-colorplus.215894/ but rather than go off-topic on that thread, I'll make the comment here:

If you are going to digitally post-process colour photos (colour negatives or positives), why bother to shoot analogue rather than digital (RAW)?

I think I can be convinced that shooting analogue B&W and scanning might be worthwhile ... to give a distinctive "look" to the final retro image, but surely there is less of a case for colour?

Of course, one perfectly valid response is: because it's so much more fun shooting film! And I'm sure there are many other good reasons, but I'm curious to know them.

I love shooting film, and all my B&W work uses film which is scanned, but when it comes to colour for prints etc, I now use a digital camera. I should add that my main hobby is stereo transparencies, viewed in an optical viewer, and digital displays come nowhere near the quality of a transparency viewed optically or directly, so of course I use film.

The reply I would give is Why not?

 

[Pieter12]

For real fun, lock the ISO and turn off the AF too.

I mostly shoot digital in manual mode (both focus and exposure), set ISO. Sometimes I will lapse and shoot in aperture-priority. And I never chimp. Playback/review is turned off on when possible.

 

[albireo]

Inspired by all the responses to my original post ... thank you! ... I shot 3 rolls of Kodak Gold 200 last week on holiday using my Mamiya 7ii and 80mm lens. One of the attractions of film photography for me (incl colour neg) is that I now have to wait to see if any or all of the shots come out! Maybe the camera leaked light and everything is fogged? Or I might screw up the processing when I get around to it in the next week or so!

I like slow photography.

The Mamiya 7 camera is wonderful. I handled one once. It's great that you give yours a workout with colour film. It's a pleasure to use it and the lenses are stellar.

It's a solid bit of kit which has exactly what you need to take excellent photos, nothing more, nothing less. Control over focus, aperture, shutter speed and little more.

Much better than trying to do the same by defeating automatisms on an overengineered portable computer with myriads useless or semi useless buttons getting in the way, usb sockets, huge batteries, menus, sub-menus, displays. Oh and with digital cameras you'll increasingly have to endure composing by peeking into a puny digital display with more flashing info than the cockpit of an F35 fighter jet. So distracting, so useless IME. A solution in search of a problem.

And that is even before you get the to enjoy the beauty of those huge Gold 200 negatives well scanned or well printed.

Enjoy!

 

[Agulliver]

For real fun, lock the ISO and turn off the AF too.

I often do turn off the AF. Or even use old manual focus lenses on my Nikon DSLRs. One of the least necessary features of modern photography in my opinion. YMMV of course, many millions find it a game changer in a good way. still doesn't emulate film photography though.

 

[ChrisGalway]

Inspired by the responses above, I shot three rolls of Kodak Gold on my Mamiya 7ii whilst on holiday a few weeks ago and just processed the first roll today.

Isn't C41 easy? I've processed >150 rolls of Provia in E6 over the past five years, it's much more involved, although still not difficult.

When you process E6, at the end, taking the film off the spool, you get a REWARD, beautiful jewels of colour transparencies! (Albeit with a slight milkiness that disappears on drying.). But with C41, there is no reward, just NEGATIVES, yuk yuk yuk!

So now I have to scan these, what a pain.

(Do not take this post too seriously please)

 

[tcolgate]

These came up on a thread online recently. For me it is 100% about the cameras. I find digital cameras a bit boring to use (the "fun" features aren't all that fun). My own experience is also that people tend to find old cameras (TLRs especially), a lot less imposing, so if I am going somewhere new where I might want to take a few colour photos (like a trip to Rome last year), a TLR with some colour film is a great option for me. I'd feel a lot more self conscious using a digital camera in a city.

 

[albireo]

These came up on a thread online recently. For me it is 100% about the cameras. I find digital cameras a bit boring to use (the "fun" features aren't all that fun). My own experience is also that people tend to find old cameras (TLRs especially), a lot less imposing

I find public reaction depends a lot on where in the world you are. I have a few TLRs and walking around with one of them hanging from my neck will result in either what you suggest (e.g. in the UK or Spain IME), or in a dramatically different reaction.

If you walk around with a TLR in Germany, you will many times elicit incredible curiosity, with people on the younger side asking you what's that thing (happened to me), policemen at events asking you to show them it's in fact a camera and not something else (also happened) and -frequently- middle aged people stopping you in the street to examine the camera and tell you their father took pictures with one of them for a lifetime and in TWO occasions that their father built or designed those in the Braunschweig factory.

 

[Agulliver]

In my neck of the woods, mostly East Anglia in the UK (though i travel a fair amount) attitudes have changed. 10 years ago I was considered mad by some for being out and about with film cameras. The general assumption was also that I could not possibly be taking photos because "you can't get film any more". Didn't matter if I was out with a 90s SLR or a pre-WW1 box camera. Same reaction....bemusement, confusion, even distrust. During the first covid lockdown I spent a fair amount of time in the countryside a few minutes walk from my house, and I later learned that I acquired an unenviable reputation. Gossip among the more excitable neighbours was that I was up to no good photographing them....while kids thought I was shooting lasers. In 2019 when I resumed regular gig photography after a long hiatus, again people thought I was nuts to even try...then they saw the results.... More recently there have been up to 5 people shooting on film at my local music club, which has a capacity of just 95. I've shot two album covers on film, shot photos and even cine film that has been used to promote gigs, and been described as "a legendary gig photographer" by someone who plays with big name rock bands. Shooting film has opened a lot of doors for me, in fact.

Now, in 2025, when people see me out and about they are curious. The older people ask how long I've had the camera (if it appears older than me), what film I have, where I bought it because they have something similar in the attic....younger people want to know how long I've been shooting film, what my favourite films are etc. The assumption that I might be up to no good, or mentally ill, has completely gone.

but why have I shot film, and particularly colour film? Mostly because I enjoy it. certainly not to get a reaction from people....though occasionally to see if I can prove them wrong, (eg. "bet you can't shoot *that* on film").

 

[loccdor]

I hate being the center of attention so part of my calculus on what camera to use when out among throngs of people is actually what is least likely to inspire conversation. Probably why I only have one TLR.

 

[Nikon 2]

A few more...

No worries about memory card failures.
Mechanical cameras are ready to shoot in an instant.
Long exposures are an uncomplicated thing to do, as are multiple exposures.
I like to see a little grain in an image.
Medium format is much less expensive.
There is nostalgia and emotion in the way film renders.
I don't want to look at screens, especially in bright sunlight or on dark streets.
Lenses are cheaper.
I learn more about the imaging process when there are more manual steps.
Digital cameras have less variation in their design.
A process that has less room for error is more sterile and less interesting.
Simplicity can be liberating.
I already tried digital cameras and nothing compelled me to keep taking photos with them, I threw the photos in a folder and forgot about them until the next hard drive crash.

If my budget tightened, I'd make each shot more important and take less of them. And I'd sell half of my lenses and cameras.

When I shot film I saw nostalgia and felt aesthetics. Leaving film brought me to the Leica M-D 262. Comparison of the too formats enabled me to realize how much more digital captures the essence without the film’s signature getting in the way…

 

[loccdor]

@Nikon 2

Different strokes. Leaving film for 10 years brought me to the Sony NEX paired with my vintage lenses and also the Fuji X100S. I took very few images and found it very difficult to be motivated or inspired to change that. I have many contacts who produce great digital pictures, it just isn't for me.

 

[albireo]

When I shot film I saw nostalgia and felt aesthetics. Leaving film brought me to the Leica M-D 262. Comparison of the too formats enabled me to realize how much more digital captures the essence without the film’s signature getting in the way

A quick google suggests this Leica is a 7000$ camera.

I can see how you'd really, really want it to capture that 'essence'!

 

[Nikon 2]

While using a vintage 50mm Summicron Rigid with the M-D 262, I find a more pleasant less sterile image than those using a modern APO…!

 

[Sirius Glass]

I hate being the center of attention so part of my calculus on what camera to use when out among throngs of people is actually what is least likely to inspire conversation. Probably why I only have one TLR.

I do not care what other people think my using film. It is none of their business.

 

[Nikon 2]

A quick google suggests this Leica is a 7000$ camera.

I can see how you'd really, really want it to capture that 'essence'!

You get what you pay for…

 

[Nikon 2]

I do not care what other people think my using film. It is none of their business.

I’ve shot film for over 30+ years. If it wasn’t for digital I’d still be shooting film…

 

[Nikon 2]

@Nikon 2

Different strokes. Leaving film for 10 years brought me to the Sony NEX paired with my vintage lenses and also the Fuji X100S. I took very few images and found it very difficult to be motivated or inspired to change that. I have many contacts who produce great digital pictures, it just isn't for me.

 

[loccdor]

I do not care what other people think my using film. It is none of their business.

Haha, neither do I. I just don't usually want to talk to people when doing photography.

 

[Nikon 2]

I like what I get from digital…