The magic of film photography

The magic of film photography

by kristien 

I’ve always had a thing for photography. OK no, I’m lying. Like most people I always took crappy holiday pictures and didn’t really think there was more you could do but point and click. Until I met my first boyfriend who had just discovered his talent for photography. Consequently, I tagged along on his journey in the world of photography until I couldn’t keep up with his steep learning curve. I decided photography was fun but not for me as I didn’t seem to get it like he and his peers did.
It wasn’t until last year, when I dusted off my dads old analog camera and took some shots with the help of my current boyfriend (who’s also a photographer. Yes, I do seem to have a pattern *cough*.) and saw the results that I realized that I am capable of understanding photography.

If you want to learn photography and despite all the books and workshops you follow, you just can’t seem to get the hang of it, I recommend giving film photography a try. It will change your perspective on photography and will make you stop and reflect more before attempting your shot.

Some tips I wanted to share from my first analog attempts:

1. Read the manual of your camera

Don’t be that idiot who thinks he’s too cool for manuals. You don’t want to waste a film roll simply because you don’t know how to properly insert it in your camera (or even worse, not getting it safely out and ruining your pictures). Also you’d want to know what kind of indicators your camera uses for focus, shutter speed etc.
My dad lost the manual of his camera but luckily there are some good souls out there who have uploaded manuals of vintage camera’s. I found the manual for my Mamiya here.
If you’re planning on buying a second hand SLR, ask the current owner how to use it.

2. Check if there’s a film in it

Now I know this sounds super obvious, but I was that idiot that assumed that there was a roll in the camera simply because the counter added a number whenever I pulled the trigger. Yeah…imagine my surprise when I tried to rewind the non-existent film roll after 36 imaginary shots (my inner five year old got unleashed. Hissy fits and all.).
So here’s a tip, try to rewind the film roll, you’ll easily feel the resistance of a roll getting rewind when there actually is one in there. You’ll have to rewind the whole thing and possibly develop a half empty roll (assuming you want to see what’s on there) but trust me, that really beats spending hours making pictures that don’t exist. (But on the bright side, I did learn to handle my camera settings during those hours which made my next attempts a bit easier.)

3. Pay attention to what film roll you use

Unlike with digital camera’s, you can’t just change the ISO of a film roll. You can push it a bit, yes, but you can’t push it very far. So depending on when and where you’re going to shoot, you’ll have to take in account what film roll you’re going to use. A monochrome ISO 3200 film in full blazing daylight? Nope nope nope.

4. Bring extra film rolls with you

We’re so used to taking a minimum of 100 images on digital film that a mere 36 pictures will probably not be enough for anyone.

5. Just have fun

Don’t over think, just take pictures and don’t worry about what the end result will look like. Even if you’re pictures don’t turn out like you want them to, you’ll learn a lot from it. And also remember, the charm of film photography lies in tiny (or less tiny) imperfections.