14. Experimenting with Film
Film photography is something I’ve always been interested in- but never pursued. My father has always had a huge interest in photography, and over the years has built up a lot of practice with digital, however, has always had a precious old film camera. I have always appreciated the tangible nature of physical photos, and how interesting it is to look at them- I’ve passed many hours through childhood looking through shoeboxes of old photos belonging to my parents.
While in Sweden, I was introduced to some friends with a great interest in photography. We spoke quite a lot, and they had asked whether I was interested in trying out film photography- which I was very keen on. They surprised me with a roll of film for my birthday- and generously lent me one of their point and shoot cameras to take and experiment with. It was incredibly touching and thoughtful and proved immense fun to go and take photos with.
I was immediately struck by how much freedom there can be found in the limited number of photos, and the inability to see what has been taken. It allows the focus to be on actually observing, seeing what could make an interesting photo- but not necessarily shooting constantly, as digital photography allows. It means that each photo is more considered in a sense- it’s worth, as one of a limited number, is higher- so the photo feels valuable- and like it should be of something special. I really enjoyed the fact that there is no way to check the photo- it meant that I really made the most of being in that moment.
Going to get the photos developed was exciting but paled in comparison to picking them up- I had butterflies in my stomach wondering whether I would receive 36 blurs, or if the photos would be good. I got such a thrill opening the envelope and seeing that the majority of the photos weren’t completely blurry (a few were), but that they really captured some favourite moments. Here are a few of them:
The result of my adventures in film is a package of 36 photos- one of the best souvenirs I’ve ever come across. It brings together a tangible collection of my favourite moments on this adventure and allows me to put some in a frame, show them to my grandmother, and really connect with those 36 photos, rather than hundreds that will rarely get looked at again (although those also exist). I’m looking forward to continuing experimenting with film photography and would be interested in practicing architectural photography- learning more while building up skills and techniques.
Until next week!
AP
Note: I used Kodak ColorPlus film (36 exp 200) and an Olympus point and shoot camera (I believe the model is a mju-2) to take these photos.