I've been shooting exclusively in digital since Calvin was born. In six years I haven't picked up our film cameras once. But having watching Maria, and then Hannah play so beautifully with film, I've been thinking about our old camera - packed away in the attic. Our trip North last weekend seemed the perfect opportunity to visit it again - no crafting came with us into the woods, but our trusty old film camera did, and I was so excited to play with it.
It took a bit to get used to the whole 'one shot' deal again. I think that was a good thing. With digital it's so easy to just shoot - gobs of photos - and end up with the best shot. But with precious expensive film, well, a whole different story. I found myself really framing shots, paying attention more, slowing down, and thinking about what I was shooting more than with digital.
There's nothing like the anticipation of picking up a roll of developed film. Ah, so fun. And a bit of magic, really....versus our instant "let me see it!" that we're used to on the digital LCD screens. My 35mm lightmeter is completely shot, but I think we managed okay. I shot in 200 speed, and was expecting (hoping) for a bit more grain, even. Still, I'm pleased with the results. (They scanned a bit darker than they actually are).
These pictures make me very happy. In a quiet sort of way, which I can't really explain. I suppose I don't need to.
I think it's caused me to give a little more thought to how I shoot digital- maybe just to slow it down a bit. And while I have no intention (or budget!) to shoot lots of film, I do think it won't be packed back into the attic. The next time we head into the woods, it will be coming with us. There's something organic about shooting film that feels like a
pleasant match to me with time spent in the quiet, slow, and calm of
nature.
I've posted a few more of my favorites over on Flickr. You can find them in the Film photoset.
