Changing Attitude on Film

Lately, I’ve noticed that I’m shooting less and less digital stuff and thinking more and more about shooting film. That kind of surprises me. While I never really abandoned film after I started shooting digital, it was always something that I did for fun or nostalgia. I tended to use my digital gear for everyday shooting and was comfortable with it.

I’m also finding that I don’t have a strong desire to follow new developments in the digital realm, either. I use to be a devout follower of all of the rumor sites and was always curious what was coming next from all of the digital camera manufacturers. I can’t tell you the last time I looked at any of those sites.

I think there are a couple of things at play somewhere between my conscious and my subconscious. The first is that I hit a point of sufficiency with my digital gear. My D800 is more camera than I use for 98% of my shooting. I can count on one hand the number of times that I’ve needed all 36 megapixels of resolution that the D800 can offer. Getting more pixels from a D850 or a Z7 or a Sony A7r Mk IV would just mean more space per file on my hard drive. And I just don’t print bigger than 16×24 on a regular basis at the moment. All of those cameras have some nice features that I’d like to have (the body based shake reduction in the Z7 and the A7r being the most appealing). Still, I’m happy with what I have and I don’t feel the need to upgrade to anything else. Because of that, digital doesn’t have the appeal that it once did. It’s a mature technology that serves me well but it doesn’t stir anything deep inside of me.

The film cameras that I use on a regular basis are far more interesting. I like shooting with TLRs. I absolutely adore being under the dark cloth with my large format gear. And I love the look that I get from those cameras. To the point that the stuff I’ve been buying on eBay and Amazon are tools to use those cameras more effectively. Things like a full filter kit (including a long desired Rolleinar close up lens for my Rollei!). Who knew that a Red 25 filter could bring so much joy?

And when I look back at digital shots that I never posted like this one:

all I can think is “I wish I had shot that on 8×10.” I’ve never been able to get the kind of B&W shots from digital that I can from film. Even after tweaking the exposure and color channel curves on shots like this, there’s a harshness that screams digital to me. Big pieces of film with classic film emulsions have such a pretty tonality to them. The way that the tones work together is something I have not been able to achieve with digital (and not for a lack of trying).

So I think I’m just going to roll with it and see where it goes. I’ll probably still use digital in the situations where it shines (low light work, for example) and I still love carrying my little Coolpix A as my go everywhere camera. But dedicated film walks? Those will be the realm of film for the time being in my world.