Film Photography in the Digital Age 

Nowadays everyone seems to have a camera on them at all times, whether it be on their phone or through a dedicated camera. However, most recently, there’s been a rise in the use of film. Which about 10 years ago was almost being called a dead medium. Digital cameras simplified the method of taking photos and even viewing them. Yet photographers have started going back to the way of getting a film roll, reeling it into a camera, rolling back the film after every frame and even developing the film. There are many reasons as to why photographers have decided to go back. Whether it be because of the look, or the process of it. But film photography is the superior form of photography. 

Every Shot Counts 

Following photographers on Instagram and other social media, I’ve started to notice the shift from where digital was the norm and now where film has almost completely taken over my feed. Each photographer has their own reason as to why they switched from digital to film. Photographer Vincent Moscetti recalls after a trip to Iceland, he came back with over 3,000 photos on his camera (Scoblete, 2019). Having a digital camera usually means you can shoot almost as many photos as you’d like. However, doing so, doesn’t necessarily mean every photo is meaningful. The focus of photography is to capture a specific moment of time. Not every moment. Film rolls can only shoot so much compared to a digital camera, typically around 24 frames per roll. Making every shot count. There has to be much more thought put into every frame rather than just pointing and shooting. Composition plays a major role in photography. Whether your subject of the photo is centered in the photo or a landscape appears straight in a photo. 

The Developing Process 

With film cameras there’s a much more slowed down process than a digital camera. Taking a digital photo, you get an immediate look at how the photo looks. Whether it be through a computer screen or the screen on the back of the camera. With film, there’s the developing process in between. Whether you send it off to a lab or develop it yourself, there’s a period where you don’t get to see how your photos actually turned out. Not everyone develops their film right away either. Photographer Willem Verbeeck had said “if I look at it two months later I feel like I have a more open-minded approach and I can actually see like oh this really wasn’t that great or this worked out really” (Moment, 2019) Having that time to sit on a photo can really show you whether you like it or not. As someone who shoots on a digital camera, I almost try to mimic the developing process. Where I’d leave photos on my computer for a month or two before I even decide to begin editing it. Coming to a photo with an open mind helps develop the photo further in my opinion. 

The Beauty of Film 

Meir, Nat (2022) : @softboifilms 

Not only does the process of film lead to better photos, but so does the look. Film tends to have a not so perfect look with every photo. Compared to the clean and sharp look of digital photography. Film almost gives the highlights of a photo a glow. There’s this almost nostalgic look and feel to it. The colors are also just vibrant compared
to digital. Digital photography is typically shot in a RAW format, meaning it has a flat profile making it easier to edit. However, I love the look the film has almost right out of the camera.

The Negative of Film

The one downside to film is that it isn’t necessarily the cheapest. Not only do you have to buy a camera and lenses. But there’s the rolls of film, and if you wanna develop it yourself there’s a ton of materials needed just to do so. Getting it developed in a lab isn’t the cheapest either. Film isn’t like digital where you can just clear the space on your memory card and be able to take more photos. You’ll constantly need to buy film every time you want to take more photos. Plus, if you want to transfer photos to your phone or computer, you’ll wanna make sure to get a good scan of them. 

Conclusion

Film isn’t only on the rise in photography. Music videos, feature films and so much more recent media have been shot on film. Most recently all of Euphoria season two was shot on film, more specifically Kodak Ektachrome. Which was produced after years of being discontinued just for the show. I think film has almost invigorated people’s love for cinematography and photography and I’m very curious to see where people take it further.

References  

Scoblete, G. (2019, May-June). The Guardian Angels of Analogue Photography: Meet the

entrepreneurs and photographers who are keeping film alive. Photo District News, 39(5),

38+.

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A586239111/ITOF?u=cuny_ccny&sid=bookmark-ITOF

xid=68598862

Meir, Nat (2022, March 21) [@kodakprofessional made my favorite stock, kodak gold 200,

available in 120 format!!!].Retrieved from

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbXc2Xwgxxt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Moment. (2020, Sep 3) Willem Verbeeck “Why I Shoot Film” [Video]. Youtube.

Reflection 

The previous two papers we weren’t required to use sources so I was worried about finding sources as well as citing for this paper. I’ve never been the best at looking for sources, so learning the CCNY database and how to properly cite helped a ton. But then came paraphrasing and summarizing which I’ve never really done before. Probably because I’ve always viewed direct quotes as the easiest way to cite. So learning how to properly paraphrase and summarize has certainly helped me with citing my sources as well as making sure most of my paper isn’t quotes from others. 

I do feel like I had engaged with the collaborative part of writing much more with this writing piece than the others. There were multiple times where my partner, Kianna, and I had read each other’s papers while previously we had just done during one class. 

The biggest part when coming up with the essay was finding the sources, which I had used one from the CCNY database, and the visual element and second source came from some of my favorite photographers. I didn’t start writing until I had these. The three kind of set me on target on how and what I should write about. We were required to have one scholarly article in this piece So i had to make sure there was one on the topic I wanted to write about before starting. 

Coming up with the topic was the easiest part for me however since photography is something I look at on a daily basis. I shoot on digital myself as it’s cheaper however most of my instagram feed has become photographers who shoot on film.