On Film Photography
I would like to get up to develop film. People still shoot film. Sure it's a lot more expensive. The tariff situation hasn't helped but demand is still there. Heck, there was new filmed released just a few months ago.
I develop my own film because it's cheaper than sending it to the lab. My local photo development lab increased their prices while I've been looking to make cutbacks. Did you know that black and white film is cheaper to buy than color? That's because color has additional layers in their film, and developing it takes a little be more work.
Photographing in black and white is a joy. It's the closest thing we can do to portray moments of our lives in such a surreal way. Black and white is surrealist, in my opinion. Just look at that color saturation! It's gone! That can't happen in the real world, can it? Unless there's some sort of vision problem I'm not aware of.
The most recent roll of film I have is from my medium format camera. 12 shots, I only get 12 shots out of one roll, but each shot is high definition. They used to shoot the pictures for photo albums with that dimension.
Did you know that the cover album photo for The Beatle's Abbey Road was shot on 6 x 6 medium format, specifically using a Hasselblad camera from their 500 line? If you didn't know this that's okay. I didn't either and I have been able to make it to my 36th birthday without much harm of whether I know these facts or not, and will continue to do so because this world is filled with endless curiosities.
I really want to develop that roll of black and white film because I put in a lot of work to center myself and only photographer what was compelling to me, whether I captured a portrait or your run of the mill street photography work.
I am completely convinced that if you know what you're doing, you don't need more than a few attempts to capture a photograph.
Digital photography has created horrible habits that film photography remedied, at a cost.
Digital photography is a slippery slope. One moment you're enjoying it, the next you're sifting through 500 photos you hate.
Film photography is also a slipper slope, but it'll hurt your wallet, so you're considerate, as one should be in life. There is no cushion to hold you when you find out a lab accidentally messed up your batch of photos or that they ceased operations despite having a backlog of 3 months and no promises on delivering what people entrusted them with: their souls eye.
Can you tell I love film photography? It feels like I don't, but I love it, even though it gives my wallet the hives.