enter the 35mm film
All photographers should try film at least once…
So I had been messing around with my digital camera for a little while, and decided that I was going to go full steam ahead with photography and buy a 35mm film camera. It was time that I tried out what the greats had used before me, it was time I became a “Real” photographer.
I scoured the internet for the best beginner film camera and decided that it was going to be a Pentax, I went on eBay and it was a toss up between the K1000 or the ME Super. I decided that the K1000 was “too mainstream” and went for the super for around £75 with a zoom lens. I decided I wanted a prime as well so got the Pentax 50mm 1.7 for £30, I then bought a few rolls of film from my local store £12 ea, and waited for my camera to arrive.
A few days later it arrived and I went straight onto YouTube - “How to load film” loaded it up, and went for a walk, felt like an absolute boss, pedestrians probably thought to themselves “Who’s that professional? What’s he doing here?”
Click - Click - Click - 36 Clicks later…
Now what? Oh yeah I need to get it developed..Oh what’s that another £18…
£75+£30+£24 - £129 and I haven’t even seen the images yet..
Then something beautiful happened, I received an email with my images in, which made me realise that I was a natural born legend.
The Bear
An early masterpiece
The Sign
An artist in full flow
The Divert
This way for more
The Chosen One
I hope god wasn’t watching me…
Needless to say, obviously the film lab had mixed up my photos with someone else’s, as how could mine be THAT BAD.
After a week of crying into my pillow, the realisation that film photography could be pretty hard and unforgiving if I didn’t practice. I couldn’t just re-take the shot and look at it in my LCD screen, I had no control over it once I had pressed the shutter so I knew I had to slow down and be even more purposeful with my shots.
So I loaded up another roll of film and got out there once again….
Framing
Ektar Tree
The Couple
The Tower
The Park
The Sunset
I started getting the hang of it, and I could see that I was improving. Not by huge amounts, but a slight improvement was better than nothing. I started learning through videos and soon realised that light was probably the best option for making aesthetically pleasing photos.
On the whole, my first experience with 35mm Film photography was a good one. I started having fun with it as well which I think is really important, for me I’m getting my best shots when I’m having fun and feel at ease. It felt like I had connected with a past unknown to me and felt like authentic photography.
I really enjoy shooting film and will most likely continue, but maybe not as much until I can justify spending £30 at a time for a roll and development. The perks of having a Fujifilm is that I can replicate some of the film style, which granted is not exactly the same but is somewhat close for now and I can continue to practice and grow with my digital without the continued cost of film.
