Should you shoot film in the digital age?

A few thoughts on whether or not you should shoot film in the digital age... Can the resurgence of film photography be attributed to a perception of authenticity in opposition to an overly sterile, perfect, and plastic digital world? Does it's mechanical and analog nature bring with it something real or is it merely nostalgia and a placebo for bringing real change in your life?

[@dqvolskashterka]

My dad gave me an old automatic skina when I was 10- 1994, because I wanted to shoot with his Zenit and it was too precious to be left in a child's hands. I took hundreds of photos with that skina until I dropped it in the Seine on a trip to Paris a few years later in the early 2000ns :D 15 years later my dad went into digital and gave me his old Zenit and sparkled my interest for film photography. I now have the Zenit and the Nikon F100. When I want more nostalgia - I go out with the Zenit, when I want more peace of mind - I go out with the Nikon F100. And when I shoot clients, I shoot my Nikon DSLR :) I just love all of my cameras, they all have their purpose in my life.

[@BrettBodkinsPhotography]

Thats about how it is for me and I enjoyed your personal story! I have an F3, a D500, and a D800 currently, but when I move back stateside I'll probably get some Olympus OM cameras and eventually some kind of medium format camera... I love the variety that it introduces to my portfolio and that's something almost impossible to do with digital... I would have to veer pretty far away from true photography and into the realm of digital imaging to even try... I love not having instant feedback and being able to forget about images and come back to them with a fresh perspective after the fact... With digital, they imprint themselves into my brain the first time I see them on a screen and i don't forget them.. Memories seem to fade more easily with film and I enjoy that!

[@karl1137]

After dealing with the cost of sending my film out to be processed, I put together my own darkroom kit using the Ilford/Patterson starter pack and have been processing my own film ever since. I have also started to develop my own color film as of late using the Cinestill color simplified kit (C41). All told for black and white It was basically a one time startup cost of $100 US. The chemistry for the C41 kit is $30 and is reputed to be able to process up to 24 rolls if chemicals are taken care of, i.e. removing air from bottles once mixed, keeping from light and keeping at room temperature or below.

[@BrettBodkinsPhotography]

Karl, that is cool, I've only ever developed my own black and white and only made prints in a darkroom at school... Its so cool to be able to do your own color... I've always heard that it was so much harder/less feasible, but others have said it's really not much harder that b&w... I don't remember what all I talked about in this video and if what you're saying is in reference to that, but thanks for the comment... Definitely one can get started with just a changing bag, a development tank, and a few chemicals...

[@karl1137]

@@BrettBodkinsPhotography The main issue is temperature control due to the fact that recommended and most common temperature is 102 F (38 C). This is accomplished by using a sous vide or other temperature control unit such as a cinestill tcs-1000 temperature control system or a fish tank heater (the later one I would imagine would be remarkably slow to heater up). A second issue revolves around being careful not to cross contaminate your chemicals. This is even more crucial in color because even color developer and Blix (bleach with fixer) can be reused and often is.

[@BrettBodkinsPhotography]

That sounds pretty cool.... I usually send out my color films, and decide on B&W depending on what else I have going on in life and how much I'm shooting, whether I have chemicals or not.. Currently, I left my stuff in Peru and so I won't be developing anytime too soon... In fact only have a semi-auto film camera at the moment (Nikon EM)... Maybe once I get my life settled here in the US, I'll try out some color developing!! Still have a laundry list of things to do first however!!

[@Ktheodoss]

For me photography is a hobby. An enjoyable activity that I can’t explain to someone who’s not into it. I own three digital cameras and about ten film cameras. I use all of them but I gravitate more to the fully manual film cameras. Sometimes I don’t even bother to put in a battery and will use a light meter. It is slow. And I like it that way. I think about the shot. I move around to see different angles. I check my view finder a few times to get best composition. I decide my aperture based on my desired DOF. Then I take the shot. I personally find this way of shooting more engaging. But film doesn’t compete with digital for me. Neither does my medium format compete with 35mm. All tools in the same tool box.

[@BrettBodkinsPhotography]

Yeah, I love the differences between film and digital as well... I love the shooting style of film... I just wish a manufacturer would make a split prism matte glass viewfinder in a digital camera for manual focus operation... I agree that the two don't compete, but exist simultaneously... I think about the shoot/trip I have planned and then pick the camera best suited for that shoot! Pretty much any paid shoot is digital for me, but one of these days I plan to really put forth the effort to do a cool film project... Right now my film stuff is all casual fun days! I would love to see a manufacturer use the film camera as a model.... No screen, no menus, no AF, just a few dials and thats it!!!! Thanks for watching bud! Have a good one!