Blog #5
Since May 2024 I have been shooting exclusively on my latest camera purchase the Leica M6. Before that I've only shot digital.
Venturing into film photography is a new (old) territory for me. I’m old enough to remember the good old days where we only had film. I have so many memories attached to film photography.
When I think about my family and childhood memories, I naturally think of the classic vintage looking photographs. You know the slightly blurry or out of focus grainy photographs. Mmm... I wanted to experience that feeling again.
So, my return to film photography is both familiar and new at the same time. The first roll I shot (Fuji 200) I also scanned at home - I was pleasantly blown away.
For a split second I thought why are these photographs so different and grainy looking. Well because it was actual film and not a film simulation or magic added in post. I loved what I was looking at and the feeling I got from looking at said photograph. I thought to myself “I want to make more street photographs like this”.
From that moment on I got obsessed on a whole other level – the good and healthy kind of obsession. Well at least that’s what I tell myself when I’m spending money frivolously.
The insatiable hunger to learn
Since mid May when I purchased my Leica M6 I've already learned so much about film photography.
I have always been curious of things and especially things that are complex in nature. The 3 main things I took a deep dive into has be very gratifying so far and are very essential when doing film photography.
Choices choices - Kodak, Ilford, Cinestill, Fomapan...
I started out investigating and understanding film stocks more in depth as I only had surface level knowledge at that point. I started to buy film long before I bough my camera, sometimes I would find film at a reduced price and ended up buying 2-3 rolls just as a keepsake.
It was mostly Kodak Gold 200. But as I mentioned I had no idea of the characteristics of the different color and black and white films that sets them apart.
So, I decided to try them all one by one. Starting with the “cheaper” film stocks such as Kodak Gold, ColorPlus, Ultramax and Fuji 200. They might be considered "cheaper" film stocks but they are hardly cheap anymore.
The reasoning behind it was purely to experiment and get some mileage in as a film street photographer. As of writing I have shot a total of 7 rolls of film – which is an average of 1 roll per week.
Also as much as I would like to try out the more popular films stocks as Kodak Portra 400/800 or Cinestill 800T I have decided to wait until I have a good basic understanding of handing my camera – which is still very new to me.
In a way I had to re-learn street photography once again. This time really enjoying the process and taking everything slowly and in its own pace.
The calculated deep dives
The next deep dive I took was more a calculated deep dive. It’s no secret that film photography is a very expensive endeavour, the constant increase of film, development and scanning costs. I already knew this and accepted this as a necessary evil.
But there were a few things I could do to save a bit of money. Doing DSLR/ mirrorless aka home scanning and bulk loading film (this is mostly for black and white film).
For the home scanning setup there were a bit of money to be saved in the long run so after the initial research I decided to invest in the home scanning setup. I already have a full frame mirrorless camera which is the most important piece of the equation.
I bought a simple starter kit from VALOI; a light source and a 135mm film holder to go on top of it. After a few tries I invested in a 1:1 true macro lens – that gave the best results when comparing to extension tubes.
In my tests the extension tubes gave a very soft look at the edges of the photographs and there was a very notable difference in using a 1:1 macro lens vs a standard lens paired with a couple of extension tubes.
The last piece of the setup was the negative conversion software I bought. I rather pay a one-time fee to convert my negatives to positives in post contra doing it manually – which is a hassle by the way.
So, the initial costs or investment as I call it in my home scanning setup will save me money in the long run and only after 30 lab scans or so it would have been paid for.
The other way of saving money is bulk loading film. If you aren’t familiar with the concept, it’s very simple. You buy a 100ft or 30.5 meter roll of bulk film and then use a bulk loader to roll your own film.
A 100ft roll gives 18 rolls of film (with 36 exposures). I do like to shoot in black and white and for me this is a great way to save some money where possible. Even though the significant rise of film has made the savings margin a lot less.
Here again the one-time initial investment in the setup will pay itself fully over time.
A film shooter in the making
I love everything about shooting film particularly the excitement with loading a new roll of film in the camera and again when the roll is finished when the film can’t be advanced anymore. Which means it’s time to try out a new roll.
I don’t regret buying a film camera in 2024 and as I wrote in my previous post the Leica M6 is for me the ultimate street photography camera. Period.
As noted before I want to try out as many film stocks as possible and as of writing I have accumulated 50 rolls of film ready to be shot this summer. Ambitious I know.
I love that fact that I have to re-learn street photography all over again as film is considerably different than digital. I enjoy at times the slower process of making a photograph much more than just taking a photograph. Yes, there is a difference albeit a psychological one.
Well I’m still in the honeymoon phase of my film photography journey I started to think about what kind of street photographer I’m becoming.
What will I be known for, or what would I like to be known for from now on;
A film street photographer, a digital street photographer or something else; a hybrid shooter.
That’s the topic of next month’s blog.
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