Last summer, as I was looking for my old dance outfits in my basement, I stumbled upon my dad's 1983 Nikon FG film camera. I snapped open the fraying old case and found what would come to be the epicenter of my new favorite hobby. At first glance, the camera definitely looked aged. There was some nasty and crusty battery residue on the bottom and it sure looked like it was 35 years old.
I had always been interested in the 1980s. For some reason, I felt nostalgic for that decade even though I was born way after it. I found myself going through my parents' old photographs when they were in college and have always loved the raw and gritty look that film photography gives off.
Nowadays everything is airbrushed, FaceTuned, and edited to the extreme.
I took it upon myself to fix up this old camera. I cleaned it, took it to a camera store, watched countless YouTube videos, and went on a very long search for the correct batteries. After about 2 weeks, it was ready to go. I ordered a pack of 35 mm film on Amazon and was ready to begin shooting.
Shooting film is so much more of an experience than taking pictures on your phone or even on a nice DSLR camera. The fact that there's no screen to show you what you shot and that you have to manually pull a lever every time you want to take a new shot is so exciting to me. Shooting film is a much more active activity than shooting on a digital camera. With film you can't just passively press a button; you have to be present.
Another reason why I love film photography is the developing portion of the process. Personally, I don't know how to develop my own film. So, after some research, I found a camera store about 20 minutes away from my house. The staff there is so friendly and knowledgable about photography. They are always there to answer my questions, and they also do a damn good job at developing my film.
Having 24 shots per roll, you often forget exactly what pictures you shot. The camera store I go to takes only one to two days to develop your film and going back to receive the envelope of your prints is the most exciting and fulfilling thing.
Of course, you can always print out the photos you've taken on your digital camera, but there's something so special about having prints of 35 mm photographs.
It's timeless, raw, gritty, and beautiful. I think that my photos always turn out a little bit better when there's a small mistake or two on the developed prints.
To put it simply, film photography has an essence of magic to it. I highly recommend you all give it a shot because once you go film, you never go back.
