In the age of instant gratification and digital photography, I recently started shooting film. I’m by no means the first to start doing so--there are plenty of people that shoot film and excel at it, and it’s still taught in some high schools as an elective. However, I’ve picked out a few things that shooting film has really taught me, not only about photography, but also life.
Think before you act.
Anyone in the history of the world who has done something they regret (which, and I’m just guessing here, is probably everyone, sans a few psychopaths). We are becoming more and more entitled, insatiable and have this crazy thirst for acting immediately. We want it, and we want it now--whether it is stuff or money to buy more stuff, we want all of the success with none of the effort. Digital photography, when compared to shooting film, is a perfect nod to this progression of our society. On my Canon, I can shoot six frames a second and on a 32 gigabyte card, I can hold about 1,100 shots. That is SO many pictures, I literally delete about a quarter of that because I just hold down the button and rapid fire, then pick one frame.
This is almost everyone’s tactic in photography that I’ve seen; I mean, why wouldn’t it be? If you blast out 18 pictures in three seconds, you’re way more likely to get a sharp and proper frame than a single shot. However, just like in life, thinking about exactly what it is you’re about to do before you do it will probably yield better results. Film makes you stop and think. You have to find your exposure, manually focus (in some cases), and frame your shot. You can’t just aim and fire from the hip, praying to your deity of choice that you get your shot. You have to earn that shot. I think, especially with the way the media has been looking lately, everyone could do with a little thinking before they speak and act.
Your life will, inevitably, not always go the way you'd hoped.
Big shocker here, right? Look, there are an absolutely immeasurable amount of sayings and references throughout the ages about how little control we have over this crazy life and world of ours, and that it’s best to just go with the flow and take things in stride. That’s all well and good, but nothing bites quite as much as getting four rolls of 120 film developed (12 shots a piece) and really only getting about five or 10 shots that came out how you thought they would.
Now, of course, if you look at my first tip and think about your shot, then you’re a lot more likely to get what you expect, but even the best-laid plans go awry. No matter how much you prep for the interview, or how you line your day up using a schedule hoping to follow it to the letter, things will happen. Traffic will make you late, someone will cancel on you, you won’t get the job, you’ll miss an opportunity. The important lesson most people leave out here isn’t “life sucks, get over it,” it’s more along the lines of “life sucks, now get back out there champ.” Opportunities will come and go, but you’ll never get the best photo possible if you were never there to take it. Load another roll of film and keep at it.
Patience is a virtue, anticipation makes everything sweeter.
There is nothing quite like the night before Christmas morning as a child; you lie there, too excited to even sleep. You know what’s coming, maybe not exactly, but you have some ideas, some hopes. You are drooling at the thought of tearing open that wrapping paper and being with your family in front of the tree. So where then would the fun be in peeking? You lose out on all the excitement, the element of surprise. Sure you would know exactly what you were getting, but man would the month or two of wondering make that morning magic.
You send your film off to get developed, or you develop it yourself. You have those ideas in your head of what frames you really want to see, you may not get everything you had hoped for, but you are sure as hell excited to look at everything. We need to get back to appreciating a little patience and waiting. It does you some good, you know. We keep adding to this pseudo-ADHD where we flit around and want to do something else as soon as we start doing something. Ever close your Facebook only to mindlessly open it back again? That’s just creepy and it’s because we want it now. We don’t even always know what it is, but we want it. We are desensitized; everything is lacking a sense of splendor because there is no build up. Want to buy that thing? Ordered, be here tomorrow. Yippee, got that thing, now what? Waiting is sweet, sweet torture.
It's not always about what you have, but how you do it.
Humans are crazily materialistic and the photographic world is no exception. I’m no exception. Every time Canon drops new gear, I’m eating up articles looking and drooling. Everyone wants more gear, better cameras, and people envy others with more stuff, as always. The hilarious thing is, however, a photographer with an iPhone can take a better photo than some person with a Hasselblad. It’s got very little to do with the equipment and how new and illustrious it is.
Film has this look, this grain, this feeling it’s trapped that moment right there in the negative. It feels. You can shoot on a 30-year-old Nikon 35mm camera and get better pictures than I can with my 2-year-old Canon pro-DSLR. So don’t chalk your successes or failures up to circumstance or lack of equipment; go out there and make it happen. Do something you’re passionate about, just be passionate. If you drive after your passion, good things happen, regardless of whether you have the latest and greatest or not.
Be adventurous.
Those who know me well enough to accurately describe me, wouldn’t describe me as adventurous. Meticulous, maybe. Practical, absolutely. I’m not boring, I’d say, I mean I’m all for packing up and going on a road trip at a moment's notice, but adventure doesn’t have to be some grand scale trek across the country or world.
We all run through this track of go to school, go to school, get a job, have kids, die. We forget to throw in a little adventure now and then, and trying something new, something that may be a little out of character, can be the perfect way to do that. Always wanted to try and sculpt? Go for it! Take a yoga class, go snowboarding, take a spontaneous trip. Film isn’t something that I saw myself ever really delving into much. I was plenty satisfied shooting and modifying my digital without having to worry about developing film and wasting money on more rolls. I mainly shoot utilized portraiture--like weddings or head shots--so film isn’t exactly practical, but now that I’ve got a camera to use that I didn’t have to go invest in, I’m addicted. I’m already looking at buying the same model that I’ve been using. I keep trying new film, different film, and more film. I had no idea that I’d love it as much as I do, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. So get out there and try that thing you thought you’d never like, or the thing you always wanted to do. You might just discover a new hobby and, if you’re lucky, a lot about yourself.
