Dakota_TS_005 copy.jpg — All over again..

Clear Eyes. Full Hearts.

Falling In Love with Film Photography

I recently collected my photo prints from Kerrisdale Cameras photo lab. I must say that it has been such a long time since I was so enamoured with the beauty of film. I’ve known film to be ethereal and out of this world when produced under the right circumstances. But not all the time are the circumstances under my control. Shooting film is expensive. Uncontrollable variables like the type of lab processor, scanner, user error with accidental double exposure and badly-calibrated cameras (looking at you, Pentacon Six) mean that the results may vary. What is certain is that you’ll definitely end up blowing a hole in your pocket.

I’ve had my fair share of crappy prints and scans. But when everything come together like they do right now - it’s such a joy. Film cements a special place in my heart.

I am absolutely elated that the images came back stunning; exactly like how they looked when I first viewed through the camera’s viewfinder.

You know, shooting film mean all sorts of different things for different folks.

Analog Film vs Digital Photography

For me, it’s not a question of which is better. It’s a question of what is the right tool for that given time. In the new world, why do people still choose to drive a manual transmission car that stalls? Why do people collect their music on vinyl and not on Spotify? Likewise, digital photography has its place. As a former news photographer & editor, I’ve shot and edited a gamut of photography from covering breaking news to shooting live sports events. I’ve photographed with digital cameras all the livelong day. Those were the right tools for the right time then.

Now I care very little about sensationalising the state of the world. As I turn more inward-looking, so has my photography. These days, I am more interested in expressing how I feel through my photography. Analogue film photography to me is about capturing a feeling. It’s about catching a vibe. The end result has to replicate the feeling of the moment of when the picture was first taken. It’s about how it makes me feel at that split second. It’s also about how I want you to feel when you are looking at my photograph mounted and hung on a wall. Sometimes a picture can’t do enough justice to those fleeting moments. This time, I am glad they did.

These frames were of a roll of 120 shot some 2 weeks ago on a chilly Spring afternoon.

The 35mm roll was shot in Singapore over a year ago. It has since travelled across the pacific with us to our new home in Vancouver, Canada.

2 countries, 2 rolls. 2 different formats (120 & 35mm) separated by a year of time between them. Compare and contrast the lives we’ve lived before and the life we have now.

So much food for thought. All that warm fuzziness thumbing through these sets of pictures.

This is the beauty of analog film photography.

If this isn’t real, I don’t know what is.