HIGHS AND LOWS OF WORKING ON FILM
I adore working with 35mm film so much that I haven't touched a digital camera in months. The debate between analogue and digital is extensive, with so many advantages and disadvantages for both. I personally have experienced both of these.
Recently I visited Vienna, a beautiful city especially at Christmas. I decided not to take a digital camera, only my Pentax ME and a bundle of colour film. I always use the same film, a 400 ISO 36 exposure roll which unfortunately was out of stock. Instead I went for the next avaliable option, 200 ISO 26 exposure roll.
So used to one type of film I made the amateur mistake of forgetting to double check my settings. I shot two rolls of 200 ISO film with the camera set to 400. I'm stuck hoping that the developing company I use can succesfully push my film to save my images.
Another roll of film got jammed after my exposure counter ironically lost count. I lost 26 exposures, and I'm not even sure what part of Vienna the images were of. Although frustrated, it reminded me of why I love shooting 35mm so much.
It was the aesthetic that first pulled me in, but its the materiality as well. Having a physical collection of negatives that you can hold, that is your work. Not digital files and coding that live on an SD card.
However, more than anything, it's the felling of not knowing what you have until its developed. There could be beautiful images on each roll, or absolutely nothing. There are so many chances for something to go wrong, in the camera, during the developing process. It makes each exposure fragile, delicate.
In this generation everything is digital. We can easily take 100 pictures of the same thing on our phones, back them up on multiple devices, delete then and save them at our will. Pictures aren't as precious anymore. Losing pictures I took in Vienna because they were on film is almost a blessing for me. It reminds me why I love film so much in the first place. I was physically there, I saw it with my own eyes. They are my memories that don't necessarily need to be shared with everyone else.
Whatever pictures I do get from my remaining rolls of film will be precious, and will serve as a great reminder of my time in Vienna. But those rolls which I will never see again, they will remain my own memories, just for me.
