re-finding my love for film photography
Somewhere along the way, photography started to feel… loud. I was shooting more than ever, but enjoying it less and less. Endless photos, Endless edits, Endless scrolling through images that all started to feel the same. I didn’t fall in love with photography for speed or convenience—but that’s exactly what it had become. That’s when I found myself reaching back for film.
everything changed when i slowed down
The first thing about film is that it forces you to slow down. With digital I'd fire off shots without thinking twice " fill that card and fix it in post". With film, every frame costs something, time, money, or intention. Suddenly I wasn't rushing. I watched the light, I was waiting, I was THINKING again. No screen to check, no instant validation. Just me, my camera, and moment where I had to trust my instincts. That alone is worth the cost of film.
trusting the process, and myself
Film reminded me that I ACTUALLY know what im doing, or at least I think I do. When you don't get immediate feedback , you stop second guessing every shot. You commit, you make choices and live with them. Some frames miss, some suprise you, and some blow you away and turn out better than you imagined. There's something powerful about that trust, about letting go of some control and allowing imperfections to exist.
the beauty of imperfections
Film isn't clean, it isn't perfect! And that's why I love it! The grain, the slight color shifts, the occasional light leaks, even the missed exposure at times. Those "flaws" are what makes me feel the images are real, because they are! No overly sharp too crisp images. Today there are people that spend so much time to make their digital images look like film just for this reason. Every roll I shoot feels like a small experiment, and every scan tells a story beyond just what's in the frame.
why I keep coming back to film
Film isnt going to replace digital photography for me, it reminded me WHY I use a camera at all. It pulled me out of comparison, out of algorithms, and back into creativity. It reminded me that photography doesn't need to be perfect or productive to be valuable. Sometimes it just needs to feel honest and raw. Everytime I load a new roll of film, I feel that spark again- the same one that made me fall in love with photography in the first place. Or just hoping I don't mess up this roll of film, lol.
So if you feel burned out or tired of the same ol same ol digital photography and need to recharge that creativity, go get you a film camera and relearn what you feel in love with, or learn for the first time what it is to slow down and think before you fire off a bunch of shots and fix it in post. We're all guilty of that at times.
If you stayed this long and read my first EVER blog I appreciate you and look forward to putting more out in the future. Now lets go take some photos!!