What is it about film?

Hovis anyone? - Photograph by Lee Johnson

A little while ago I decided I was going to run a roll of film through my old Pracktica MTL3 35mm SLR.

You see, for quite a few years the MTL3 had been confined to its case, up in the attic while my digital cameras took pride of place either in my pocket or over my shoulder.  I had become aware that I was getting a little stale, creatively speaking.  I was constantly shooting, processing images, posting and shooting again but for some reason, some of the shine was wearing thin.

Please, don't get me wrong.  I love digital photography.  It allows me to attempt shots that I wouldn't dream of trying with a film camera.  I wouldn't dream of giving up with digital.

Anyway, the resulting images from the first roll of film were posted on my Flickr account (look for the images tagged MTL3).

Wash your duvet - Lee Johnson

In the same box was a roll of Boots own brand 400 colour film.  It was ten years out of date but I decided I was going to shoot with it anyway.  I decided that I was going to shoot a mini project on launderettes (the full story on this will be in the next issue of Pixel).

It was at this point I found something very interesting happening.  I was loving photography again.  No, not just photography, I was loving shooting photographs on film again.

Shortly after completing the launderettes I acquired a Pentax K1000 outfit and it just confirmed what I had found.  I love shooting on film.

I've been so inspired by this that I'm looking in to other aspects of film photography.

What is it about film that I love?

This is a random thought and it's one that I'm putting down on screen without thinking it through properly but for me, film photography is about creating something tangible; something you can hold; something real.  It is a physical thing from pressing the shutter to holding the print.  It feels crafted and worked.  I have to admit, I probably put more work in to a digital image file and I will always shoot digital;  I still love digital and I'm not against digital but somehow for me, it feels virtual.