3 Reasons To Shoot Film by Hans van Wijk
Why do I shoot film? Digital photography just makes a lot more sense nowadays. It saves time and money otherwise spent on film and developing. You can change ISO in between each individual shot. And with burst mode and autofocus it is almost impossible to miss the moment you want to capture. My personal reason for starting analogue surf photography is that I couldn’t afford a digital camera and water housing. Analog cameras are relatively cheap; it’s just the film and developing that will keep you broke. There are however a couple of reasons why I love shooting film and stick to it. Here are 3 of them:
Focus
I am not talking about focal point here. I’m talking about focusing on what you’re doing and not being distracted. I’ve tried digital cameras, but I found myself constantly looking at the screen, checking how the photo turned out. It distracts me. Not being able to immediately check the results gives a lot of rest. It allows you to enjoy the present moment and concentrate on the subject you are shooting.
Surprise
When you get home after a surf trip, getting your film developed and going through the contact sheets is the perfect antidote for your post-travel depression. During your travels you probably don’t have the chance to develop and print your rolls of film, so usually it takes a while before you see the photos. When you finally get to see the contact sheets, it is full of surprises. The photos I like the most are sometimes the ones that I totally forgot about. I find shapes and objects in my frame that I wasn’t aware of while shooting. Or a raindrop on my lens that created a nice effect. Those are the surprises I love.
Of course there are disappointments as well. “I’m sure that wave was a lot bigger than it appears in this photo” or “Did I really not capture that hang 10?!”. The most important thing is that seeing the photographs brings back great memories. Memories of time spent in the water with friends.
Grain
The main reason of all, grain! Not pixels, but grain. Need I say more?
