With digital being the dominant form of photography for many years, going back to film can feel refreshing. However, with the level of comfort that we’ve developed with digital photography, film photography can suddenly feel quite challenging. In today’s video, landscape photographer Thomas Heaton shares his experience of taking a break from his digital camera and working with the Hasselblad 501CM loaded with Ilford Delta 100 high-contrast black and white film. Let’s see how it goes:
One immediate thing you notice is how extra careful he gets when planning and executing his shot. Film photography is not as forgiving as digital. You get no immediate preview, and a failed shot means an opportunity lost.
Also, unlike in digital, resources can feel limited when shooting with film. While we can take virtually unlimited exposures with a digital camera, film is finite.
“It is a mystery to me, because I have no idea how these images are turning out. But that was a lot of fun.”
Moreover, shooting with film means you have to wait until you develop the film and print the images to know whether or not your images came out. This means being extra cautious with your camera settings. You can see Heaton using a spot meter to take photos for this very reason.
While it might seem fun for us to try our hands with film photography, we must admit that, without proper practice, many photographers will probably end up getting bad results. Photography as a process has become significantly more convenient with digital cameras.
Would you dare ditch your digital camera and work with a film camera for a day?
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