The Film: Wrapping Up

The final take-away from my experience of shooting 35mm film over the last year is that it’s largely about the process for me, less about the look. I like working with it. I like the tangibility of it. I like that you can make a picture without turning on a computer. I like waiting for it and how it forgives. I like the cameras that go along with it.

Yeah, I like digital photography too—especially the control, but I’m not crazy about the cameras or (for the most part) the processes associated with it. I’d even say they have become a kind of barrier to my enjoyment of photography up to now. Odd that it took shooting 130 rolls of Tri-X for me to fully realize that (but it did).

Some day, probably when I don’t write code for a living anymore, I could feel very differently about all this. My relationship with technology will have changed and maybe then, digital process will be something I can enjoy more and dread less. I’m also optimistic that, as the field matures and we’ve finally had our fill of megapixels, low noise, and features galore, we’ll see some radically new types of digital cameras appear—machines that are as simple, elegant, and enjoyable to use as our grandparent’s cameras could be. My iPhone is proof that it can be done.

Until that day, I’ll continue to shoot film.

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This is the last in a series of posts I’ve been writing on using film during the Leica Year project.