Keeping the faith

Canada Feature Film General Streets Travel

“Why do you use film?”

This is a question that I often get asked by friends who realize that I don’t just lug around my digital SLR or my trusty (but badly beaten up) point and shoot. What is the point then, when there’s digital? Why do I even waste time and money going to my local photo processing store (which gladly we still have in the city), scan the negatives and go through all the inconvenience of it?

I think the answer is because I never really left it. Sure, I was caught up with the digital craze in 2004 when I received my small digital point and shoot. It did help me update my blog then, and the ease of sharing photos assisted me as I update my friends back home. It was easy to operate and digital satisfied my desire to take photos easily.

But in 2008 I proved myself wrong as I decided to pick up film again and realized that it never ceased to become amazing and interesting to use. It was fun, experimental yet challenging. Up to now film helps me to play around with my photos–do I compose or let things “roll” (pun intended)? Am I going to experiment and wait or do I use each frame seriously, as if my life depended on it? With digital I was able to shoot and share quickly, and noticed that while people (friends, families and co-workers) liked the photos I took, they quickly lost their interest on them. The magic fades as fast as I pressed the shutter and looked at the LCD screen.

With film, things are different. I worked hard to make each frame look the way I envisioned it, and each photo created was born purely from hard work. What could be sweeter than that? I appreciated this medium more when I worked on my exhibit early this year. I had to be careful and be calculated and make sure I’m doing things the right way. When the exhibit was launched, everyone was not just supportive of the event, but they also commented how the stories of my subjects and the result of the actual photos blended together and create this unique atmosphere and delivered the show’s message. As my exhibit’s curator commented there was just something about the film photography that you cannot capture in digital. One can certainly imitate its physical characteristics but never its aura.

Because of these factors, I decided to continue use film as my tool when creating photos. Whenever possible I encourage friends to try it too, and would be more than happy to use my blog to help others try this medium in the near future. I would like to show that film photography is not just for taking unplanned photographs like what most younger people perceive it now. It’s a well-respected art medium that should be restored and not to be dismissed.


My name is Angela, and I still use and believe in film.

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Please visit Old School Photolab and Believe in Film to satisfy your love for film photography.

This entry features my snapshots from Morden during the Corn and Apple Festival. My full entry about the event is available here.

Looking for the rest of my film-related entries? CLICK HERE!

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