Recently when I went to Tokyo, I had a ton of fun shooting in the streets with Charlie Kirk and Bellamy Hunt—both who shoot film. I never really understood the rationale why people shot with film. To me at the time, it seemed like a burden. First of all, you had to buy the film. Secondly, after you took the photos you couldn’t see them instantly. And lastly, it was expensive to develop it (and even more money to scan). For these three reasons, I was mostly put off by film. Although I did shoot a bit with my Contax IIIa film rangefinder and did enjoy it—at the end of the day I preferred my digital camera.
Nevertheless, I was intrigued with film once I came to Tokyo. In Tokyo, the analog culture is strong. There are tons of used film camera shops, and tons of other places where you can buy film as well. Not only that, but there are many photographers who shoot film who support one another as well and have their own communities. I had no idea how much influence the analog culture would have on me when I was in Tokyo.
Lately I have been having less fun with digital photography. Although one of the huge benefits of digital photography is that it is instant—it didn’t have as much mystery how the photos would come out. Also because taking a photo was “free”—I would take far too many photos when out on the streets (around 300-400 photos a day). This made me far less selective when I was shooting, and it also made the editing process a lot more difficult.
Therefore when I was in Tokyo, I was thinking about buying a film camera. I talked to Bellamy (who also buys and sells cameras for a living) and he suggested a Leica M6. It is the best bang-for-the-buck film Leica, and because I was already used to my Leica M9 it seemed like a logical transition.
While I was still contemplating the purchase, I was talking to my good friend Todd from the Hatakeyama Gallery (and also sells lighting equipment) about my thoughts—and he told me something that shocked me. He had a Leica M6 that he didn’t use much, and he offered to give it to me for free (yeah, I have awesome friends). Like a giddy schoolgirl, I gladly accepted his offer and went out to shoot.
I have now been shooting film for around 1.5 months, and have been loving every minute of it. The process is a lot less hurried and more calm and zen-like. I enjoy the small things of it, like loading the film, cocking the shutter, and hearing the silent click of the shutter. I also love the mystery—that I don’t know exactly how the photo will come out. Although I am not an expert when it comes to shooting film (I don’t even know how to develop/dodge+burn/print my own photos yet) here are some things I have been enjoying shooting film over digital: