Hello! Welcome to filmzblog, a blog devoted to still film photography. Here we hope to explore all things film, be it through our own work, community projects, and the work of our fellow film shooters. Filmzblog was conceived one fine Spring evening in 2010 by Austin, Lauren, and Zach. We hope that you will join us in our reveries.
So the question remains: why film? For better or worse we’ve thought a lot about this question, and so our answer is a bit lengthy.
1) Accessibility
What? Yeah that’s right accessibility. Snobbery is not the point of Filmzblog. Anyone can pick up a disposable camera at their local pharmacy or chemists and shoot a roll of film, no computer needed. We propose that the results can be intriguing, and we are working on a community project to explore this hypothesis called Disposable Day.
Of course, if you happen to posses a more sophisticated film camera or cameras then we are all eyes and geeky enthusiasm. Please do tell us all about your favorite cameras, and show us what you can do with them.
2) Film Takes Time
Anyone who has vigorously agitated a film-processing tank, or gently rocked a tray of Dektol knows the thrill of delayed gratification. Shooting film requires a certain precision that is lacking in digital photography where images are viewable immediately. Film also requires economy. You have a roll with 12, 24, 36 exposures, so few when compared with the seemingly endless capacity of digital cameras and even camera phones. Film inspires us to slow down, conserve our shots, take the time to find the right composition, and wait for the moment.
3) It’s Purtty
We here at filmzblog strongly believe that there are aesthetic qualities that are unique to film. Digital algorithms may imitate these qualities to varying degrees of success, but is it the same as the real thing? Less than a decade ago photographers were excited when DSLRs achieved results that claimed to be ‘just like’ or ‘just as good as’ film. These days even camera phones can capture images that rival expensive digital SLRs and that replicate properties of film (hipstamatic i phone app anyone? ), and many now claim that film is dead. But wait! Each brand, speed, and variation of film has it’s own lovely signature. Do we really want to throw away the soft perfection of t-max 100 just because HD is here? What about the rough grit of high speed Ilford? What about the luxurious color of perfectly exposed color slide film? Sure digital cameras can rival, and some might say surpass all of these most beloved facets of film, but is it the same? At filmzblog we say HELL NO! Let’s keep film alive!
*photos 1&4 taken by Lauren useing a Nikon F3 & Fuji Pro 400 H, photos 2&5 by Zach using a Pentax 35mm, photo 3 by Austin, using a disposable camera.
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