Not that long ago I sent six rolls of film off to Indie Film Lab. This is something I have done on a regular basis for the last several years. Since 2012 I have created nearly all of my work using film. I became enamored with the look and feel of black and white film and it worked well for the the images that I wanted to make. I get caught up in the mood and mystery of a black and white image. I love the grain and contrast. To me, it’s just what photography is supposed to look like. 

However, shooting film isn’t easy. It’s a process. And what does that process look like? Well that answer differs for every photographer, but here is a run down of my process over the past several years shooting film. 

Shooting film requires a film camera…or a few of them. It makes the most sense to start out on 35mm. The cameras tend to be easier to use and most 35mm films stocks give you 36 frames per roll. Other options are medium format or, if you follow the “go big or stay home” adage, large format. As far as 35mm film cameras go, there are only two companies that still make one brand new: Leica and Nikon. The Nikon F6 is expensive and the Leica with a good lens will cost as much as a used Toyota Corolla. 

I’ve never owned a “new” (fresh out of the box) film camera. I have always bought them used. There are lots of places to find a used 35mm camera: Ebay, retailers like B&H, your grandmother’s attic. Prices vary widely: you can buy a used 35mm camera for $5 or $5,000. Again, raid the basement: find your dad’s old Canon from high school and dust it off. Usually it will have a lens, either a 50mm or 35mm.

Next you need some film. I buy my film from B&H or The Find Lab. I don’t know anything about color film. I shoot black and white film; usually Kodak T-MAX or Ilford Delta film stocks. It’s all personal preference. I like a film with a little less contrast, that way if I want more, I can add it in post. 

So you have your camera and you loaded in some fresh film. You are ready to shoot… but, and this part is tough… you have no idea if the camera works. You need to run a roll or two through it as a test. Check the shutter speeds. Shoot in different light. Make sure the film advances. Then send the film off for processing. And wait. $50 later you either have gorgeous photos of your feet or trees or whatever you shot… or you have a camera that doesn’t work. 

I have had decent luck with used film cameras. I bought a Canon AE-1 in 2010 for $80 and it has always worked well. We’re about the same age. It has been cross-country three times. The 35mm lens is pretty standard but I love the way it renders black and white film. 

I shot nearly all of my portrait work from about 2015 to 2019 with a Mamiya 645 medium format camera. It was rather difficult to use and focus. The lens wasn’t that sharp until around f/4 so I usually shot at f/5.6 or f/8 and for that you need some light. 400 speed film was a must. Despite the challenges, I really loved the camera. The negatives are gorgeous. And it is so mechanical. Over the course of four years, I shot an entire body of work with that camera, mostly on a tripod. 

Every roll of film I have shot for the past eight years I have sent to Indie Film Lab in Montgomery, Alabama. The folks who work there are the most wonderful people. They are masters at processing and scanning film. The quality of their work is fantastic. And since they are a pro lab, they charge pro prices. On average it costs around $20 to process and scan a roll of film. Send in six or seven rolls and it hits hard. I have never once thought their services are overpriced. I recommend them to anyone who wants the best possible film scans. 

The process of shooting film is as completed or as easy as you make it. It takes some level of dedication to the medium. It’s flat out way too fucking expensive to just go out and shoot frame after frame. You have to think about your subject matter. You need to really study light and shoot in the best possible light you can find. And above all you must realize that you don’t know half as much as you think you do. I have been shooting film for years but I still feel like a novice. It can be wonderful, depressing, frustrating and exciting all at the same time. At times, I have been so discouraged over the years. Nothing is worse than getting back a few rolls and not having one image that speaks to you. But then you open that last folder and an image jumps out. And you load up some more film and keep shooting. 

The last few months were so difficult on so many levels. The pandemic made it nearly impossible to travel. For the first time since 2016 I did not go out west. It was so hard to come to terms with that. I also didn’t shoot much film since the opportunities for shoots were sparse. And the pandemic impacted the process: shipping times for buying film were delayed. Some film stocks were back-ordered for a while. And the post office experienced a crisis. I was nervous to send film via USPS after a package I sent was in the system for over three weeks. 

At the end of August I put most of my film cameras away for a while. I did a few portrait shoots in September and I shot some film. That was the last of it. I am not sure when I will shoot another roll. Maybe soon. In the meantime I have been using a digital camera and it’s cool. It’s so different. Digital photography opens tons of possibilities and they streamline the process significantly. 

But they are so boring. There’s no magic. There’s no mechanical feel. They aren’t sexy. They are like an appliance for making images and they do what they do very well. 

I hope this pandemic is over soon. I dream about going out west with my little Canon film camera and a bunch of film. I can’t wait to load in the first roll, the frame counter on “1”.

Nothing but possibility. 

I hope you are all well. Please message me if you want to talk about shooting film or if you have questions about getting started. 

Paul xoxo 

Listen: Ouroboros, Ray LaMontagne (2016). A concept album, it is wonderfully melodic and melancholy. Mostly acoustic, the album is very minimalist, almost delicate. 

Watch: Fargo, Working Title Films, 1996. A Cohen Brothers masterpiece, this dark comedy will have you doing the “Minnesota nice” accent for a few days. 

Visit: Hold Still  The Duchess of Cambridge, Patron of the National Portrait Gallery, commissioned Hold Still, an ambitious community project to create a unique collective portraits of the UK during lockdown.