I did 90% of film photography with just a digital camera...
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- čas přidán 21. 07. 2024
- Film photography, it’s all the rage, but it’s expensive, its tricky and it’s slow. So today I’m gonna show you how you can get 90% of the benefits people love about it, using your digital camera alone.
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#filmphotography #photography #spongebob
0:00 Intro
0:21 24 Frames Only
2:07 The Camera Limits
5:39 Careful compositions
7:40 Squarespace Ad Read
9:30 The Missing 10%
11:45 90% - Printing
Did you notice anything different in tonight's video? I was trying a slightly different presentation style to immediately deliver on the point offered in the title and thumbnail. Feedback appreciated.
You changed the format but your content is still very good.
Thank you and keep printing!
Yes I did feel I was there experiencing the challenges of the 24 especially remembering my experiences with my trusty old Pentax. I think it worked well.
I felt the speed was slightly faster than usual.
Yes, I think it’s a good idea, Adam - especially with our increasingly shorter attention spans. 👍
I have to be honest, I've watched most of your videos and I can't say anything stuck out until I read this comment, crazy as it seems.
I have gone back to film after 40 years, as well as my digital. It’s about the experience. The connection. The cameras….Yes it is slower than digital ( absolutely no bad thing). Yes you really do need to understand exposure (absolutely no bad thing). But I have suddenly realised why I fell in love with photography in the first place. I have got some kit to develop black and white at home. Not quite as expensive as people make out. ( I do not have a dark room. You do not need one). There is room for both.
Great challenge! When I feel like I'm in a rut, sometimes I will set my digital camera to fixed focus, 1/125 at f/11 and treat it like a film disposable. Good way to shake the cobwebs out!
An excellent challenge! I am from the film era, but I always would buy the 36 exposure rolls! Sometimes you could squeeze out an extra frame or two, if you wound it smartly!
A quick gear question...In this video you showed a 5D MKII. Do you shoot with that? I think you usually use a 5D MKIV? I just bought a 5D MKII last year, and love it!
Great video Ad and interesting points of view. I shoot both digital and 'analogue' film and for me, and this is just my personal opinion, they both offer a different perspective, thought process and experience when I'm using them. Whilst I can limit myself to pretending I'm shooting film and restrict myself to mimic using film, I find that the images from my digital camera is too clinical and bang on with clear clarity and sharpness that you'd want in a digital camera. I also don't get that same buzz that I do when loading a roll into my camera and heading out. In the back of my mind I know if I really wanted to, there is nothing stopping me firing off another image, looking at the images or adjust in post if I didn't like something within the frame. When shooting with my film camera, I'm instantly drawn back to the 1990's before digital photography was a mainstream thing and film could still be bought for less that £3 a go! Its nostalgic, it reminds me of my youth, it slows me down and makes me think more. I feel more connected and authentic to the craft knowing that the image being captured is a true representation of what is before me. Although I have a light meter in one of my film cameras, the other doesn't and requires me to use a light meter, again I feel more connected and feel more like I'm a photographer and not a tech operator. Film also has a different look to it with the grain structure and how light effects the emulsion to an image taken with a digital camera I especially like shooting with either Pan F 50 or Delta 100 that offer a contrasty finish within the camera. Plus, I love having to load my film into a dev tank and develop my own film, sometimes pushing and pulling the films latitude.
I suppose it horses for courses as they say but I'm definitely in the camp that shooting with film and shooting digitally are two different things that cannot be compared or mimiced.
On the flip side though, always love your presentation and passion for photography.
It was a sad day when I closed my darkroom down in 1997 to go digital I loved my film photography and all that went with it! It was even sadder when all my darkroom gear was worth nothing in monetary terms and nobody wanted to buy it, and it finished its days in the skip! I did however keep my two enlarging lenses and to-day they are my paperweights on my desk! I liked your idea of shooting 24 frames without looking at them in the monitor that would bring all the excitement back and wondering if you had got anything worth keeping and you had.....Thank you I found this weeks input from you most interesting....
Same. Had a Jobo enlarger and colour processing drums that all went in the skip
I love it. My last two years of college, I was shooting almost exclusively with an 8x10. Mind you, this was 2006-2009 and film wasn't as prohibitively expensive as it is today, but I rarely went afield with more than 4 film holders (8 sheets of film) It made me very picky about what photos I created. When I went to digital, I just turned into a shutter monkey banging out 100 shots in a session betting on at least a few of them being worth while. I got back in the habit of being more mindful of what I'm shooting, and no longer feel the need to immediately check the back of the camera after a shot.
Loved this video, I have a slightly different perspective as someone who shoots both film and digital regularly but I really do think that the more contemplative approach that I’m forced to take with film has improved my digital photography. The limited shots mean I’m more attentive to the moment, which in turn means I haven’t filled up my buffer from spraying and praying before the moment was right(may not be a problem if you have a brand new camera that can shoot 1k photos per second for 20minutes).
Having said that, I do think the medium matters at least a bit. For me, negative film shines for high key images, since films gentle highlight roll off creates a softer highlight curve. Conversely, I almost exclusively use digital when I want a low key image. Color and to an extent grain structure can be mimicked well enough with software, but highlights go pretty deep.
Anyway, that’s enough rambling
Maybe it's because I grew up with the restrictions of film photography that I really don't understand how film is all the rage, when I was young I could afford a 24 exposure film about every 2 months, now I can shoot as much as I like and the only cost is a tiny bit of wear and tear on my camera, it's so much better than film. It's a bit like giving up your car and getting a horse because it's so much better having to stop every now and then to shovel up the manure.
I've been shooting a lot lately with my 5D classic and an old OM Zuiko 50mm 3.5 macro. The back screen is so bad its like not having one at all. Like shooting with film it does force you to slow down, a lot! In some ways its harder, the viewfinder is much worse than my old film cameras. I think it's a great way to hone your skills, and conect with your subject in a more natural way. Great video, your photos are beautiful.
Awesome video. I have had several photographers say that to better your photography, make yourself only shoot 10 photos a day. Like what you stated, it makes you pay closer attention to what you are shooting.
Thanks for the inspiration.
What an amazing concept. I will surely give it a go. Thanks for another great video.
Despite almost disappearing completely film has made a comeback in recent years. While digital images have their own advantages it’s really as you said, all about the printing in the end. Thanks again for sharing Adam.
Adam great video! It rekindled a lot of my memories during the era of no digital, just film. I can remember the concern I had trying to get the most out of each frame. The hardest thing about film was the wait time to see the final result. I remember being on a long trip shooting many rolls of film and having to wait weeks before I could see the photos and hope some of them came out as well as I wanted.
I waited until I got home on this one, and even that felt too long. I definitely don’t miss the wait.
@@Firstmanphotographywe had a local film developing store that offered one hour development, but it was expensive! Sometimes you just couldn't wait. Usually I would mail out the film. Lucky if you got it back in 14 days!
Love the challenge you set for yourself! Just a fun twist to add to your photography journeys.
Great video. I also predominantly shoot digital but have a collection of film cameras in both 35mm and 120. As much as I love the quality and convenience of digital, you can't beat the process of film (imo). The restriction of limited frames does focus your mind more, especially if your shooting 120 and only have 12 frames. There's also the restriction from the cost aspect. The whole process is just more enjoyable, the anticipation of seeing your negatives after developing, will they come out good or not??. I'll never move away from my DSLR's but still got room for film cameras.😊
I can relate to this notion of restriction. But as someone who shot for magazines and news outlets in the 80s and 90s, I don’t miss lugging film around (like 100 rolls for one MotoGP); or the lack of immediate image feedback, or the lack of dynamic range, or about half a dozen other things. I just sold my Canon R5 and three lenses and switched to a much simpler stills-only camera, and already, I feel much less frantic with my photography.
I'm with you. Cheers Peter.
Were you using back button focus? What are your thoughts on back button focus? I have a Canon crop sensor camera and just purchased a used 5 d mark ii to have some fun shooting with. Thanks Adam love your content.
Thanks for the fine video. Question though: Did you set your camera to JPEG or did you post processed the picture? 😊
so portable that you bring along the printer. Could I know what model of the printer?
If you want to extend this approach a little further, use an external light meter to calculate your exposure. This will really slow you down and make you think. Most people shooting film for landscape are probably using medium format film where you get only 8, 10, or 12 shots per roll. Walking out for a day with a medium format film camera and one roll of film is definitely a challenge. Lastly, to extend further the film mindset approach to shooting digital, I would suggest waiting two days to review your digital shots. That's part of the fun of film is the anticipation of seeing the images a few days later when you pull the negatives out of the Patterson tank to dry.
Enjoyed this Adam, and absolutely a good method of instilling patience. Read an article yesterday by Mark Denney who discussed the between taking the right mount of images whilst maintaining quality s
Thanks Jim. I’ll check that out.
I studied photography pre digital. I hated the developing. I hated the limitations. It was the advent of digital that re awoke my interest and now I am pro. Still hate it now sorry😊
There's a reason I haven't gone back to it either. Although, I think there is some merit in occasionally creating self-imposed limitations.
I shoot both with Canon EOS bodies. An EOS 3 for film and 5D mk 4 for digital. I like them both for their differences. Also I think I own one of the last best EOS film bodies, and one of the last best DSLRs 😊
Not watched the video yet (will be good I'm sure!) But reading the comments I'm surprised that the film vs digital debate still seems to be happening. I thought was accepted by now without question that they're simply different mediums, same as, say, watercolours vs oil paints.
Nobody argues about them . . . Or do they?😅
I didn't intend this to come across as a VS type video. It's more about getting the benefits of film photography without the added expense and difficulty.
@@Firstmanphotography Oh, I didn't mean to imply that it was... I think it's cool. I shoot mostly digital with a little film thrown in. Thanks for the reply and the great video!
I was just looking at my partner’s vintage cameras that she dug out of storage, wondering how I ever shot good photos on film. I put it all down purely to luck.
I was always happy if I got one single, decent photo off a roll of 24.
Honestly, self limiting, is just good practice.
Very much so.
My lasting memory of film photography is waiting days for development, and then being totally disappointed in the images, (normally exposure was completely wrong!) Thank goodness for digital, or at least better cameras. By the way, why restrict yourself to 24 shots, most film photographers would surely carry a second or third roll in their bag? I used to, and I was more novice than anyone out there!
I would argue that the digital photographer spends more money upgrading his camera's lenses computers editing software subscriptions hard drives SD cards and batteries than what l could ever spend on HP5+ and using my Rolleiflex SL66
Oh!! I would love that camera!
Don't burst shoot. Don't auto iso (set it). Don't screen chimp.
I love that you said "with just a digital camera." When I first started shooting digital, I said that I was going to shoot it like I was shooting film. I didn't use the instant playback and I didn't chimp, waiting until I got them on the computer to see what I captured. I've changed a bit now, but it's still a great challenge to provide limitations in your shooting.
I agree with your sentiments about how the medium (sensor vs film) doesn’t matter. BTW, that sky was epic! Wonderful video, Adam.
Interesting
In my mind, ordinarily, digital images are more beautiful than film. They capture more detail. They capture more colour. Just me; I know. But beauty has many forms and sometimes film is more beautiful than digital. And I find it's not predictable and I can't make too many rules about it and I can’t even say why it’s more beautiful. And even here I find `beautiful’ might not be the whole truth. Maybe film looks more `meaningful’, might be a better term?
It's a `spiritual’ thing and this is where science must `bend its knee’.
I agree with everyone’s `issues’ with film. But when I bring film photography down to its scientific technical difficulties I think I miss the point of why I shoot film. I think to myself, `You know, all those things are true but there’s something more going on here’. At least for me. I can’t say what it is. The spirit blows where it will and it’s not mine to be manipulated or controlled by me. It’s pure gift and I am left simply to embrace it.
Why would a setting ball of fire on the horizon of our chunk of rock fill us with a sense of awe and beauty in the first place; so much so we’ve spent millennia painting it and photographing it? And would such event be awesome or beautiful at all unless there was a human mind and heart to perceive it?
I only go off on this `tangent’ because I think it’s the whole point. When I drown the spirit in science I find myself killing it. But when I let it breathe I find it lifts me higher and higher. And no, I don’t have a scientific explanation for that because there is none. There’s nothing wrong with science..I am a veterinary surgeon by trade but it can’t stop me from being dead one day. The spirit, it seems to me, can, sometimes.
You can avoid rapid firing if you give a certain amount of money to charity for every photo taken.
Ha. Excellent
Are we just all going to ignore the easter egg on that cliff then?
I really don’t understand why people are going back to film. From the first moment I picked up my first digital camera in late 2000 I was absolutely hooked, I loved the colour, clarity and quality. I have almost finished digitizing 20 years of negatives and slides and the things that I wished I had done differently back then were; invested in better quality glass, didn’t screw on a cheap piece of glass on the front of the lens, used a slightly faster film, used the correct shutter speed for the focal length, but most of all invested more in my photography education.
Why do I bother shooting film instead of digital? Because I don't have any pleasure with a digital camera. I love loading my films, the smell of chemistry, playing with developers, touching my negatives, playing in a darkroom touching papers, and being far away from a computer.
Black and white for example. Very few bw digital sensors. A bw film captures no colors just tones. Superb and unique
@@petrub27 I think it’s each to their own, personally I would never ever go back to film.
@@photoquent please, don't. leave more for us
I’m not going back: I never left and I never will. Digital has its place and I love my 5D and X-e1, but I’ll never retire my Minoltas!
Seriously if you don’t understand what makes film soooooo much better. If you prefer Lightroom over darkroom, than good on you. Stick to your ones and zeros and have fun. But don’t pretend that somehow if you dumb down digital you have an analogue experience.
I suspect you did not watch until the end.
Adam, as a longtime subscriber and avid watcher, I have to say you missed the mark on this one. The majority of my project/personal images are shot on film, and having said that, I think this video is pandering and not even close to explaining why people shoot film cameras in this modern digital era. Limitations are part of it, yes. But using it as a creative choice, and, enjoying using old film cameras with their tactile feel and different in-camera aspect ratios is also part of the enjoyment. I appreciate you, your work and your channel. But this video was pandering.