Norm Shapiro wrote:
Interesting in how it is aimed at the 20/30 year old generation. What about us older folks?
Us older folks used many of those cameras when new. My first "SLR" was that original model of the SX-70 the one guy had. I had no idea anyone was making film for it. And we all used some "Hassleblad" 500 of some sort. Pentax 6x7 was stupid heavy and the shutter was a clunkier and the RZ67 was not a handheld for me.
I'm amazed some many of them mention that film slows them down. Do younger foks have more ADHD or less patience?
The common theme from these photographers is the way shooting film makes them slow down, to consider composition, light / shadows and exposure. It does. The film photographer has either 36 exposure in 35mm or 12 exposure in medium format 120 film. The photographer has to be deliberate in their craft as opposed to shooting a few hundred images machine gun style then spending hours hunched over a keyboard trying to fix what they didn't do at the time they pressed the shutter button.
James Nachtwey used 28 rolls of film on his 9/11 assignment. He shot roughly 1000 images. James is known for being deliberate and economical. He uses an EOS 1V and Leica M6. He is thoughtful in the use of film. He knows what images he needs for the assignment and that knowledge is gained though years of work.
James is so conscious about his work with film he has zero qualms about sending rolls of film to his manager for development. Once the work is printed then they are arranged in a manner that conveys the story he tells.
EB-1 wrote:
I'm amazed some many of them mention that film slows them down. Do younger foks have more ADHD or less patience?
EBH
Yes, they do, and I blame the internet, TikTok et al, etc. We are in an era of instant gratification. And as a millennial I find myself in the same conundrum -- I find it difficult to "unplug." When I grew up all I we had was film, and by the time I graduated college and professional school and had time to practice photography again, the digital revolution had come and gone. I definitely appreciate the medium much more now, and since I have matured (and have digital for snapshots) I have time to practice and enjoy the art of photography. Film definitely slows me down and helps in that regard.
QuantumTarsus wrote:
Yes, they do, and I blame the internet, TikTok et al, etc. We are in an era of instant gratification. And as a millennial I find myself in the same conundrum -- I find it difficult to "unplug." When I grew up all I we had was film, and by the time I graduated college and professional school and had time to practice photography again, the digital revolution had come and gone. I definitely appreciate the medium much more now, and since I have matured (and have digital for snapshots) I have time to practice and enjoy the art of photography. Film definitely slows me down and helps in that regard....Show more →
How does it slow you down? Expense of shooting film? Time having to change film?
I find the notion of film slowing you down as a reason why some film users rationalize using film…but why can’t you slow down with digital? Is it because digital doesn’t cost you anything g to rifle off a hundred images? Sort of like pigging oneself out at an all you can eat because it doesn’t cost you anymore…it’s all within you, not your equipment you shoot with.
chez wrote:
How does it slow you down? Expense of shooting film? Time having to change film?
I find the notion of film slowing you down as a reason why some film users rationalize using film…but why can’t you slow down with digital? Is it because digital doesn’t cost you anything g to rifle off a hundred images? Sort of like pigging oneself out at an all you can eat because it doesn’t cost you anymore…it’s all within you, not your equipment you shoot with.
It's the process and experience. It's the same reason vinyl is seeing a resurgence. It's knowing you only have a limited number of shots on a roll. It's the tactile nature of the cameras. It's a mindset thing. You HAVE to slow down. (This is key in today's instant gratification society where the average attention span is about 20 seconds.)
Sure, I suppose you could take any digital camera and meter manually, focus manually, etc, but you won't be able to convince me that it is the same experience.
I know a lot of old timer's can't understand why anyone would want to still shoot film -- film in 2025 obviously isn't for them. It's fine. But its not my fault you can't understand why it is popular among the younger crowd.
QuantumTarsus wrote:
It's the process and experience. It's the same reason vinyl is seeing a resurgence. It's knowing you only have a limited number of shots on a roll. It's the tactile nature of the cameras. It's a mindset thing. You HAVE to slow down. (This is key in today's instant gratification society where the average attention span is about 20 seconds.)
Sure, I suppose you could take any digital camera and meter manually, focus manually, etc, but you won't be able to convince me that it is the same experience.
I know a lot of old timer's can't understand why anyone would want to still shoot film -- film in 2025 obviously isn't for them. It's fine. But its not my fault you can't understand why it is popular among the younger crowd.
The younger crowd is always looking for the next fashion statement…that’s where they are with film. They saw their favourite influencer using film and thought it was cool. Give it a few years and they’ll be influenced away to the next thing.
QuantumTarsus wrote:
It's the process and experience. It's the same reason vinyl is seeing a resurgence. It's knowing you only have a limited number of shots on a roll. It's the tactile nature of the cameras. It's a mindset thing. You HAVE to slow down. (This is key in today's instant gratification society where the average attention span is about 20 seconds.)
Sure, I suppose you could take any digital camera and meter manually, focus manually, etc, but you won't be able to convince me that it is the same experience.
I know a lot of old timer's can't understand why anyone would want to still shoot film -- film in 2025 obviously isn't for them. It's fine. But its not my fault you can't understand why it is popular among the younger crowd.
So like I said it’s in your mind not your equipment. You can just as easily ‘slow down” using a digital camera, focus manually if you like, expose manually if you like, only take meaningful images…it’s like you said a mindset…not equipment.
chez wrote:
The younger crowd is always looking for the next fashion statement…that’s where they are with film. They saw their favourite influencer using film and thought it was cool. Give it a few years and they’ll be influenced away to the next thing.
The video was created 11 years ago.
How much longer should we wait before no-one is interested in film again?
Desmolicious wrote:
The video was created 11 years ago.
How much longer should we wait before no-one is interested in film again?
The real question is why do we even bother with painting anymore? Cameras have been around for over 100 years. How much longer do we have to wait before people lose interest in paintings?
QuantumTarsus wrote:
The real question is why do we even bother with painting anymore? Cameras have been around for over 100 years. How much longer do we have to wait before people lose interest in paintings?
I know! I can just slow down and take one pic with my iphone, then click on the 'make it look like an oil painting' filter et voila!
I really enjoyed this video. This video could have been shot last month. The reasons to shoot film have remained as a constant. Unfortunately, for fifteen years I forgot these things due to the glitter of digital.
Desmolicious wrote:
I know! I can just slow down and take one pic with my iphone, then click on the 'make it look like an oil painting' filter et voila!
Sort of like taking a film strip, scanning it and et voila it’s a digital image.
