Film photography: it's back

Film photography is making a comeback, and to be fair, I totally expected it would. Look around you: the 80's are trending. From fashion to music and visual aesthetics, it's everywhere. The younger crowd is digitalized out and so over the screen era. Influencers are redundant, social media is a mess. There's a real craving for authenticity, analog sound and offline vibes. Nostalgia is the new cool.

I shot this in 2002 in Florida on a Nikon FM2. I only recently discovered this negative in my archives and printing it was a neat feeling, like uncovering a lost memory.

It's no secret: camera manufacturers want in on this resurging market. And It's coming: sleek new models are on their way and I'm here for it. Film photography has its own appeal: it's tactile and it's a much more deliberate and mindful process. For someone like me who started out with film and darkrooms in the 90's, it feels like going home. I waited over 15 years to make an analog comeback and I can't begin to express how excited I am to find myself under the amber glow of a darkroom light again.

Just last month I shot my very first roll of black and white film in over 15 years in Victoria BC. The experience was on a whole other level and I had forgotten just how different it felt.

On my first shoot in over 15 years, I caught myself looking at the backside of my Minolta after each shot, as if there'd be a preview for me to see. It took me a few hours to get back in the analog way of shooting. It's so much more intuitive: I have to entirely trust the process, have confidence in my skills and hope for the best. From shooting those 36 exposures to developing the film (waiting for it to dry!), selecting my frames and producing prints, the whole process took a few weeks.

But the satisfaction factor? Unmatched.

Darkroom prints have their own magic. It's a craft, a lost art and a labour of love. It took me just over 6 hours to produce 16 prints: I was a little out of practice.

At the moment of writing this, I'm a little over halfway through my second roll of Ilford HP5 Plus. I want to finish it so bad just to get my darkroom time in. Simultaneously, I'm deliberately taking my time because each frame is a gift that I don't want to rush into just for the sake of it. That's the thing about film photography, it will pull you in and spellbind you. Once you know, you know!

That being said, if you're curious about film photography and the magic that happens in a darkroom, I'd love nothing more than to show you the ropes.

Just reach out!

I'll be adding a section to my print shop soon with a selection of fine art film photography so stay tuned.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment: scroll all the way down!

Analog Workshops