The widespread availability of digital cameras in the late 1990s led to a natural decline of film photography, yet, in recent years, the practice has undergone a huge revival. This renewed popularity in fact prevails through both amateur and professional communities. Despite their fragility and unpredictability, vintage film cameras are now three to four times the price they were a decade ago. So, what has caused this resurgence?
To put it simply, we love the grainy, authentic look of film – something that digital can only achieve when artificially edited. It’s a stylistic choice, and one that is very much back on trend. Perhaps it all comes down to finding beauty in imperfection. The digital look is too polished and perfect thanks to the manipulation of editing tools, while film, by contrast, possesses an indisputable rawness and honesty that is inherently more aligned with the flawed nature of life itself.
But the appeal of analogue photography goes beyond its rugged texture of aesthetically pleasing grain. Shooting on film requires patience, skill and, in my opinion, a bit of luck. Achieving a good image – let alone the image you envision – can thus be quite challenging and unpredictable. Unlike digital photography, where instant feedback allows for countless adjusting, film usually demands careful consideration of the settings needed to achieve your desired result. Whilst plenty of film cameras have an automatic mode, relying on it can undermine creative control and might lead to overexposed or underexposed pictures. Though, as many film cameras lack this feature entirely, users will likely need to master aperture and shutter speed settings. Making matters trickier, film cameras often lack autofocus too; this can make quick shots more challenging. All of these factors might be seen as a disadvantage of shooting film, yet I feel they rather encourage intentionality with each take and prevent mindless point and shoot jobs.
This unpredictable, or at least, variable, essence of film photography is what I find makes the process so enjoyable – this is especially so when some of my favourite photos have been complete accidents! Once, I unknowingly shot on the same roll of film twice over, and while many of the double exposures were disappointing, a handful pleasantly surprised me. Delightful accidents such as these are heightened by the suspense of waiting for film to be developed and scanned. This anticipatory break between capturing an image and actually seeing the result makes a good outcome all the more gratifying. In a world that is now so intrinsically underpinned by instant gratification, waiting for scans or prints, in a sense, becomes a forced act of mindfulness.
Experimentation with film goes beyond accidental surprises, however. Many photographers in fact “soup” their film after exposure; this entails intentionally ruining film through heat, water and various household items – such as lemon or washing-up liquid – to create a distorted effect. With digital, experimentation is often reliant on software like Photoshop which lack the hands-on, unpredictability that makes film so fun to work with.
Perpetuating the forced intentionality and contemplative nature of film photography is the very real price of each and every shot. While the initial costs of this hobby might be cheaper than digital camera options, the film itself and the labour of its processing can be quite pricey – particularly if you use high quality film or want high-resolution scans or prints. With the rise in popularity and demand, film prices are at an all-time high. Premium options such as Portra 500 are becoming increasingly expensive as manufacturing cannot keep up with the new surge of interest. This price inflation is even a problem with mid-range films such as Kodak Ultramax and Fuji-film 200. My tip: bulk buy and look for bundles on eBay!
Despite the rising costs of analogue photography, the practice has undeniably made a massive comeback. The very limitations of film seem to ironically reinforce the mindful nature of the craft. And whilst the expense of each picture creates pressure, it likewise demands contemplation – something that digital skips out on. Perhaps the instant gratification of digital photography – and the digital age as a whole – is something we have grown tired of. The revival of film is therefore maybe more than a momentary trend, but a manifestation of human preference for both delayed gratification and imperfect beauty.
“Vintage Agfa Selecta M 35mm Rangefinder Film Camera, Motor Drive, Made In Germany, Circa 1962 – 1965” by France1978 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.