Why analog film photography? I wrote this post a while back trying to explain, but I felt it was appropriate to address it on a page as well.
To begin with, I grew up in the days of analog photography. My first camera was a Kodak Disc, but I quickly grew up into a Konica TC-X and then an Olympus OM-1. With the Olympus, I started taking photography more seriously, and arranged for my own dark room in my parent’s basement.
After that, I spent about twenty years with analog film cameras, even developing my own color film, and doing black and white enlargements. I even dabbled in alternative techniques like cyanotype.
Then, when digital cameras arrived, I sold off all the analog gear and progressed through countless digital cameras. In 2024, I bought an analog camera again and started shooting film, on a very humble scale.
The first analog cameras I bought this time around were the Nikon N55 and Nikon F75. What I didn’t know at the time was that the F75 takes the lenses I’ve been using with my digital cameras. A nice bonus! I quickly upgraded to the Nikon F5 however, which I love!
Analog is a very humble part of my photography. I shoot maybe one roll of film per month, mostly because of the cost of film and development. But I really enjoy it, so I hope I can keep going.
Update end of 2024
Although I’ve enjoyed shooting quite a bit of analog again, I will reduce the amount of rolls I shoot from now on. In effect, I am pausing analog. It has primarily to do with costs. Sure, I could bulk load my own black and white film, develop and scan myself, but I don’t particularly want to get in to that again. I will still shoot a roll once in a while, and I’m keeping the Nikon F5 for now.