A little over a year ago I bought a Canon Ae-1 and last week I found the first roll of film I shot on it and finally had it processed (Its been a crazy year ok, in the middle of being pregnant, giving birth and raising a baby I sort of misplaced a lot of things). But honestly, this highlighted for me why I love film so much and why I have been missing it for the instant-gratification take-as-many-frames as you want digital format.
Film slows me down. I shoot methodically, carefully and deliberately. I think about what I am looking at, I study the light, I think about the consequences of different exposures. I study the frame and am more aware of composition. And then, when a roll is finished...I wait. I am removed from the moment, the scene, my thought process and when I get the processed results I see it with fresh eyes.
I love the whole process (even more so when I can get in the darkroom and process and print myself). Digital has done great things for photography but for me, the art form is so intrinsically linked to film. The different images you can create with different cameras and types of film is, to me, impossible to replicate digitally (don't even get me started on the difference between a silver oxide print and an ink one).
(these images were taken in Poland last September).
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