Rediscovering 35mm film
I’ve been a somewhat obsessive digital photographer for the last 17+ years, however, when covid restrictions hit all of us 2 years ago I decided to take the opportunity to revisit my roots … 35mm film.
It’s now 2023, and I’ve been shooting film ever since !
Back in 2000 I bought my first camera, a cheap & cheerful Canon EOS 3000 in Dublin with an appallingly soft secondhand EF zoom lens …
But why revisit & genuinely start using 35mm film again, especially when I’ve perfectly good digital cameras ?
I can personally attest to a couple of great benefits of switching to film completely or becoming a hybrid digital & analog shooter:
- With film you get a welcome break from your LCD screen: phone, laptops, computers, etc. !
- With film you’re very much “in the moment” … film forces you to slow down, take a breath, scan the entire frame, check your settings (physically) and wait for the right moment. Coupled with the physical advancing of the film negative from one side of the camera to the other.
- You’re in the driving seat, not your camera … you’re using your knowledge gained, to judge how to frame the shot, judge the best exposure, and where to focus and when. It’s art 🙂
- You’re not concerned about megapixels, you’re not overly concerned about how high-end your camera is, it doesn’t really matter anymore, instead it’s more about the lens and film choice.
When we experience most of our fast-paced lives through video screens, 35mm film photography offers you the ability to slow down, see your surroundings through an optical viewfinder, and be a part of the image capturing process
Paul Leith
As a result, these adventures of mine in analog photography the last year have resulted in me practically re-skilling myself in the art of photography – and It’s been a big learning curve BUT so rewarding !
In my new blog I want to share my journey, while offering three ‘reference pages’ (see menu above) of consolidated tips and knowledge I learnt along the way, that might make your life & film experience even better:
- What horrible film mistakes you can avoid (i.e. all the ones I made along the way !)
- What to look for when buying a 35mm film camera and which lenses ?
- How to use a manual focus film camera ?
- How to get reliable exposures with 1970-80’s center-weighted metering ?
- Which film to use in what scenarios and why ?
- How and where to get your film developed in Ireland ?
- How to digitize, process and share your film negatives …
I hope you follow my blog, and that you find my reference pages useful 🙂
Regards, Paul
💻 Instagram: @irishanalogadventures
Irish Analog Adventures 