Shutter release: "It’s probably one of the best moments you can have as a human being.” Film Photography?

cgw

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Funny but tripping the shutter on my old Nikons and Mamiyas just isn't in my TopTen of the best moments I've ever experienced. This guy needs to get out more...Sad.

Still, I'm puzzled by these occasional fabulist tales of burgeoning film use when no one ever talks about physical production by Kodak. Gen Zs I know are mostly stuck at home, broke and working part-time jobs for bum wages and sweating student loans while dreaming of moving out into a brutal rental market here in Toronto. Film is nasty expensive now. Used cameras are a crap shoot(literally sometimes). Not exactly the ingredients of a film resurgence. Anyway, enjoy a few minutes in LA.

 
I've been talking it over w/ my wife. We both agree that I need to take a roll of Kodak Gold 200 and my Nikon FM2n and go out and carefully choose 36 exposures and post them. Maybe one photo a day for a month and see what comes of it.
 
I do hate the cost of film and the fact that it just keeps going up and up. I really would like to know how much Kodak and Fuji are truly producing compared to what they were producing in the 70’s and 80’s. I for one still prefer film. Just seems more real to me, mostly because that is what I grew up with. I have my digital cameras and use them on occasion. If I have the choice I will take film, unless I will be shooting an insane number of shots.
 
Most hobbies are silly when you really come down to it. People ride and care for horses that they ride instead of walking or using an off road vehicle. People bowl, and play golf knocking a little ball around the field. How does that make sense? We all look for diversions because modern man has the time to play. Playing is playing. Doesn't really matter what the toy is.
 
I'm hopelessly addicted to making photographs. When (if) I find something more satisfying than film, I'll happily embrace it. I believe that anyone capable of thinking for themselves ought not to feel obligated to copy what others do.
 
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For me it's not the sound of the shutter, it's the image on the paper that suddenly appears as I tilt the tray.
Amen. It's the smug post-hipster fetish with film/film cameras I find tiresome. But hey, anything to keep the C-41+b&w lines open, right?
 
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Personally, I never left film so have just accepted the rising costs as another bang against the digital impact on photography. It killed off businesses and products I loved to use.

I welcome this little newsy story and am happy to see analog carrying on. I really don't give a crap who's using it, or why. I'm just happy it's there to enjoy.
 
As I grow older my formats grow larger. The days of spooling up a 100 foot roll of 35mm are long gone. Perhaps it is the portraiture aspect of large formats. Set up and wait for the light to paint the scene right for an exposure. And the shutters are such an auditory satisfaction. Exposure is complete. Love it.
 
I like the sound of a good shutter click. I've always shot film, just added a digital camera to the mix (and can use the same lenses with both).

I have to wonder what camera and/or lens was being used recording the video. It seemed kind of shaky, maybe the way the film was feeding thru the camera? Wonder if the person was using a vintage camera that was old enough to not be running film thru as smoothly as it used to do.

I don't know much about video but with a film rangefinder or my digital camera I can get comparable results. I was wondering if any filter was used. Usually they can adjust in a lab, especially with color film. I've used filters more with B&W.

At least they're shooting film! I'm glad if some places there's a resurgence.
 
Whenever I shoot a leaf shutter, it’s always a bit anti-climatic. Just a tiny ‘tic’ and it’s done. The slap of the mirror in sn SLR is much more satisfying. I’ve been shooting film since 1970. No plans to stop today!
 
It's the smug post-hipster fetish with film/film cameras I find tiresome.
Can't understand why everyone doesn't think the same as you?
 
If people want to have fun with film, that's fine with me. All my film cameras are in a box in the closet, with the lenses and whatever else. The reels, tanks, and trays are in storage. (I think I dismantled the enlarger for parts for a project) I'm very happy with the click of the digital SLR and being able to see my image, minutes later, or send it to my Brother via email, or upload for a newspaper or website to use, in minutes.

I've tried scanning, shooting macro, copy devices, and having my old slides digitized professionally and saved. One thing I've come to face is, they looked good when I took them and until I got my first DSLR. Now they mostly look like soft, flat, snapshots.

flood-cameras-dumpster.jpg


That's what happened to my camera collection, after a flood. Maybe I'm just discouraged and bitter? They were good in their day, and that day is done.
 

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