FILM PHOTOGRAPHY: 3 Great Things About It
Published January 22, 2024 · 7:21 · 100,345 views
About This Video
Three reasons to shoot film photography, and none of them are the ones the film-photography internet usually offers. Van skips the grain-texture fetishism and the anti-digital posturing and lands on something more structural: film cameras are cool objects, the local photo shop creates a relationship with a human process, and physical photo albums produce a different kind of memory than a camera roll. Each reason is about the experience of photography rather than the output.
The Mochi Things photo albums get an unpaid promotion (Van is careful to note this) and their presence grounds the argument in a specific, purchasable practice rather than abstract nostalgia. A companion piece to the "Justify Your Expensive Film-Photography Habit" episode, but where that video addresses the economics, this one addresses the phenomenology. What it feels like to use a medium that forces you to commit. Every frame costs money.
Transcript
we've got a new baby in our family and the adjustment has made my head a little squirly so I've re-upped my better help
subscription to help me maintain my mental health so I don't do nothing stupid betterhelp has a questionnaire
signup process with simple multiple choice questions that betterhelp uses to match me with the most appropriate
therapist we use therapy for all different kinds of issues this time around I needed a therapist to help me
talk through a specific challenge mainly work woman kids I fill out the questionnaire a therapist from
better help gets back to me in a day or two and the therapy begins better help is an excellent resource for learning
how to be in therapy if you have an interest in therapy or suspect you need therapy better help is a terrific place
to start thank you better help for sponsoring this
episode I love film photography even though I'm no good at
it or maybe because I'm no good at it I just like doing it and I almost don't care about the
results film photography is one of my hobbies and hobbies are for [Music] fun film photography is great for three fundamental
reasons one the cameras are cool uh I paid 200 and something bucks
for this from a Japanese shop on eBay if memory serves reses they rebuilt it or you know went through it made sure it
works perfectly and it does I've always wanted one of these ever since I saw Jeff wheeler with one in
1982 and I paid extra for the black model bought this Power Winder for 20
bucks or so just listen to this thing all I carved this grip out of a firewood log Walnut I think it looks Pro but it ain't Canon marketed it to moms who
wanted to look Pro but the pros used nikons back then Nikon F something or
other I can play with the iris slf stop or the shutter speed or if I'm in a
panic I can set this thing to program and it's automatic but I still got to focus it
manually if you're looking to start film photography I say don't start with a manual start with an Olympus Stylus it's
like a sturdy small little weatherproof capsule fits in your pocket nicely you don't even need to bother researching
just get the Olympus Stylus I like that I don't really know
what I'm doing and I like that I have no idea what the picture is going to look like until I get it back from the
processor which brings us to the second reason film photography is
[Music] great number two your local Photoshop I love the process of my local Photoshop I love my ride down to the Photoshop I love the stacks of old unfamiliar equipment I love that it's
not a chain I love the glass cases full of old cameras and I love the unspoken
disdain we film folks have for digital photography I drop off my role of film
and if I'm out of film I buy four rolls at a time why four because the little
shelf I built fits four film boxes between the trim where the Shelf is
mounted I get matte 4x6 prints with a white border and I greedily open my
prints as soon as I get outside the Photoshop did they come out did they come out usually I get one or two per roll
that are pretty good and the third great thing about film
photography I love making the albums I love making the albums the reason I'm doing this video is so that I can catch up on my photo albums which
I've neglected for 3 years I love making albums [Music] I try to keep the photos in chronological order which requires some sleuthing okay
he has longer hair but he looks younger and I see diapers sticking out three
exactly two and change this is 2020 computer free no computer praise
Allah bar hasem thank the Lord my old favorites were these plastic jobs that come in a
sleeve then they stopped making them and I cannot find them anywhere so I switched to these long and skinny ones
that are made for professionals but they're too tall and top heavy for my shelves so I I may do but they're not
optimal so for this video I searched and searched for a new style of photo album
but most are just too preci for my taste like they contain original copies of the Declaration of
Independence and then I found these and I like these on this week's patreon only video shoot shop album that's film photography
to justify the money and the time you got to give some of them away and they got to be framed and the frames got to be right
Products & Tools Mentioned
- BetterHelp uses
- Canon AE-1 (implied) uses
- Nikon F (series) mentions
- Olympus Stylus recommends
- Canon Power Winder uses
- Mochi Things photo albums recommends
People Referenced
Jeff Wheeler