Venturing into film

Linhof Technika III

I did something I always said I’d never do, I bought a film camera (2 actually). Why would anyone want to shoot film when you have to pay for film, pay to have it developed, then pay to have it scanned so it can be shared online? Why wouldn’t you just buy a digital camera and edit it to have the film look, or buy a camera that has film simulations built in? Exactly, that’s why I swore I’d never waste money on film photography.

So what changed? I realized I was shooting a lot every shoot. I’d have 1000 photos, many of the same pose “just in case” I missed a shot. To combat this, I purchased a cheap, manual focus, tilt-shift lens and had a blast shooting with it. I had to slow down, focus, take a shot. It was a challenge, but I could still see what I was going to get before I uploaded the photos to my computer.

While I was trying to slow down digitally, I was following Jared Polin’s 4×5 Project and the look of the images were something different than I was used to. This sent me down the rabbit hole of maybe wanting to try film. I wasn’t intending to purchase a 4×5 camera and was looking through Facebook Marketplace at some Hasselblads and found a retired photographer selling one nearby, but he was also selling a Linhof Technika III. Speaking with film experts, the Linhof would be a better investment and would hold its value, so I met the guy and he sold it to me for a great price (and threw in some extras). Of course, when I got it home and was fiddling with it, I broke it (nothing major), and sent it off to KEH for repair and cleaning. At the time of writing this, I still haven’t shot with it, but I did get it back and its ready to go.

The second film camera I purchased was an impulse purchase. Walking around the Atlanta Beltline, I went to Atlanta Worldwide (great store you have to go to if you like vintage Atlanta memorabilia) and they have several film cameras for sale. I decided to get a 35mm Canon AE-1 Program, which is essentially idiot proof, and it was something I could carry around easily to learn film.

So within the span of 2 months, I went from never wanting to shoot film, to owning 2 film cameras and shooting my first roll of 35mm. Here’s the start to what is going to be an interesting journey.