Why I Started to Document Life with 35mm Film (Again)

I grew up with 35mm film. That is literally all I knew, and how I got started in photography.

My whole life was surrounded around film photography, and digital did not even exist. It was a different era, and it all went away really quickly when I wrapped my world around digital photography. Digital made things easy to document the growth of disc golf for over 20 years. It was nice and convenient, it still is; and the cost of file storage for it only getting cheaper as the years went by.

Convenience is nice. But there is definitely something missing with that.

Digital Photography lacks a soul in a way that you could never understand until you shoot that first roll of film.

The anticipation of waiting for and seeing your film photos, there is nothing can prepare you for that.

I almost loose my breath seeing my film scans or prints for the first time. There is no better feeling.

Because when you are living in the world of instant, there is nothing else like that wait that takes you back to those moments that have faded into memories.

It is the best feeling looking back at that. The grain, and those happy accidents are the best surprise too.

Film Photography Hits Different

I started documenting more of my life’s moments on film because I wanted to live my life, and not look back at it instantly. You cannot compare it to anything else, and the feeling I get looking back at those moments is unlike anything else. It’s a humbling rush of emotions where I am just filled with this gratitude.

35mm Film gives me a new perspective in ways I never expected.

That is one thing throughout my career that has had to evolve, my perspective always needs to shift. I often come back to the same habits, especially out of subconscious knowledge.

One thing I don’t want in my work is to feel stale, and burnout is real. Changing things up allows my mind to expand in a way that goes through the unknown.

If I don’t change my perspective, there is no mindset growth.

I use 35mm to capture nature because it expands my mind in terms of composition.

Creatively speaking, I start to see things differently in terms of tone, and color and how those elements can extend further into the overall composition.

There is something that is so surreal about seeing it this way. Especially in terms of light, contrast and color; there is so much more depth in these elements.

I REALLY love to play into this effect of tone, color and contrast by changing up my aperture to help guide the eye to what I want you to see.

I think that is where part of the real magic in photography lies. Composition becomes an element of selection with your knowledge of the tools in your hand. Film photography expands the depth of the image, its something that you can recognize instantly. There is nothing computer generated about it. When you see it, you can feel it.

There is so much unknown with 35mm film

That is exactly what I love about it. The first image, and the last image in the roll are often my favorite because there’s this little bit of light leakage and I love the way it burns through part of the image.

35mm Film is what it is, and I love to try all different kinds!

It’s how it is… that hits you so hard with a visceral memory.

It makes me wonder, are you more likely to remember a photo shot on film? I wouldn’t doubt that.

I don’t know if that idea is rooted in my experience, which sure as heck could be.

Film doesn’t just look different, it hits you with a feeling. It changes my conscious creatively, and it leaves me with solid memories.

That’s what I’m here for. That’s what this is about, and that’s why I shoot 35mm film. I needed to come full circle with it and it is refreshing to work with.

& I love the sound of that shutter.