Only film

[Paul Verrips]

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I was wondering how many of you quit shooting digital and only shoot on film?

 

I quit shooting digital in 2014 and only shoot B&W film (even holidays). And it was my best choice in photography, besides switching to Leica rangefinder (i started with a M9).

 

Now and then i read some posts in the non-film topics and it's all about megapixels, resolution and the next digital M. I'm so happy that not my interest anymore.

 

How about you?

 

[Philip G]

I still have a digital camera but try to think of it purely as a ‘back up’ to my ‘main’ film leicas.

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[250swb]

More megapixels for some people who've been into a camera shop are the aim itself, but on the other hand photographers can use any camera that suits their style. So it isn't worth starting a war. It has always been thus even in the 35mm vs. large format debates, you'd get some with a large format camera thinking they were God's gift to photography simply because it's large format, and others who used the camera that best fitted what they wanted to say and how they wanted to say it, and without crowing about it.

[skucera]

As much as I enjoy the film process and all my old cameras, I shoot only a roll or two of film per month, and my iPhone shoots 100-1000 images per month.  The convenience of having a really capable camera in my pocket often wins out when I'm just out walking around.

 

Scott

[erl]

I still have more film cameras than digital camera. Don't ask how many of either.

 I love darkroom work and shooting film, when it is appropriate.

If I am shooting for a client, it's digital every time. Why? Cost! It's a no brainer.

 

However, digital never gives me the same involvement that analog does.

 

Millions, yes millions of darkroom prints later, I am still entranced by the magic of an image appearing in the developer till I stop it when I am satisfied with the tones. However film does not reach into the darkest recesses of my shooting like digital does. Nor does digital does not give me the same "I did that" type of satisfaction that film can.

 

Bottom line: I need and enjoy both, for different reasons. My only question is; which one do I use today?

[Archiver]

As I write this, my M7 and M9 are sitting on the desk in front of me, and my Contax T3 is in my bag.  I couldn't bring myself to shoot only film because of the convenience and volume of digital. I'd spend a veritable fortune in film/dev if I were to shoot film anywhere near like I shoot digital.  And yet, I continue to lust for a black chrome M-A or a silver chrome MP, or think of whether a M4-P would satisfy my desire for an all mechanical M with 28mm framelines.  For me, it's as much about the 'romance' and experience of film and M bodies as it is about the photographs themselves.

[adan]

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I haven't shot 35mm film since the M8 came out. (Except, I borrow a film Leica every 3-4 years, shoot a roll or two - and that usually reminds me of exactly why I haven't owned a film 35mm for 12 years). Darkroom printing about the same - mess with it once every few years, go back to more productive digital means.

 

I am interested in seeing, and I am interested in giving others my seeing through my magazine and the gallery. That is what I want to devote my time and attention to. All the "stuff" that happens in-between those two steps is relatively uninteresting busy-work. Digital minimizes the busy-work and gives me more time to spend on the important parts.

 

I do shoot some 6x6 pictures on 120 film. Because sometimes I like seeing in squares, with a camera dedicated to square pictures, and there aren't any dedicated-square digital cameras (except the old backs for MF cameras, which crop too much). I neither like nor dislike the need to process and scan the film - it is just a job to be done enroute to presenting the finished work, which is what really thrills me.

 

That being said, I do get some "fun" out of the process (since it has to be done anyway, I might just as well find some fun in it).  But I find the digital process just as much fun as film: seeing the colors "snap" to the right values by applying a Photoshop profile is my modern version of seeing the print come up in the developer. There is a creative "rush" in getting the tones of a B&W where I want them, or getting a magazine layout just right, whether the pictures came from silver or silicon.

 

Current issue - M10 digital color, Agfa Super-Isolette 6x6 B&W: http://www.coloradoseen.com/

 

Of course, I did pure film photography in all its forms and stages for 35 years before digital came along. It is "old-hat" for me - a means to an end, which digital does just as well. So if someone else finds digital "old-hat" and likes the rush of switching to film, I get it.

 

As I said, my photography is outer-directed. I am telling other people's stories, for other people. Not performing for myself in front of a mirror. And I've found that the audience - whether it be those who buy my prints, or the readers who view my magazine, or the picture editors who judge it - really don't give a rat's patootie whether I used film or digital, so long as the pictures are real and honest.

 

The dirt-track racers I photograph have a saying - "Dirt is for racing, asphalt is just for getting there." Like them, I don't get too wrapped up in the "getting there" part.

 

13-year-old racer, Agfa Super-Isolette (Hey, it's a German rangefinder), 75mm Solinar, Tmax 400.

 

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Edited August 8, 2018 by adan

[Ouroboros]

I never left film. I added digital to my existing skills.

[Ko.Fe.]

I went for real in film in 2012. Started to print later on. Not everyone I deal with want it on film and gelatin silver prints, so I have digital. In frames it is 50/50.

 

I know two photogs started with digital M and then selling and moving to film M.

One has his darkrooom build twice with new only gear.

Another was interviewed by Leica Blog in 2017.

[PFM]

I like the convenience of digital, along with the lower cost, but still prefer to shoot film.  With me it's more the tactile feedback I get while using a film camera, and it also challenges me to be able to get good results with different films.  Plus I'm not going to let all those great cameras just sit around while I'm out making photos out of pixels.

 

PF

[pico]

I was wondering how many of you quit shooting digital and only shoot on film?

 

Why not accept both?

[Paul Verrips]

Why not accept both?

I prefer to work with one camera system (Leica M), one workflow (shooting film & printing in wet darkroom), one romance, one way of archiving, i don't like digital post processing. I lost my interest in digital. Analog is just like reading a book, writing a letter, playing a lp records, having a real Italian ristretto.

I love the limitations of film photography and like the element of surprise with film rather then the instant gratification with digital. 

 

So working the two simultaneously, is not my cup of tea.

 

I started with a M9 and loved the output, but finally switched back to film because of nostalgia and it felt like coming home.

I'm not against digital, but it feels like the digital crowd is never satisfied in terms of pixels, resolution etc.

[Reini]

I started using Leica Analog Cameras a few months ago. Also, sometimes think of buying an M9.

Maybe it's a strange attitude. You can take pictures with any camera or phone. Photographing is exposing me to film.

[gberger]

Started shooting trannies in 1939 and stayed with Kodak/Fuji transparencies until I had to quit (eyesight.)

 

BTW: What is this digital stuff you all keep talking about??    

[Reini]

Started shooting trannies in 1939 and stayed with Kodak/Fuji transparencies until I had to quit (eyesight.)

 

BTW: What is this digital stuff you all keep talking about??    

 

When you took a photo of the first Kodak miniature film, you probably also asked: >What do you want with these little negatives?< 

[otto.f]

Well Paul, I can’t say goodbye to my M9 and Monochrome, but on the other hand, last year I bought all the analogue camera’s I always wanted to have, a viewcamera, two Rolleiflexes, and an R6.2. So I’m ready for a lot more analogue, but leaving my digital M’s at home at important travels, poohh, that’s a big step for me.

[jmahto]

First time I have been on a vacation with only film cameras (Leica M2 one of them). I have left M240 behind at home! I thought that is the only way I will be able to cut the cord and enjoy the film experience.

 

So far it is good. Not worrying about battery charge status is liberating.

 

Update: This evening Sun was beautiful red before setting but the whole scenery was not worth capturing (lots of clutter in the foreground). If I had M240 with me then I would still have shot many pictures that would have gone to trash most probably. Instead, I just looked at the setting Sun and enjoyed.

Edited August 12, 2018 by jmahto

[Paul Verrips]

First time I have been on a vacation with only film cameras (Leica M2 one of them). I have left M240 behind at home! I thought that is the only way I will be able to cut the cord and enjoy the film experience.

That's the spirit!

[Mute-on]

First time I have been on a vacation with only film cameras (Leica M2 one of them). I have left M240 behind at home! I thought that is the only way I will be able to cut the cord and enjoy the film experience.

So far it is good. Not worrying about battery charge status is liberating.

Update: This evening Sun was beautiful red before setting but the whole scenery was not worth capturing (lots of clutter in the foreground). If I had M240 with me then I would still have shot many pictures that would have gone to trash most probably. Instead, I just looked at the setting Sun and enjoyed.

I applaud your approach. I shoot film exclusively on our family trips overseas. For me it’s very much part of the experience of travel and discovery. Two Leica Ms, two lenses, one AA battery. Brilliant.

 

Back at home digital will do. More iPhone than anything. If I had more time and interest in digital post-processing I might take digital more seriously. For now I’m happy to enjoy using my film Ms while I still can.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[otto.f]

There’s an extra reward for film shooting nowadays, except that the (b&w) developers are much better than in the pre-digital era: Karbe’s lenses are much more interesting on film than on sensor, for instance the latest 28cron.

Edited August 12, 2018 by otto.f