Film photography is my new obsession. Two-three years ago, my inspiration photographer and friend Julie Paisley started shooting film. I fell in love with her work all over again but I didn’t realize it was because of film. I really thought it was a new way she was editing so I decided to try it with my digital images. No matter what I did, my images weren’t having the same tone as hers (I could never achieve her awesomeness). And then in October of 2014, Julie shot my daughter’s wedding in film and I got to watch her in action with film (never mind that I have attended at least 5 workshops of hers and seen her in action every time). So when she offered a film workshop at her cottage in July 2015, I was all over it because to put it simply, I just LOVE her inside and out!
When I first started shooting my kids, I was shooting 35mm film so I figured this would be a no brainer. Boy was I in for an awakening! I mean, when I shot film several years ago, I just shot on automatic. How hard could it be to learn something old again?!?!
I had to borrow one of Julie’s camera’s and film when I got to the workshop because clearly I wasn’t as prepared as I thought. We started out shooting at her cottage and all I had was some black and white film. But I don’t think these images would have been as stunning any other way. Learning how to manually control a film camera and not being able to push the button 2-3 times in a row was something that took some getting use to! And did you know, there isn’t a playback button on film! LOL But understanding my settings and lighting again made me feel like a legit photographer!
So after purchasing a couple of 35mm cameras and a medium format camera, I have decided to start shooting hybrid. This means I will be using both digital and film images for all of my sessions. I am not quite ready to go this route for weddings but don’t be surprised if you see me at a wedding with my double holdfast holster loaded with a digital camera on one side and a film camera on the other.
The over all look of film makes me what to shoot it all the time! So get ready for 2016, because I am going to master this!
