My truth about film photography right now
Film is more and more expensive. The prices have gone up crazy, making impossible at least to me to consider righ now film photography.
The photo you see above is a film photo made with a digital camera. Cool, no? I think the essence is more important than the camera used. The feeling, guys…this is what I am talking about. And many times I achieve to have my digital photos more filmy than many film photographers achieve to do with their film camera. How is this possible? Again, film is a question to feel and living photography in a certain way. And if I can’t this period to shoot film I am still able to have photos with soul and that crunchy attitude of film photography.
That comment made me smile and…happy. If people can mistake my digital photos with film photos I am happy. Because I think the film aesthetic is still the reference despite I am essentially a digital photographer as I explained here. But digital is currently perfect for my process. Paulie B published a video about the film price increase and how photographers are living this period:
My answer about this topic is:
What is my thought on film photography today? I haven't bought a roll of film in the last 2 years. I cannot. And I say this with regret because I love shooting film. I've even bought film cameras over the past 2 years and a friend recently gave me one that I'd like to try. But it costs too much between roll and development. There is, and I know it for sure, a precise desire to kill film. It's part of a design. And also call me a conspiracy theorist, since I am accused of this for other issues as well. But it's all connected anyway. The price hike makes no sense, in the face of reality and yet the prices continue to rise, insanely. Digital photography is now my usual process. Not infrequently, especially in black and white, someone has confused my digital images by believing them to be film, asking me which roll of film I used. It's fun and even, in a way, comforting. My work relies heavily on an aesthetic that is as organic as possible, even if it is digital.
I would love to back to shoot some roll. As I said I have new film cameras that I would like to test. But this is simply not the time. Because I know myself and it couldn't just be a roll of film. I'm not rich, I'm not daddy's boy and my earnings are not all in for my family. To back to film photography is a no-discussion right now to me.
And now we are seeing a migration, even of some defenders of the faith that I thought always being into film photography. Many street photographers using a Ricoh GR, many with the idea that only Fujifilm (if they can’t afford a Leica) is the film-like camera to use but I am currently photographing with a small underrated Canon camera (promoted as tool for youtube creators the M200) and I am going to show that is like a Ricoh GR camera. These days shooting black and white jpg. And I am enjoying the entire process. I feel myself inspired and renewed because yes is possible also with a small digital camera.
When someone thinks of film photography as the only possibility, I say think carefully. Today the film has become very expensive and it's time to stop indulging in this trend. I got to know that for some brands there is a clear desire to cancel film photography and, as the world goes, they will succeed. After all, fiction is attributing planetary faults to small things rather than big ones: the people are always wrong and the elite are never wrong. We are the slaves for them and that is the main issue of any narrative right now. If we want to change this we still can but we need to think different. We need to stop to follow the mainstream manipulation. Dear readers, some of the photography brands quoted are part of the system that want us without choice, and film photography is part of this.
If you ask me, I would like film becomes cheaper and we can back to choose. Right now I am a photographer which he was forced to give up.
