snapshots on film

Above are a few random snapshots from my first roll of film that I got developed earlier today. I'm so excited to share them with you all and was like a kid on Christmas Eve when I went to pick up the roll from the lab (even though I opted for 1 hour developing). I was anxious to see what I got...hoping at least one image would turn out okay. Turns out - I got a lot of keepers!

I'm in love.

If you follow me on twitter, and even if you don't, you've probably heard me talking (writing) about teaching myself to shoot film. About two or three weeks ago I found an old Canon AE-1 (a 35mm camera I've been looking for off & on) at my favourite thrift shop. Perfect condition, with original leather case and 50mm/1.8 lens - cost me all of $25. Such a major score.

I immediately got a roll of film and started, carefully taking pictures. That's one of the things I love about shooting film. I love the process. As someone who has only ever shot digital - shooting film is kind of like a whole new world. I find that I slow down. A lot. I take my time. I really consider how I'm composing the image and all of the elements that are involved. I mean, I do this with digital but not to the extent that I do with film - because each click of the shutter costs money! With digital - you can simply check it right away, see if you got the image, and if not take as many more as you like. Not so with film! So I really take my time.

Anyways, after taking my time for probably close to two weeks - I finally finished the roll and brought it in to get developed....only to learn that I hadn't loaded the film correctly. BUMMER (but at least I could reuse the roll). You can bet I'll never incorrectly load film again - lesson learned!

So, this was my second attempt but still on the first roll...this time loaded correctly. I guess everything worked out for the best because I ended up going to a different lab that is MUCH cheaper and that I really like the results of - so I think I've found a lab to do my developing. Awesome.

I don't know if you all can tell the difference between film images and digital images but to me the look of film, for the most part, just can't be beat. I love the colour/tone of film, the grain, even the natural vignette on some images (vignette is when the edges of the picture is slightly darker...as in the 1st photo above). With film I also find you keep a lot more detail in the sky and in shadows (so instead of the sky being blown out and appearing all white or dull blue - it actually looks like a blue sky with with clouds and has shades of blue...). Also, even when focused and sharp - I find film to be softer than digital. Digital images tend to look super sharp and "crisp" - which is totally fine. But I quite like a softer feel (that's why when I post process my digital images I typically do not sharpen them). I find that when I shoot digital I, sometimes, try to post-process it (in photoshop) to look like film. To get that film colour and film feel. It's not impossible - I've seen photographers do it very well - but it does take time. That was why I decided to teach myself to shoot film - I mean, I love the look and try to duplicate it on my digital images ...so why not just learn to shoot it? These images above - no post processing at all. No adjustments done while being developed. Literally sooc (straight out of camera). Perfect? Not quite. But I still LOVE them.

I still have a lot to learn but it's safe to say that shooting film is something I'll be doing much much more of. Some of my favourite wedding/lifestyle photographers shoot film and when I look at their work I am so inspired.

Do any of you shoot film (or are you learning how to)? If so, what's it about film that you love? And what camera do you use? Can you see something different between these photos and the usual photos I post?

*please let me know if there's a formatting issue with this post...like huge spaces or things aren't aligned. thanks!