REDISCOVERING THE MAGIC AND JOY OF SHOOTING FILM
How a chance discovery re-sparked my interest and love for film photography.
Photo by Robert Schall Photography
How it all started
What a beautiful camera, also, what a beast of a camera, but I felt it calling to me. I was standing in a little boutique-like camera store in Gangfu New Village in Taiwan. You know, one of those that seems completely chaotic yet alluring in its appeal. Odd artsy industrial shelves stacked with all sorts of photographic items from film, cameras of all types and odd tidbits that might serve as memorabilia related to photography. Yet despite the chaos it felt homely and comforting. A chaos that invites you into its disorderly ranks and lures you on with its unpredictability.
I had just visited the 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan and had found this fun little street nearby with attractive little stores and cafes. Quite a quaint little artsy affair with beautifully tree-lined alleys leading to the various colorful merchants all desperately trying to be eclectic and colorful.
Did earthquakes bring me back to film photography?
The Taiwan earthquake that struck on 21 September 1999, also known as the Chi Chi earthquake, was devastating, destroying thousands of homes, killing over 2,400 and injury more than 10,000 people, registering at whopping 7.7 on the Richter scale. On my first visit to Taiwan, in 2019, I had experienced a small earthquake while slurping a bowl of delicious Taiwanese tomato beef noodle soup. No worries, that was only a mere 4.7. So, the following year when I was back in Taiwan, I fancied myself a visit to the national museum commemorating the Chi Chi earthquake, just south of Taichung, housed in a former junior high school.
A “thrust vaulting” had caused it, and for those of you, like me, who are woefully unfamiliar with volcanology terms, it suffices to say this type causes part of the terrain to lift, sheering it off and up from its adjacent piece. Just imaging, two, perfectly happy little grains or dirt, in each other’s company for hundreds of years, nestled away deep in the soil, suddenly being wrenched from each other, only to find themselves now a dozen feet above and below each other. While the needle on the graph might only wiggle a few centimeters, out there the landscape was catapulted up by 1 meter (3 feet) to 8 meters (26 feet) during this earthquake. And when you visit the museum, you can see this. You can see how the ground was lifted, tearing the school buildings in half. One half is now a lot higher than the other half.
Photo by Robert Schall Photography
Did I really need a film camera?
I was fingering around with a Mamiya RB 67 camera. I am not sure fingering is the right expression, while, yes, I was trying to be delicate with this camera, it is a beast, and weighs in at nearly 3 kilos (6.5 lbs). It is definitely a heavy weight. But such a beautiful camera. I was mesmerized by it. By the pure mechanical nature of this beast. No electronics to be found here.
Growing up as a child, my father had this old Zenza Bronica medium format camera. I loved playing with it and staring down through its waist level viewfinder. Here I was equally fascinated. There is something magical about waist level viewfinders for me. They draw me in, and just make me giddy and excited.
How I came by my Mamiya film camera
Fast forward a few days and I was standing in a different store, in Taipei now, playing around with another Mamiya RB 67. I couldn’t get the camera out of my mind. I wanted to shoot with it. I needed one! There was something deep within me, a young, impressionable child, that needed to be reconnected to the joys of playing around with his father’s camera.
I was asking a million questions to the young lady behind the counter at Shueido Camera. I can highly recommend checking out this store if you are ever in Taipei. She explained everything patiently to me, and then we haggled a little over the price. She knew I was hooked, and I knew I was not the only one that would want this camera, not the best haggling situation to be in. But a satisfactory deal was struck.
Photo by Robert Schall Photography
Joining the resurgence of film
Recently, in our fast-paced world, dominated by all things digital, where smartphones and high-tech cameras are ever present, I have been noticing a resurgence of film. Maybe it is the suspense that every image is an adventure, and you won’t find out the result until you actually develop the negative and see what you got.
This tactile experience, the unpredictability, the timeless aesthetic of, and the slower pace of shooting film all contribute to the unique appeal that captivates new and seasoned photographers to return to film. Excuse me but vintage cameras just ooze nostalgia and artistic flair. They instantly make you feel like the Marlboro man of photographers. A cowboy riding out the quicks and grain of film.
The fascination of shooting film
One of the aspects that fascinates me so much about film photography is the slower, more intention approach to photography. Every shot counts! In our digital world we, advanced amateur and professional photographers, have gotten used to shooting hundreds of photos. We are even happy to shoot hundreds of photos resulting in only a handful of images that we would sell. You cannot operate that way with film. For starters it quickly becomes prohibitively expensive, and you are seriously limited in the number of shots you can take. There are only 24 or 36 exposures on rolls of 35mm film and even less on 120mm film for medium format cameras where there are merely 8 to 16 shots depending on your format.
Photo by Robert Schall Photography
You really have to slow down how you shoot
Film forces you to slow down, to be way more deliberate, a lot less experimental. Personally, the process of shooting with film is what I have fallen in love with since I rediscovered film. I relish the task of taking my time to think through my shot, carefully selecting my composition, metering the best I can to make sure I get my exposure right. Then comes that excruciating wait. You must wait until you finish the roll of film. You must wait until you can get your roll to a lab. The agonizing yet exhilarating wait until the negative comes back and you can scan it in. Only then do you get to see what the results are! With a medium format camera, shooting let’s say 10 shots, so you can get through a roll pretty quickly. But if you are shooting 35mm, trust me, 36 photos have never felt so endlessly long to take.
Proud father of a film camera
I became the proud father of a Mamiya RB 67 Pro S medium format camera. Shueido Camera was so kind to throw in some expired 120mm film rolls. And I was set to restart my film journey. I keep using the word “restart” because, alas, I am old enough to have been around when there were no digital cameras, let along cellphones that can take pictures, so naturally I had film cameras before.
Photo by Robert Schall Photography
The beast in all its glory
The Mamiya RB 67 medium format camera was first introduced in 1970 and it did not take long for it to gain large popularity among professional photographers. It is staggeringly robust and incredibly reliable. These cameras were built to last. I use the term “beast” fondly and affectionately for this camera, in no way is it meant disgracefully. For this heavy weight is worth every gram it ways.
Being a 6 x 7 camera, it differed from its contemporary 6 x 7 counterparts as it was modular and not shaped like an oversized 35mm camera. A notable feature, and one that I personally love, is that the film back is mounted (not integrated) and rotatable. When you shoot a square format like the 6 x 6 Hasselblad that does not really matter. But with 6 x 7, and with such a heavy weight, it would be very awkward and strenuous to have to hold the camera on its side to shoot portraits.
Feeling like a painter
I laugh at myself now, in the beginning I would feel like a painter, plodding my RB 67 onto a tripod, measure light, maneuvering around to find my composition, remeasuring my exposure, fiddling with the settings, and then rechecking everything before finally taking my shot. I felt like one of those artists that come out with their paints, easel, and stool, who then sit there for hours painting the scene in front of them. I have become more comfortable with the camera, and easily shoot handheld too now. But I still prefer to shoot it with a tripod. It allows me to slow down the process even more, and I really savor the experience each time.
Photo by Robert Schall Photography
First but not the last
This became my first film camera I had bought since I became a photographer. Since? Well, let’s just say that I have a small collection of vintage cameras at home now. A fellow writer on Medium.com recently posted a story with the question whether his readers collect anything, well here is my answer. It seems that I have started a vintage camera collection. Check out Rodirgo S-C’s article for yourself:
https://medium.com/@Peekassoh/what-do-you-collect-111690b4d89e
I try to only buy cameras that work. While I have some real old timers that are pure decoration, I prefer to be able to shoot with them. Yet, it is fair to say, that my love is still my Mamiya RB 67. I do not mind its weight and I relish its limitations. These aren’t true limitations, they are merely convenience limitations such as no digital screen to see the results or digital back to get to the photos quicker.
I love how this camera taught me to slow down. I have never been a spray and pray photographer, but film photography has taught me to slow down even more, be more purposeful and deliberate in the shots that I take.
Try slowing down your process as well
If you are an avid photographer, whether amateur or professional, and you have never shot on film, I really suggest that you try it. Find a friend that has a working film camera and borrow it. Have them show you how to operate it and then go shoot one or more rolls of film. If you happen not to know anyone with a film camera, I suggest reading this great article by Jeff Hayward called “Take The 24-Shot Photography Challenge”.
https://medium.com/full-frame/take-the-24-shot-photography-challenge-ad559510179b
Give his challenge a try and try your very best not to cheat. It is really worth it. It adds quite the excitement to photography, and it will really pushes you to think deeper about each shot.
Photo by Robert Schall Photography
Go rediscover film photography for yourself and enjoy the experience. It is well worth it. Don’t wait for a major natural disaster to shake you up to grab a roll of film and a camera.
Thank you for visiting my website and taking the time to read my blog, I will be trying to post a new blog weekly.
