Rediscovering Film Photography
What is old is new
Our daughter asked for a film camera for Christmas. She’s in tune with the trends, and wanted the “film look” for her pictures. My wife got her a plastic red Kodak M35 plastic camera with a built in flash. A few weeks later, she posted some photos from a snowboard trip with her boyfriend on Instagram. Wow! They had a different vibe, a different feel, a different look. A film look. I had forgotten about that look from having shot exclusively digital for the past 25+ years.
Analog photos have grain, and the colors are unique. With each film stock having their own characteristics as far as contrast, grain, color, dynamic range, etc. That look can certainly be approximated from digital pictures shot in RAW format, with tools like Adobe Lightroom.
When you shoot film, you have to slow down. Instead of having a card that holds thousands of shots, you only have 36. Buying film, paying for processing and scans becomes expensive. So you have to be thoughtful about what you are shooting. There is no immediate gratification, as you need to wait and process your film, before you can see if you got the shot. It is a different experience. I remember it.
I want a film camera now… Wait, I have a few 🤔 Are they working?
Since I saw those pictures from my daughter’s snowboard trip, I have resurrected both my Nikon F3, and my Mamiya RZ67, and purchased a Yashica Electro 35 GX on Ebay for $40. All those cameras needed were batteries. Otherwise they were in pretty good shape after being in storage for over 20 years.
Yashica Electro 35 GX
I wanted to test out my $40 investment on the Yashica Electro 35 GX right away, so that was the camera I used to shoot my first roll of film since graduating from Brooks Institute of Photography in 1998. I got the cheapest roll I found in a local store, as I was curious to see in what shape that camera and its lens were in. My main concern was light leaks. The little rangefinder worked great.
Outtakes from the fist test roll
All photos on this post were shot with the Yashica Electro 35 GX with Ilford HP5 Plus, shot at box speed (400 ISO). Processing and scans were done by The Darkroom. As I would, when I had access to a real darkroom with enlargers, filters and chemicals, I adjusted the contrast, and did some burning and dodging in the darkroom for the digital age: Adobe Lightroom. And the thin black frame around each image, which we used to achieve with darkroom technique, was added in Adobe Photoshop. So yes, this is not a 100% analog process anymore, but it is still a different experience with a different result, from being digital from start to finish.
Fun fact about the Yashica Electro 35 GX
That is the camera that Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) uses in the Amazing Spiderman movie.
Beautiful shots. I bought a second Electro 35 CC after the first was stolen. A gorgeous camera
Great work sweetie! Glad you are returning to your roots!