The Feeling of Film
I am a collector-- a nostalgic who is constantly looking to preserve the present so I never forget my past. As the world is constantly searching for the new high-tech products and universally converts to USB-3 cables, I am moving counter-clockwise, past the introduction of the Metaverse and Virtual Reality, past the decade of iPhone domination, and yes, even back to before the Blackberry.
If you enter my room you will see a shelf lined with about 8 different vintage cameras — I bring at least 2 with me when I travel. I have acquired my collection through small vintage retailers and camera stores throughout the past two years. There is something very personal about purchasing a vintage camera — knowing that someone saw the world so differently from the same lens as you many years prior. Part of me feels like I am contributing to a community of those trying to preserve the art of a dying craft. Helping to keep alive the family-run photo shops who have been the staple of the same corner for years, watching the captured memories of customers appear through the chemicals of the darkroom. These people preserve memories, and film cameras allow people like me to look at life from a different lens.
My film collection allows me to stop and appreciate the value of stillness. When taking a picture of people on an iPhone, I am prone to snap 50 versions of the same photo so they can narrow it down to their favorites, but on film it's all about the one-shot. It’s about letting the frame fall into place naturally, not having the ability to immediately share it or post it. Captured memories are frozen in time until the film rewinds and finds life again in the darkroom.
Since moving to Paris a few weeks ago, I have been going through film more rapidly than ever. Never taking the same photo, but painting a picture of my life in 36 individual images at a time. The real joy in it for me comes not from keeping the memories for myself, but for the people and places I capture. iPhone photo quality will always increase but a 35mm is constant. It will never be able to give us the instant gratification that leads to a society tainted with a lack of gratitude. As the times and technologies change, as buildings go down and new ones come up, as I flow through the many phases of life, my film photos will remain the same.
Below are the photos from my first two weeks in Paris.
If you are looking for a place to get your film developed I recommend Labo Star Service right on campus and for a camera, I recommend the Instagram account @takefilmphotos.
