This past weekend my good friend Nick (@nickpetrides on instagram) offered me the chance to shoot with his Leica M4, a 35mm rangefinder camera, I’m not one to pass up a chance to shoot a few rolls of film, but, could I remember how to shoot with it and would the photos be any good. It had been over 3 years since the last time I shoot with film and I don’t think I even developed the roll, it’s still in the camera which I think is in my loft, might have to have a look for it.
The focal length I was shooting with was 35mm, the lens was Voigtlander 35mm F1.4 sc, as most of you will know I like to shoot wide open and this Saturday evening was no different, HP5 film has ISO of 400, setting the lens to F1.4 I was able to keep my shutter speed between 1/125 and 1/250 which I find is perfect for street photography.
My film of choice this day was Ilford HP5, this is the same film I used when I started my photographic journey way back in the 1980s. I’ve never forgotten what that film looked liked printed, the grain is beautiful and I was once again excited to see what my photos would look like. It’s funny that when shooting digital we often try to make our photos look like film, just think of the Fujifilm film simulation Acros, I nearly always shoot using this and why, so my photos will have a film look, but only film looks like film.
When Nick handed me the camera I was thinking could I finish the roll and would it slow me down, yes I finished the roll, in-fact I shot 2 rolls and yes it did slow me down, it really made me think before I pressed that shutter button.
The following day I took the film into my local Jessops and Barney (@raw_format on instagram) offered to develop the film and scan the negatives for me, I can’t thank Barney enough for all his hard work, it’s great having friends that are happy to help out when they can. The one thing I wish I would’ve asked for was a contact sheet to post here on the blog, oh well there's always next time.
I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed going back to shooting film, the not knowing if I captured what I was trying to capture, the fact I had to wait nearly a week to see my results. Living in a digital world where we as a society are so used to everything being instant it was nice going back to waiting, I know this will sound weird, but there was no pressure shooting film. Taking away that digital screen really helped me focus on what was important, the photo. Losing all the distractions that you have with digital was so relaxing, it was just me and the moment, the manual focus was so much easier when taking photos through windows, if I didn’t get the focus right I could only blame me. As I’m writing this blog, my head is spinning and I think the decision has been made, I will be getting a 35mm camera and I’ll be developing my own film and this really excites me. I’m not sure which film camera will be perfect for me, maybe the Leica M3 or Bessa T from Voigtlander, I’ve used both cameras, I think for me it’s going to come down to the viewfinder and of course price.
Shooting 35mm has given my photography a new lease of life and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.
I have posted all of the photos that came out:
