F Day+ 1

F Day is short for Film Day. Yesterday, I received a new, well new to me, film camera. I guess I should rewind a little and start at the beginning.

I used to shoot film for everything. I can't count the number of weddings and portraits I captured on film. I became quite quick at loading Hasselblad backs and I really enjoyed leaving the color and density corrections to the lab. Then digital changed everything. The control was intoxicating. The ability to swap heads, remove blemishes, and shrink hips were all new and wonderful to me. I spent hours learning to quickly correct images, retouch zits, and ensure that the print from the lab matched the image on my monitor. Then I started to feel that all the options and all the work were getting in the way of me creating the images I wanted.

Photographing a wedding is amazing fun. I get to see a bride at her most beautiful. I experience the love a father has for his daughter as he kisses her at the end of the aisle. I remember the tears a mother cries as she dances with her son. I see the smiles as a couple runs from their reception surrounded by friends and family. Then I spend hours choosing images, correcting the color, and loading them to the lab.

I started to realize that the technology was getting in the way. I wanted to create beautiful images and catch emotional moments. I didn't really want to spend hours getting images ready for viewing. So, I started thinking that film might be the answer. I thought that a special portrait session shot on film would be a good way to start. Then I had the opportunity to assist a very accomplished photographer shoot a wedding using only film! It was amazing. He carefully crafted each image perfecting the lighting and pose. It was amazing. The smell of the film was like running into an old friend. I was hooked.

So, I started researching and found I wasn't the only crazy person who wanted to shoot film. There are other photographers who shoot only film! Their images have a quality I hadn't seen in years. Digital can capture every pore and wrinkle. While a little corny, I feel film captures more of what matters. Images on film seem to have almost a dreamlike quality. It doesn't document every detail. It captures the emotion.

Well, enough of that. I hope it wasn't too rambling or too sentimental.

So, I'm starting a journey. It will be a long one. I don't know the destination, but I hope that it is using film to capture portraits and weddings. I'll always use digital cameras for some images, but I hope to use film a lot more.

***NOTE***

Special thanks to Marc Climie for the inspiration, Teddy Madison for the idea to blog, and Heather Mason for the name of the blog. It takes a village. If you want to be a part of the village (ie. you want to be a guinea pig), send me an email. neal@inwardstudio.com