A couple of months into the pandemic, I started taking weekly walks with my fancy pants mirrorless camera around my neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles. To be honest, the walks garnered very few photos worth sharing and often I wouldn’t snap a single shot. I guess two hours of walking was okay exercise though.
Walking around with a camera that can obtain lightning fast autofocus and exposure, take near-limitless amounts of photos that can be uploaded via WiFi to your phone is an instant gratification feedback loop that frankly, lacks an element of DANGER. Safety nets are just not sexy, bro. Pineapple.
So I decided to bust out an all-manual film camera. I don’t know if it’s the feeling of scarcity of resources (film), or the fact that you actually have to put more thought into taking photos (metering with a separate light meter, setting the settings on the camera, and focusing), I’ve found that I’m actually taking MORE photos than when shooting with the digital camera. Sure, if I were on some sort of paid assignment I’d go with the surefire digital camera, but there’s something fun about walking around taking photos with a limit of shots, not knowing if you got anything good, and then entrusting them to someone to develop. Taking a photo and not being able to immediately look at the results on the back of the camera keeps me focused on the more important part of the exercise: actually shooting.
On my first weekend, I shot a roll each day on Saturday and Sunday. Same type of film (Kodak Ultramax 800), but switched lenses from a 28mm the first day to a 50mm the second day. I’m doing zero editing to the photos, not because I’m concerned with purity; but because I’m lazy.
Here’s Saturday with a 28mm:
Sunday with a 50mm:
