People are consuming digital media at historic rates and this is especially true when it comes to live sports. When I shoot games for Nike, FIBA, or the NBA my photos are up on websites and on social media almost as fast as I can capture them sometimes. I’m used to the frenetic pace and I’m often equally excited to share my work as soon as I can.
But sometimes I like to slow things down and savor the moment and subject before me. Shooting analog film forces me to do just that. Shooting with manual cameras and lenses, especially on medium format cameras is a process. First I meter the light hitting my intended subject so I know what settings I want to use. Then I dial those in, usually on the lens. Once that’s set I compose my frame and I’m ready to shoot. Limited by the number of frames I can shoot depending on the rolls of film I have on hand also forces me to be certain I love an image before I click the shutter. All of this and the many other caveats of shooting film help me to be more intentional about my decisions behind the lens. It makes me a better photographer all around and informs my decision-making when I go back to my digital workflow.
Then there’s the development and scanning process which can take a couple days. So, I’m forced to wait before I see my images. While this can sound frustrating, and I could never tell some of my clients, “I’ll send you the photos from today’s game in a couple days,” it actually creates this anticipation that has become exciting for me. That liminal space between when I hand my rolls of film to my lab and when I get the scans back, I feel like I can’t wait to see what I got. The convenience of shooting digital and being able connect a memory card full of images to your computer is great and certainly efficient, but it’s just different. Of course there’s always the possibility of a light leak seeping in or other unknowns with film like whether I remembered to changed the settings after I metered or left the film slide in while I thought I was shooting frames (this happened to me once in Ottawa on Canada Day where I shot a whole roll of film thinking I was getting the best fireworks photos I’ve even shot and instead snapped away and advanced every single frame with the slide blocking any light from hitting the film). Sometimes shooting film can be unforgiving too. And those consequences also force me to sharpen my game.
Could you benefit from slowing down?
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