My Journey with Film Photography
I started shooting film in 2021—or actually, back in 2020. It wasn’t my first time, but I hadn’t touched a roll in years. I think the last time I loaded film into a camera was around 2020, and honestly, I forgot where I even put that camera. It was a Canon EOS 650, and I know I loaded it with Kodak Portra 400. Before that, I may have shot a few rolls way back in 2012, possibly during a trip to Turkey. I used some old Russian Zenit camera at the time. It was interesting and new to me.
So, what’s my story with film anyway?
When I first got into photography, one of the first things I did was sign up for a Flickr account. I’ve been posting there since day one. It didn’t take long before I fell in love with the film look. I found myself constantly drawn to it as I browsed through Flickr. At the time, I had no idea about different film sizes. Eventually, I learned about 35mm, medium format, and so on. Still, all my experience has been with 35mm film. I’ve never shot medium format. And honestly, I’m a bit scared to try it because I might like it too much and blow all my money on it. For now, 35mm film is more than enough.
Favorite Film Stocks and Process
I’ve tried a few film stocks, and my favorite right now is Kodak Portra 160. Many presets and are based on it, and I think its look is classic, muted, calm—perfect for any situation.
Recently, I bought a box of Kodak Pro Image 100 from Oslo Foto. I hadn’t seen many examples online, so I just decided to try it. When I shoot film, I typically overexpose it by two stops and let the lab develop it normally. As you probably know, film is forgiving with highlights. You can overexpose quite a bit more than with digital. Some argue you shouldn’t overexpose digital at all—you’ll lose detail fast, and that’s true. I love pastel colors so much I overexpose my photos. The highlights aren’t blown, they’ve moved to a better place. 😇
I overexpose film not just to save shadows, but because I love the washed-out, pastel look it gives. That’s the reason I shoot film. I’m not here to say film is better than digital. I like digital too. I use cameras like Leica M, and they already slow me down, which is something I appreciate, but digital sensors give you digital result. One exception could be the sensor in Leica M9, which has been co-developed with Leica.
I mostly shoot film for family photos—mostly my two young boys. That’s where the addiction really kicked in. I hope they’ll appreciate it when they grow up… but there’s a good chance they’ll just wonder why Dad didn’t use the phone like a normal person.
Film on Vacation and Rediscovering Joy
I don’t shoot film daily, but I always bring a film camera on vacation. That’s when I use it the most. The anticipation of coming home, developing the film, and seeing the photos—I’ve become obsessed with that. It’s a weird mix of joy and madness. It brought something back—I think I finally enjoy photography again. After years of chasing gear, from new to old, cheap to overpriced, I’ve found my setup. I don’t know why it took me so long… and yes, I still want more, but I’m keeping it under control. For now.
My Film Cameras
Right now, I have three film cameras:
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Leica CL – Co-developed with Minolta. Small, simple, and cheaper than most other Leicas. I love it and use it the most. Its size is perfect. 😍
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Leica MP – Often called the best film camera ever by many photographers. It’s cool, great-looking, and built like a tank. Beautiful to hold and use. ❤️
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Olympus OM-1 - I found a non-working kit with two lenses for 40 EUR in the classifieds. After testing one roll, I discovered everything works perfectly. The camera is compact, sleek, and I plan to use it more. For now, I only have a 28 mm lens (and an old zoom I discarded), but I’m planning to get a 50 mm f/1.8. 📸
Between the three, I actually prefer the CL. It surprised me too, but here’s why: the size. It’s not even close. The CL is tiny, especially with a compact lens. I use it with a Voigtländer 40mm f/1.4, and that combo is excellent. Wide open, the rendering is wild, and I love it.
The original lens was a 40mm f/2, and the camera supports 50mm framelines too. I wouldn’t recommend using 35mm lenses—it gets hard to compose without the proper lines. I’ve done that and you basically use the entire viewfinder for that, but I just like to see the lines and compose based on them.
With the MP, I mostly shoot a Zeiss Plannar 50mm f/2 or a Voigtländer 35mm f/1.2. Both are stunning lenses with a look that’s busy—but in a good way. Zeiss has incredible micro-contrast, great, “fuzzy” bokeh. Voigtländer is slightly softer wide open, though not in a distracting way, and the background simply melts away. Still, on film, it doesn’t matter that much. Everything just looks nice.
So if I had to grab just one camera and one lens to shoot film, it would be the Leica CL with the Voigtländer 40mm. Purely because of its size and ease of use.
The Magic of Film
Recently, I found some old pictures from my hometown. I was born in 1989, and back then, everything was shot on film. I have no idea what film my parents or grandparents used, but every picture looks amazing (for me), even with strange artifacts on them, light leaks and so on. Just beautiful. Even without fancy bokeh, they had that timeless feel. I want my kids to have similar memories.
Sure, film isn’t as sharp. That part bothers me a bit. I wish the images were crisper. But I still love it. If I take the same picture with my film camera, and with a digital one, I’ll choose the film version 10 out of 10 times. Every time. It has the looks!
I’ve spent years creating presets to make my digital files look like film scans. And while I’m very happy with my digital look, film gives you something more: imperfections. Dust, scratches, light leaks. You can fake it in digital, but it won’t ever really feel like film. It can get close—very close—but not quite. The worst part is that you will use a lot of time doing it.
I’m honestly close to giving up on simulating film with digital. These days, I think we should capture the present with sensors that reflect reality. Some brands nail color science better than others, but overall, digital shows the world as it is. That’s especially useful for documentary or professional work. I sell a lot of photos on Adobe Stock and Shutterstock, and they clearly prefer colors that are natural, vivid, and punchy—basically, unfortunately, digitalized.
Will I Continue Shooting Film
At the end of the day, I shoot film purely for personal reasons. I love waiting for the photos to come back. I love forgetting what I shot. I love printing them, making little photo books from our travels.
And I love not editing a single thing—because it’s all done in the camera.
So yeah, absolutely! 😆
To be continued.
Ilford HP5 PLUS 400
Ilford HP5 PLUS 400
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Ektar 100
Kodak Portra 160
Kodak Portra 160
Kodak Portra 160
Kodak Portra 160
Kodak Portra 160
Kodak Portra 160
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak Pro Image 100
Kodak T-Max 100
Kodak T-Max 100 (expired in 2013)
Kodak T-Max 100 (expired in 2013)
Kodak UltraMax 400
Kodak UltraMax 400
Kodak UltraMax 400
| My Favorite Film Stocks | Shop Now |
|---|---|
| Ilford HP5 PLUS 400 | Amazon / eBay |
| Kodak Ektar 100 | Amazon / eBay |
| Kodak Portra 160 | Amazon / eBay |
| Kodak Portra 400 | Amazon / eBay |
| Kodak Pro Image 100 | Amazon / eBay |
| Kodak T-Max 100 | Amazon / eBay |
| Kodak Ultramax 400 | Amazon / eBay |
