Give me a pocket full of film, my medium format camera, and a stunningly beautiful city like Charleston, and I am in my happy place. I traveled to Charleston last fall and wandered this gorgeous colonial city doing nothing but eating food and taking photos. (Also, I discovered I have a weird obsession with photographing overgrown cemeteries.) At the end of the day, my feet were exhausted and my creative soul (and belly) was happy and full.
When I travel, I shoot exclusively with film. With a digital camera, I tend to view my travels through the back of my camera. With film, I don’t leave “the moment” in the struggle to find the PERFECT angle. I am also much more likely to snap hundreds of digital photos that I never have time to sift through once I get home. Because every film image costs money, I am careful to only photograph the important things that truly matter to me and will not get lost in the shuffle.
I definitely get a lot of looks and comments when I travel with my big ‘ole medium format camera. Which I think is awesome because I connect with both people who are excited because they used to shoot film and people who are inquisitive because they have never seen a film camera before! When I change a roll of film and people ask me questions, I enjoy explaining what I am doing and why. While many people may never understand why I photograph with an “old-school” method, I love that more and more people I run into are fascinated by the process. In a world of quick-snap cellphone photos, there is something appealing and unique about taking the time to change a roll of film every 16 shots and waiting many days or weeks for the results.
When I return from traveling, I usually experience that let-down period of leaving an adventure to assimilate back into “normal” life. Sending off my film to the lab and waiting for the scans is like re-experiencing the anticipation and excitement of an upcoming trip. And when the scans finally arrive, I get to re-live my trip all over again. And to me, THAT is worth the expense of film, every time.
Historic downtown Charleston, Charles Towne Landing & Middleton Place | Pentax 645N | Kodak Portra 400 | Boutique Film Lab
