My Film Story
This whole journey started by accident.
Film photography was something I envisioned myself doing, but not any time soon. Being a broke bitch, I couldn’t see myself pumping out cash to buy and develop rolls of film. Then there’s the whole dilemma of “which film stock(s) am I going to choose?”… being that there’s so many. I always told myself “one day.” Little did I know, that “one day” came a LOT sooner than I’d expected.
I’m pretty sure I was coming back from a walk to pay my cable/internet bill with my brother when this all happened. I saw a guy selling a bunch of stuff and noticed he had a camera there. I asked him how much he was selling it for, thinking he’d tell me some outrageous price… He said $5. I had a $10 bill in my wallet, so I told him to take the 10.
The camera was a Yashica FX-70 Quartz. It looked old, but didn’t look like it was in bad condition. Best case scenario, I just scored a SUPER cheap film camera. Worst case scenario, I’d have a nice vintage camera to put on the shelf. Either way, I was excited to have scooped this bad boy up.
I got home, cleaned it up as best as I could and attempted to do some research on YouTube. I saw attempted because I only found about 2 videos about this particular camera. None of the videos were like the typical videos where people take the camera out and actually shoot with them, showing the pictures they made. Just a general breakdown of the camera, one not even having a voiceover.
After my “research” I found out that this camera required 2 LR/SR44 batteries to work. Thankfully I had some stuff in my house that used, so I was able to pop those in to see if the camera was even functional. I’m sitting here writing this piece today, so you probably already guessed that it worked. Everything seemed to be moving in the right direction, so now it was time to see if it ACTUALLY worked.
With our big trip to Canada and Alaska coming up, I figured I’d bust out a practice roll to see if this bad boy actually takes decent to good pictures. I stopped at RiteAid and picked up a 3-pack of FujiFilm 200. Unfortunately I wouldn’t have enough time to finish a roll and get it developed before our trip. Not to mention, at the time, I had no idea how to go about getting my film developed. So I would go into this trip blind. Of course, I’d be bringing along the Sony ZV-e10, so there really was no sense of urgency to make sure the film camera took good photos. I don’t wanna bore you guys with the details on the camera itself, so let’s get into the film fun.
I loaded the first roll of FujiFilm and took some shots the week leading into our trip. I had no idea how they were going to come out, but I was excited nonetheless. All seemed to be going well. I wrapped up my last few shots at the airport, while waiting for our flight. As I attempted to roll up that roll, I completely fucked it up. At the time, I didn’t know that you had to hit the film release button on the bottom, so the film ended up snapping off the roll. That roll went in the garbage.
Shortly after that mess, a dude sitting in front of us whipped out a Leica, took a photo of the scenery outside the terminal and put it back in his bag. I was wondering if he saw my embarrassing moment. Fast forward about 20-30 minutes, and we moved close to the gate as we awaited our group to be called to board the plane. I saw the dude again and started talking to him. I asked if he saw my “incident” and explained what happened. He was super cool about it and explained the whole film release thing and ended up giving me a roll of Kodak Portra 800. Thanks, JT! You’re a lifesaver.
FujiFilm 200 (Double Exposure)
I finished up the remaining two rolls of FujiFilm in Canada and saved the Portra 800 for the cruise. I wish I had at least a month or two with this camera before the trip, but what a way to get thrown into the world of film photography than shooting your first ever rolls in Vancouver and Alaska. Despite not knowing what I was doing, I was pretty confident that I would capture some cool moments. We also bought a Kodak disposable camera from the shop in the Disney Wonder.
Fast forward to about a week or so after the trip, and I found a spot to get the film developed within walking distance of me. I can see why people love shooting film… I can also see why people don’t love shooting film. I was super excited and super nervous to get my photos back. I got my email rather quickly, we didn’t even make it back home. I opened the email and downloaded the photos… I was in love.
I wouldn’t call these photos the most amazing photos to ever have existed… in fact, there were a lot that weren’t really good at all. Despite that, I was super happy with a large amount of them. I honestly thought the photos with light leaks were super dope! And somehow, I managed to get a bunch of double… even triple exposures. There were a few shots that were out of focus that made me kind of sad, because they would’ve been solid images… like the one shot I attempted to take of a raven eating something a kid threw it’s way and some of the shots of otters at the Vancouver Aquarium. But when I nailed a photo, I f**kin’ nailed it.
Kodak Portra 800 (Double Exposure)
Kodak Portra 800
Now that I knew my Yashica was capable of actually making good photos, I started to look into film stocks. After watching a bunch of videos on YouTube, I decided to order 2 rolls of CineStill 400D, which would end up becoming my film stock of choice going forward. Once I got my rolls, I popped one in and began shooting. After I finished the roll, I rolled it up. For some reason, I didn’t roll it up entirely and kind of reset it as if I didn’t take a single shot. So one of two things happened… I didn’t take a single shot on the first go-around, or I was about to double-expose my photos. I got that roll developed and it might go down as one of my favorite rolls ever! I ended up double-exposing that roll and the images came out SICK! Now that I know how to double-expose, I need to try that again.
CineStill 400D (Double Exposure)
In these passed 4ish months, I’ve shot (Kodak) Portra 400, Portra 800, Ektar 100, Gold 200, (CineStill) 400D, 800T, XX (black and white), FujiFilm 200 and ILFORD HP5 (black and white). Portra 400 or 800 is definitely a super solid film. It’s very reliable and versatile. I can see why many film photographers call that their go-to film stock. I like Ektar 100 more than I do Gold 200. On days that are super sunny and if I’m in a place with virtually no shade, I can see myself rocking that stock. When it comes to black and white film, I like both HP5 and XX, but I really have to get hang of shooting black and white film. I feel like I need a lot more practice with that.
Kodak Porta 400
Kodak Portra 800
Kodak Gold 200
CineStill XX
ILFORD HP5
Kodak Ektar 100
FujiFilm 200
And if I had to choose MY go-to film stock, it would have to be CineStill 400D or 800T. CineStill just has this look to it that I absolutely love. The halations CineStill films give off is very divisive amongst film photographers, but I love it. The way I go about shooting in general, I feel like the imperfections really make the photo stand out. The halations can really turn a shitty photo into a good photo, if not a great one. I rock 400D for more of a versatile range… sunny or cloudy conditions. And I’ll rock 800T for lowlight conditions or when I’m planning to shoot at a concert or wrestling show. When it comes to portraits/photo shoots, you might wanna stick with Portra, but if you want to add something artsy to your portraits, CineStill will deliver in my opinion.
CineStill 400D
CineStill 800T
This journey into film has been a really fun one. I don’t plan on giving up digital… not by a LONG SHOT. I see the appeal of both and I love the process of both. I’m the type that will take hundreds, if not thousands of photos on any given day, so naturally, digital will always be my thing. But I love the entire process of shooting on film and that “Christmas morning” feeling when you get your photos back from the film lab. It’s great when you nail those photos that you remember taking, and it’s equally as great when you see images that you don’t remember taking.
The hardest part for me, is finding a balance between being selective with my shots and not letting potential shots pass me by. In many instances, it’s those photos that you don’t remember making or that you didn’t put too much thought into that end up being your best shots. But when you’re not swimming in cash, not being “trigger happy” when your shooting film is usually the smart thing to do.
I’m happy I was able to accidentally fall into the world of film photography. I met so many amazing people, learned a lot of things and have made some INTERESTING images. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me in the years to come.
Check out more from my film photography journey over at the