It’s just expensive
Since I’ve had my humdinger of a DSLR, film photography has taken a bit of a back seat.
I still try to take my film cameras out for a spin every now and again, but as the art form has disappeared into obscurity, the price of getting your film developed has risen – and it’s got more expensive as the years have gone on.
Film photography reached its pinnacle when you could get your holiday snaps developed in your lunch hour. Now I doubt you’ll find a development lab in a thiry mile radius (if you have one close to you, I’m very jealous). I think there must be only one lab in my nearest town, but I usually send my films off in bulk via snail mail.
I’d love to build my own dark room in the bathroom but a) my long suffering other half wouldn’t allow it and b) the equipment is hard to come by.
Film photography has an enthsiatic following, with places like Lomography offering mail-order development services and hosting a thriving online community, film photography certainly isn’t dead. And as living proof of the technique’s endurance, I’ve just received my film snaps back (cheers Lomolab!)
Toy camera
Perhaps seen as one of the more banal cameras in the photographic world due it’s limited functionality, a toy camera is merely a point and shoot. I’ve been using the Lomo AquaPix:
This model is specifically for underwater photography. I haven’t been diving recently (ever), but apprently it can be used underwater for up to four minutes – a lot longer than I can hold my breath (I should know, I’ve tried).
Having got quite familiar, and, dare I say it, better, at using my DSLR, one might think that using a point and shoot is quite a big step down, restricting creativity. Not so. If anything, it’s more of a challenge trying to capture a decent shot, so a great picture feels like more of an achievement with this camera.
Anyway, I’m pretty pleased with my latest set. These pictures are clearer than those produced by my Canon 110 flat roll, only because I learnt that I needed to use my film cameras on sunnier days.
Anyway, here are the shots. They’ve been developed using Lomography’s unique Xpro cross- process technique. (All shots have been taken around Bedfordshire, namely, Barton Le Clay and Ampthill)
My next set of film prints will be from the Holga 135BC, so look out for those!
