by Joe Duggan - TFC
For this blog post, I wanted to discuss a little bit about what kind of films I enjoy shooting with and why. This is the first in a series of blogs detailing different aspects of film photography, from shooting to developing.
For me, film has turned out to be something I find a bit more fun than digital photography, especially while travelling and going out on long hikes. The results always turn out to be interesting, sometimes wildly different to what I would expect, and sometimes even awful, but that one is down to me. It is an addictive hobby but one that works with my other activities.
For the below picture I used a red filter on a Black and White film Ilford HP5 which turned a day that was fairly bright with a bit of sun into something much more dramatic.
What colour or lack of colour?
Every film has a different look built into it, so you will find yourself getting different colour results, no colour or even different textures. The most cost-effective way of shooting on black and white film; the film is cheaper and sometimes much more versatile for a wide range of days. These next two examples were shot within an hour of each other last summer, but they show a massive difference in terms of what kind of day it was.
The top was shot on HP5 and the bottom was shot on Portra 400
Size of film
There are a couple of different sizes of film, 35mm and 120 films. The bigger the film, the more detail and bigger your images can be. The downside is your camera also ends up being a lot bigger, which makes general shooting a much more deliberate choice, rather than 'I am out already, and my camera is in my bag'. The results, however, when you do, are fantastic!
The last 3 images were shot on Portra 400 120 film.
In the next blog, I will go into more detail on all the different films and what results they will give you. And as usual, if you have any questions, please email us at sales@theflashcentre.com for any film advice.
Shop our full range of colour, black & white and sheet film HERE
Shop our range of darkroom supplies HERE
