Shooting on film and what it has done for my soul

So recently I’ve decided to pick up photographing on film after a long time of putting it away. No, it wasn’t for fun. I had wanted to do it but just couldn’t find time until Covid19 struck and made me reflect on things a little. Also, I wanted to capture the little one on priceless film too.

Bought a Nikon FM2 from a Carousell seller. The rest is history.

There’s just something about shooting on film and seeing the colours on photographs shot on film that makes me dream of the nostalgic past. I mean, it’s the reason why I picked up photography 13 years ago in the first place. I went ahead and bought a Nikon FM2 from a seller on Carousell after hearing pretty good reviews off YouTube and reading a couple of online articles about it. Uncle Ricky, the seller, has been shooting film for the past 30 years or so - dabbled in a bit of digital photography before going back to film. Yea, we chatted for a while. He was telling me that it’s so different photographing on film. Of course, I didn’t fully comprehend what he was telling me when we had our 1-hour conversation then. I’m more kind of a practical sort of person rather than theory. I sucked at studies. Anyway, you should check his Carousell profile out if you are into film and looking to get useful advice and good, well-maintained gear.

He gave me his Kodak Gold 200 film roll to get me started too.

Picture frames from Gallery Mori at Waterway Point.

A bit more about the Nikon FM2: it is a mechanical camera. It does not need batteries. Gasps. The shock. Yes, for the camera to work and take photographs, there’s no need for batteries. So old school, right? Although the main body doesn't need batteries to run, the built-in meter, which is convenient and awesome, needs one. It is optional, though!

The Nikon FM2 is a Made in Japan 35mm camera that was in production from 1982 to 2001. That’s recent yes? Because it’s just so god damn awesome that Nikon kept producing it. I did ‘research’ on Google before I bought it - the 1/4000 sec shutter speed limit was kinda groundbreaking then for a film camera too. Timer? Yep. Double exposure settings? Checked too. Besides - it looks aesthetically pleasing can? Yep, I’m looking at the hipster in you… and me. The unit I had bought from Uncle Ricky, for $250, is in perfect condition less some paint chip off the Nikon logo which I couldn’t care much for.

Got my wife to shoot this while I drove, a long exposure shot on the MCE tunnel. Result was exactly what we were going for.

Had a bit of a long exposure fun myself too, while the wife was working from home.

What’s fun about shooting on film for someone like me? I think when you’re adjusting your settings, the dials - shutter speed, the aperture, checking out the metering, the manual focusing of your subject and even the rewinding of the film makes the shot feel like it’s genuinely yours. And then on to the developing and scanning of your photographs. The wait for your film to be developed made me kind of excitedly nervous too. It’s like writing a letter via snail mail back in the past and never knowing if you’re ever getting written back? But the photographs do ‘write back’, in hi-res scans too.

Anyway, here are some of the other photographs I’ve shot on my first roll.

Overall, shooting on film brought back a lot of memories. As many have said it before me, it makes you think about your shot. Shooting on digital causes you to snap snap snap snap all the time. Don't like a picture from a sequence of 10 continuous burst shots? There's always a delete function. On film, there is a need to compose your image and take the time to capture it. Every shot counts. You will have to know the difference between a good shot and a bad one. You will have to know where your light source is falling on your subject and how it plays a part in the outcome. Film got my creative juices flowing again and even breathed new life into my current photography work. I am not regretting this.

Will post more on film photography or anything related to photography in general when I am up for it. Till then, let me know what do you think about film photography in general and the colours for the Kodak Gold 200 roll in the comments section!

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Images were shot on the Nikon FM2. This roll of film was developed at Triple D. Conveniently located near Sim Lim Square, you can check out their website here.