Maybe I should call this one "Film Blog #1" because I'm sure that my opinion will change over time and I will need another blog to update my thoughts. I think I might be in the middle of a love affair that has seen some bumps and will see more bumps and we could end our relationship if it get's too bumpy.
I grew up shooting film. There was nothing romantic or artistic about it. It was just how you got your job done. There wasn't anything else besides film. I didn't shoot much b/w and no color neg film at all, it was all EPP (Ektachrome Professional Plus) and all 120mm format. I was using a Hasselblad and my panoramic camera (see my other blog on panoramics) and those were the tools of the trade. I was mostly shooting for New York magazines at the time, like Time (see what I did there? :-), Newsweek, Fortune, BusinessWeek, etc. Once I realised that I was busy but not making much money, I then started shooting for corporations all over the world.
I recently just took out some old images that I shot in Varanasi, India. I actually forgot that I had that collection (take a look at Ganga: Of Ghats and Gullies). I took a large format camera with a roll back and took portraits of people I met. They were all shot on EPP. The colors are absolutely outstanding, 30 years later.
Recently in the past 10-20 years film has had a comeback, especially with hipsters. I was recently at a photo swap meet and the table that was doing the best business was the one selling cheap film cameras to kids (we'll maybe a bit old than kids). I have no idea what the attraction is there. It's like cutting off one leg and then being happy that you can still walk. I just don't get it.
Until something happened. I remembered that I used to have a love affair with panoramic images and square images. I'll do another blog about panoramic images, so I'll spare you here. But those two types of images have always had my attention. I loved the square because it wasn't easy to shoot. It was difficult to compose. It also said "I am art". Normal people don't shoot square. I don't really want to be normal.
I grew up on square Hasselblads. I loved them. When I recently remembered that I loved the square, I checked what Hasselblads were selling for now. I think my first new car was less than that. So I kept looking.
And then I found the Mamiya TLR systems. The twin lens reflexes. And they are square and you have to look down in them in order to see. How lovely and inconvenient! So I bought one that was as old as I am. I love it that my 60 year old camera is being used by a 60 year old. So then I bought another one and I also have all 7 lenses that were made for them. All for less than the cost of one single Hasselblad lens!
(to be continued)
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