I Got My Film Back from the Lab!

Over spring break, I shot 2 rolls of film while camping and hiking through the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. I’d shot black and white film before, but that was for a class in college. In that class, we shot black and white film, developed it ourselves, and made prints in the darkroom. This time around, I decided to shoot color though, so I could capture the beautiful color palette of the Western United States. Due to the (in good conditions) bright nature of the desert landscape, I decided to shoot Ektar 100 film during my trip. 

Why film over digital?

Honestly there’s no objective logical reason to shoot film these days. I spent $15 per roll (36 exposures), and $20 per roll for developing. That’s pretty much $1 per exposure, whereas you can take as many pictures on a digital camera as you want. So why did I decide to shoot film on this trip?

For me, there’s something really nice about shooting analog. Making sure to get my camera settings exactly how I want, taking my time setting up the shot, feeling the shutter click, and then the excitement of not knowing exactly how it came out. Digital cameras are amazing, but I find myself taking the same picture over and over again because I want to get the exposure just right, or maybe try out a few different angles. I suppose shooting film makes me more thoughtful and intentional with my photography, rather than carelessly taking photos and making adjustments afterward. 

Additionally, there’s something special about seeing a photo you know was shot on film. The colors look different, there’s some grain in the photo, and the way it captures light and shadows is just so interesting. Overall, I just like to call it the “film vibe,” and there’s no better way to say it. 

How did they turn out?

Overall I got 36 photos back from the lab, and over half of those I considered to be “good ones.” As previously mentioned, I was absolutely more intentional and thoughtful while taking the film photos, and the ratio of usable photos speaks for itself. When shooting digital, I find that the ratio of “good ones” to ones I end up deleting is about 1 in 10. This is probably because I’m less thoughtful or because I end up taking more pictures, but, either way, I certainly have better results when shooting film. 

Some of the photos also have really interesting imperfections, which I absolutely love. As shown above, this photo has an interesting red haze over the frame. This could be due to a light leak in my camera, but I’m honestly really happy with how it looks. It makes the composition more interesting, and adds to the “film vibe” that I mentioned earlier. 

Additionally, I did have a couple photos that overlapped! This adds a cool partial double exposure effect that was completely unintentional. Yes, this is reproducible digitally, but I just really like how these came out. 

Lastly, I think the grain in this photo adds so much to it. I also love the haze around the moon, and the complimentary light artifact in the bottom right corner. This was probably a reflection inside the lens from the bright moon. Although it was completely unintentional, it adds an interesting element that balances the composition quite well. 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish the roll while I was on my trip, so that meant I had some extra exposures before I sent the film into the lab! I took the opportunity to shoot some of the budding blossoms outside my apartment. This honestly turned out to be a huge success, because I got the photo below!

 The color palette of this photo is stunning, and it also features the cool double exposure effect I mentioned above. Since I had a few exposures left I didn’t want to waste, it forced me to go out and be creative, which led me to snapping one of my favorite pictures on that roll!

I really enjoyed shooting my first few rolls of color film on this trip, and I would highly recommend it if you can afford the extra cost and have been thinking about it. I was really happy with the photos I got back, and will absolutely be shooting more film in the future. If you want to see more of the film I got back from this trip, be sure to check out my portfolio!