Shooting film has been a process of trial and exploration for me. I like some of the results I have achieved, but the majority of the results I was getting from my color films were quite lacklustre and average at best. I have always loved the texture and look from my black and white films.
Nothing beats developing your own film and printing it in a darkroom, and in my opinion no digital printer gives you results that a traditional enlarger can give you. The reason I choose to shoot film is because I saw a pattern with the photographers that I really admire. That pattern is that 90% of the artists I really look up to still shoot film.
There is a very distinct quality to the images when you shoot with the right combination of film and exposure techniques that I find incredibly pleasing and very hard to replicate through hours of editing digital files. There are some new tools that help us get close to the look film gives, but there is always something missing especially in the highlights of the images.
Film deals with highlights in a way that current digital sensors cannot handle. You can over expose film up to 8 stops in some cases without losing to much highlight detail. There are multiple examples of this all over if you search google for examples.
Through months of research, reading multiple books and spending a lot of money developing film, I have finally arrived at a system I feel proud to offer to my clients.
Below is a small selection of images shot with my Contax 645 on a combination of Portra 400 and Fuji 400H color films. These are my first rolls through my Contax 645 using the new shooting techniques I have learned and implemented in my photography. Many of you know these techniques and tricks, please feel free to comment and share on here. Also feel free to contact me to chat about shooting film over a coffee sometime.