Shooting film again after ten years

Thirty-six frames and no screen. It changed how I look before I press the shutter.

A strip of film negatives held up to the light

I put my first roll through a camera in ten years last March. I expected nostalgia. What I got was a slower way of seeing.

Fewer frames, more looking

A roll has 36 frames. With a digital camera I would take 36 pictures of one corner. With film I walk around the corner first, wait for someone to step into the light, and take one.

The wait

I develop once a fortnight. By then I have forgotten most of what I shot, so every roll is a small surprise. Some are good surprises.

What it costs

Film and chemicals are not cheap. I shoot about two rolls a week and treat it like any other hobby budget.

Keep looking

More notes from the street

Every entry in the journal, newest first.