My love/hate relationship with film photography

Hey — it’s James,

I’ve been experimenting with film photography for 3 years now.

I love it.

But I also hate it.

Let me explain.

In 2021, I bought an old Olympus OM-2000 and started shooting, first in Paris, then in the various places I traveled. I knew nothing about it but was drawn to the aesthetics. I was also tired of the endless photos we all take with our smartphones and wanted something slower.

It’s worth the wait, but…

Here’s what I love most about film photography: I get to see the pictures I took only weeks, sometimes months, after shooting them. That might be frustrating for some, but to me, it feels like Christmas. I receive the pack of 24 or 36 photos and devour them all at once. The wait builds the excitement — nothing like opening your iPhone's photo gallery.

Half of them are crap, most are meh, but the final few are always worth the time and money.

But the slow feedback loop makes it hard to improve. I can’t learn from my mistakes because, by the time I get the photos back, I’ve forgotten what caused the issue in the first place. I don’t remember which settings I used or how bright the light was.

Sure, I could write it all down, but honestly, I’m just not motivated enough.

Free like a monkey

The second pain point, and the most frustrating one for me, is...

I hate carrying the camera around.

When you're deep into it, you want to bring your camera everywhere — just in case you stumble upon the perfect composition.

But I like to walk free. Free from stuff, free from anything that could hinder my movements. If I could, I’d walk barefoot with just a pair of shorts. But life isn’t that simple — we always need at least two essentials: keys and money.

So having a big camera hanging from a strap? Really not ideal. I love my freedom of movement too much to let a heavy object clutter me. And you know what’s way nicer to bring along for taking pictures? An iPhone. Quite ironic, isn’t it?

I’m not fully sold on the whole “document every aspect of your life” thing, but that’s a topic for another time.

I’m torn.

On one hand, I love seeing all these photos — each one holds more significance than my entire iPhone library. But on the other hand, I’m really lazy and don’t want to be more cluttered than I already am.

I didn’t bring my camera to Sri Lanka, and looking back at these photos, I feel a bit stupid.

Maybe the solution is a pocket analog camera — something small, easy to carry, and less bulky. If you have any advice or product recommendations, I’m all ears 👂

Cheers!

PS: You can check out my best shots on my Instagram.

Bits

• I’m increasingly interested in digital devices that feel analog — none of the distractions modern devices bring, but with the features that are actually useful. Check out the Light Phone and the Daylight Computer (worth visiting just for their stunning website).

• Speaking of stunning websites, Godly curates some of the most beautiful sites on the web.