For the love of imperfections
Analogue photography
Back at my parents’ house, there’s still a drawer stuffed with Snappy Snaps envelopes, full of photos I took after inheriting an old Pentax camera in my late teens. Reassuringly heavy, it needed winding on manually with a satisfying ‘click’ that made me feel like a real photographer. The few good shots I took decorated bedroom walls, went in scrapbooks or were put in wallets, so all that remains in those dog-eared paper pouches are the flawed shots; the majority of each film that ended up being the backs of people’s heads, faces out of focus or fingers over the lens. And yet, I can’t bring myself to throw them away. There’s something poignant about documenting the imperfections of real life, about having a record more authentic than the posed and edited digital shots we see on social media today.
This backlash has enabled the revival of analogue film. More people are picking up old cameras and trying their hand at photography the old-fashioned way. You don’t have to ditch your smartphone, but if you have an old camera lying around, why not try rediscovering your inner shutterbug?
Companies like Lomography are run by analogue aficionados who can help you get started again. Lomography sells its own cameras and film alongside other brands of 35mm for most models, so you can bring your camera into one of their concessions and they’ll help you install the first reel of film. When you get your film developed, you can choose to receive your photos on a CD, too, so you can share shots online, the way you would with phone photos. Embracing analogue doesn’t mean becoming some sort of luddite.
If you’ve forgotten how your old camera works, then taking it into a bricks and mortar photography store might be your best bet, but there are also numerous tutorials on YouTube that should jog your memory. There’s a huge online community of analogue photographers offering tips from how to buy film in bulk on eBay, the cheapest places to get it developed (Asda comes highly recommended). The website filmsnotdead.com offers endless gems, from how to take your film through airport security without it being damaged, to experimenting with expired film. They also run a market stall on London’s Brick Lane the first and last weekend of every month, where they stock old cameras, film and plenty of good advice.
FLASH BANG WALLOP, WHAT A PICTURE
As far as tips go, the best way to kickstart your new hobby is to take your camera everywhere with you – you’re never going to get a great shot if you save it for special occasions. Treat it like your smartphone and have it to hand all the time. On holiday, rather than worry about getting sand in your phone or running out of battery, take a real camera and relax; Lomography sells one made of plastic that can be taken apart and washed.
It can be hard to wean yourself off the high expectations of digital photography. But there’s nothing quite like the anticipation as you wait for your film to be developed (try Snappy Snaps and even some branches of supermarkets such as Tesco), followed by the satisfaction of seeing shots you carefully planned turn out well, along with the joy of discovering pictures you barely even remember taking. Yes, there are disappointments, too, but I don’t think I’ve ever got a film back and not found at least one wonderful shot. You learn to value your photographs differently from the digital shots you take on your phone. Experimenting with effects such as overexposure is a real gamble; not like Instagram filters that you can add or remove. That sense of taking a risk gives you a rush you just won’t find re-taking a selfie a dozen times. If you’re after perfection, analogue photography’s probably not for you. But if you’d like to see things in a different light and indulge in some delayed gratification, you may just find it delivers.
“There’s nothing quite like the joy of discovering pictures you barely even remember taking”