Film photography has become a trend in the world of photography today. More and more Harding students have begun experimenting with this lost art and are capturing memories that cost up to 50 cents to develop.
Junior Maddy Hall spoke passionately about her love for film photography and explained how she was introduced to it and why she fell in love with it.
“My good friend Laura Weber, who’s a senior at Harding, at some point during my freshman year showed me some of her pictures that she had taken on film,” Hall said. “And I thought that the unique look of the analog scans, as well as the experience of film photography, was fascinating. So, when I went home that summer, I found one of my uncle’s old cameras and took it to a local camera store, and they fixed it up and taught me how to use it and I’ve loved it ever since.”
Sophomore Katie Branson said that one reason why she prefers film over digital may be because she began taking film photos before digital ones. She also said that she just loves the way film photography makes her feel.
“Not to over-romanticize it, but film has a feeling of nostalgia,” Branson said. “People our age are probably some of the last kids to have their childhood documented on film. I still have memories of my grandparents pointing a film camera during the big and small moments, and it’s comforting knowing that I’m still using the same camera that captured my brother and I’s childhood.”
Senior Emma Baird has an Instagram account dedicated to the moments she captures on film.
“Some pictures are hits, and some are misses,” Baird said. “I created an Instagram account dedicated to disposable camera photos to archive the really special moments I captured. It makes it easy to share them with those in the photos.”
Baird said she loves how film photos can capture moments in ways that digital cameras cannot.
“There is something about a film photo that digital photos will never be able to capture,” Baird said. “Film captures the moment just as it is, imperfections and all.”
Branson emphasized the importance of buying a real film camera if anyone is seriously interested in film photography.
“If you seriously want to get into film photography, skip out on the disposables and invest in a camera,” Branson said. “It’s more environmentally friendly, and after just a couple months it’ll have saved you money.”
Hall shared a quote from one of her inspirations as a photographer, Dorothea Lange:
“There’s this brilliant quote from Dorothea Lange that has always informed my interest in photography,” Hall said. “She says, ‘The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.’ I think that film photography, especially, forces the photographer to consider what is worth noticing and capturing.”
