Well, I got hooked. Honestly, I kind of saw this coming, though I didn’t expect too much.

The idea of picking up an analog camera had been growing in me for quite some time. I was captivated by the charm of film photos (my feed on the gram is full of them). I was also a bit annoyed at my digital cameras for producing such perfect images. For a while now, I had been trying to achieve in editing what film naturally provides - grain, imperfections, deep contrasts between highlights and shadows, etc.

And then one day, I saw a listing on Instagram. A fellow photographer was selling his Olympus OM-2. I took it.

Now, here we are, several days and a few rolls of film later. And I’m hooked.

While shooting my first rolls (I went for Kodak Ultramax 400 and Kodak Gold 200), I decided to take double shots - one with film and one with my digital camera. Partly as a backup, just in case the film ones turned out to be terrible. And partly because I wanted to compare the results - exposure, color saturation, and all that.

But then I realised - it’s clear that these are two completely different worlds. It’s pointless to compare.

AM I GONNA SWITCH TO FILM photoGRAPHY?

For sure I will continue. Shooting film is an amazing experience. It forces you to slow down and approach photography differently. A roll of film has only 36 frames and is a one-time deal. Sad to say, but well, each shutter press costs a little over 1 euro. Three images is an equivalent of coffee. Five images - a lunch. It automatically demands more attention and thought for every shot.

And totally, this kind of photography can be a huge source of joy.

If I only would be patient enough to wait every time for the results. I just like coming home, sitting down, and immediately selecting and editing images.

Is film photography better than digital?

Ever since I tried film, I can’t shake the feeling that digital photography is kind of instant in comparison.

With our digital cameras we have endless opportunities to shoot recklessly, chasing the legendary 100,000-shot milestone in hopes of reaching some level of mastery. A memory card can handle thousands of images. Often, a single walk results in hundreds of photos taken.

It makes me thinking about masters of photography who didn’t know digital.

But instead of beating myself up for taking "worse" photos just because they’re digital, I appreciate the fact that my digital photography only costs me a camera, a memory card, and tens of thousands of steps.

And yet, totally, I love the look of film, I love the slowing down that is a part of shooting film and I enjoy the magic sound of the shutter. I am going to continue exploring this medium and I am very excited to see where this will bring me.