One thing that I get asked fairly often is why I like to do so much film photography. There honestly may be a few possible answers to that question. One is that film produces an image that is unique and difficult to recreate digitally, another is that with each exposure costing money to take, it slows me down to actually focus on creating a nice composition. Another interesting aspect of film for me is that it is possible to decent gear for fairly cheap because there is a rather large second hand market. I also like the wide variety of film stocks available and the attributes that each one has to offer.
I also have a bit of a unique process when it comes to film as I develop all of my black and white film in my kitchen. This started as a way to save money as there are no longer any local places that develop black and white film, but I began to actually enjoy developing my film. That stemmed from the satisfaction that came from knowing that I had brought the image through the entire process from exposure to development.
This picture was taken with my Minolta 700 and Kodak Tri-X 400, which is my favorite B&W film. I developed it with Kodak D-76 developer and scanned it. I personally love Tri-X because of its contrast and subtle yet noticeable grain structure. The grain doesn’t interfere with the image and depending on the subject, can enhance it. Tri-X is versatile too; it can pushed (under exposed to use fast shutter speeds in low light conditions) by a very large range and still come out with great results.
Another thing about film that I like is the color representation of color stocks, especially slide film. If you remember actual slideshows that were presented with an actual slide projector, slide film is what made those possible. Also known as color positive, transparency, and reversal film, slides have great color and a classic look. The picture to the side was taken with the recently reintroduced Kodak Ektachrome E100 slide film. Ektachrome has a timeless look reminiscent of pictures featured in National Geographic. Ektachrome was brought back in 2018 after being discontinued in 2013, before I ever got a chance to shoot it, so I jumped at the opportunity to finally try it.
Drew Mikkelson Photography 