Jan 20, 2012- 11:20 AM
My first reaction was sadness, accompanied by self-talk, then some relief as I assured myself that it is all good; after all, I shoot in a digital format. However, wait, I still have quite a few film bodies that I cherish like a first love and old friends.
Many of us still remember starting out with cameras with names like Brownie and Instamatic, which as I recall came in several models. Some of the early film cameras had rolls that they used which could easily unravel if one was not careful.
By the '60s, film soon became quite standardized in a cartridge and was easier to load. Kodak itself by the 1970s had almost 90 per cent of the film market, always improving and giving us more choices.
Some of us may even remember this bit of nostalgic song:
Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colours
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think
all the world's a sunny day
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away
So many careers made, and quite a few ended because of a roll of film. Spy movies showing strange men in parked cars with long lenses taking pics of some poor victim caught in the act. How about the private eye hired by a suspecting spouse on a liaison at a hotel with someone.
Taking a picture with a film camera came with so many risks.
Firstly, you had no guarantee if your film was properly exposed, or if your camera was leaking light and ruining every shot, you worked hard at taking. If all that wasn’t enough, there was a chance that your work could be ruined because of someone not knowing how to properly develop your film.
What about going through security at the airport, any self-respecting photographer knew he had to store his film in a shielded bag as it went through an X-ray machine. There were always so many risks with film, but then again the rewards were so much greater when you picked up your developed film.
It was as if a bunch of presents had just been dropped in your hands. All these things and so much more made film both a challenge and a reward.
For some folks, it was even more of an event. It was more than just taking a picture, it was about creating, and the roll of cellulose in your camera was about to record that creation for you, and you would not get a second chance, or a review of what you took, at least not right away.
Maybe I am a romantic with a healthy dose of nostalgia, but I hope we never lose film altogether, and I hope others can experience the magic and discovery that film gave us. In the meantime, I still have some rolls of film to use up, and a few toys that I can put them in.
Chuck Swinden is a professional photographer and photography instructor at Rodenas Photography. For more information, visit www.rodenasphotography.com.
Posted by Arron Pickard
