a wee bit infatuated

I started out with film by borrowing my friend Jeremy's camera. Pretty quickly I knew I wanted to get one of my own, and was scouting out options online but felt overwhelmed by trying to choose... then one day I happened upon a Canon EOS 650 listed used on amazon for $20. It was compatible with all EF-mount lenses meaning my current ones would all work on it, it was cheap, had good reviews, and it was apparently the very first of the EOS line that Canon released so feels kinda historically significant in a sense. I went for it.

These are the first pictures I've taken with that camera. It's funny noticing and getting used to all the big and little differences between shooting with film vs digital. There are the obvious things, like not being able to see the picture right after you take it. But also things like getting used to the fact that the ISO is dictated by the film, it is not a setting I can change when I want a faster shutter speed at the same aperture or when I want to shoot wide open outside on a bright day. You have to think of what speed you want when you choose the film you load into the camera, and you're stuck with that for the number of exposures on that roll. Also, that there is no need to set the white balance in the camera... again, that's taken care of by the film, which doesn't seem to get as easily fooled or confused as a digital sensor can. So that one's kinda nice. And I really love how it shifts the focus (heh) to making sure you have the picture as perfect as possible before you even press the shutter button, vs "fixing" the photo afterwards on a computer.

You know how sometimes you hear about something or start really paying attention to it for the first time, and all of a sudden you see it everywhere around you?  Suddenly I'm seeing film everywhere. The latest edition of Click magazine featured two different articles on photogs who use film. Then last night I stumbled upon the documentary Long Live Film, which was really interesting and showcased absolutely stunning photography.

So yeah, I'm having a lot of fun with this, shooting and experimenting and reading and learning. I'm liking the 650, though I still have my eyes out for a vintage 35mm camera from like the 70's (like this or this... especially since you can sometimes find these or similar for cheap with a really fast prime lens included... I would loooove an old 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.2 lens on one of these film cams). I also am itching to try medium format film, although those cameras tend to be a lot more expensive and harder to come by... But yeah. It's safe to say I am in full-on infatuation mode.