Kind of like a continuation of why I shoot film. Or just another reason for analog. Or maybe, simply, something I like about point and shoot and disposable cameras.
I think we’re obsessed with perfection. The digital revolution, specifically dealing with imagery, has brainwashed us into thinking technical merit is of utmost performance. Color accuracy, clarity, sharpness has shot forward in leaps and bounds. The images we see on our devices are sharper than most of us can even see with our actual physical eyes. This has led us on a path that associates these attributes with the words ‘better’ and ‘higher quality’.
I’ve struggled with this myself. Finding that I have spent too many hours researching gear and editing areas in images, just so that ‘the advancements of the world’ will accept me.
But, guess what, I don’t really care. Because I’m finding the emotional, mental and psychological connection to film is far more important. There is something soulful about the imperfections. It is a resonance with our humanity. Our unexpectedness. Our inconsistencies.
Shooting film, specifically with point and shoot and disposable cameras, lends itself to all sorts of interesting things. Chromatic aberrations, light leaks, halos, half images from first or last of the roll, abstract frames that look like paintings, soft focus. Imperfections, we call them.
But, such is the connection to life. The unplanned. The unexpected. The temporary. The value we eventually see in the things that don’t go our way.
I appreciate this about film. In fact, I love it. It feels real. And also magical. Yeah, I think those can both exist in the same breath.
