A Pentax K1000 SLR camera on loan from a friend. The K1000 was one of the most successful film cameras ever produced, being in production from 1975 until 1997 and selling over 3 million units. It’s simplicity and ease of use made it popular among professionals and amateur enthusiasts alike.

This update of Wayfarer Daves will be a bit different.  I had planned on finishing off an article about the museum ship Hikawa Maru for this week’s update, but I found something else occupying my thoughts today.  I hope you will bear with me while I share.  Our general talk of travel and history will resume as normal next week.  For today, I’d like to talk a bit about the other thing we do here: photography.  For those not deep into photography, don’t worry.  I won’t be throwing around any really advanced technical terms or talking about gear or brands.  I want to share something I learned from slowing down and shooting old school.  There won’t be many photos in this week’s article, so if you are just here to look at great photos, they will be back next week.  In the meantime, you can check out the Wayfarer Dave’s Instagram page here, and my personal Instagram here.  We update these pages almost daily – sometimes more – so be sure to check them out.  So, now back to today’s story.

The other day, I bought the first roll of film I’d held in nearly three decades.  My first experience with photography was when my mother gave me a cheap, old 35mm fixed lens camera when I was about 8 years old.  For a little kid who didn’t know anything about photography other than that pictures were pretty, it was the greatest gift ever.  But I was young, and my family was poor, so after a while and a couple rolls of film, my parents couldn’t afford to give me another roll right away.  In the meantime, I found something else to occupy my time and keep me busy.  Thus, the camera was put in the back of a drawer somewhere and my foray into film photography ended.  Until this week, that is.  A friend of mine loaned me an old Pentax K1000 and I found a shop nearby that still carries Fujifilm 100 film.  So, I bought a roll, dropped it in, and set off to take pictures the old fashioned way.

Now, before anyone thinks I am going to become a film only purist, don’t worry. That is not the plan.  I have considered doing film for a while mostly as a training exercise.  With my Canon 6D in burst mode, an extra battery, and a big enough SD card, I don’t have to think too much about the composure or composition of my photos.  In most cases, I can usually afford to keep repeating the same shot until I get it right.  Now, while I like to think I have gotten pretty good at getting the shot I want the first time, there is still that crutch of being able to take the shot, look to make sure I got it, and take it again if I didn’t.  There is also the temptation to just shoot everything and worry about deciding what shots are worth the effort later.  And with software like Lightroom consistently getting better all the time, I have also noticed the attitude of “oh well, I’ll fix it in post” creeping into my photo sessions.  As a result, it is not uncommon for me to shoot hundreds of shots in a single day.  Traveling with Mr. Krigbaum over the summer, I averaged almost 500 shots a day.  Almost half of them were decent, non-repetitive photos.  That seems great until you have to narrow that number down and do the post processing on them.  The more photos I take, the longer it takes me to decide which ones I want to keep and process them.  This is where film comes in.

Shooting film is an almost completely different animal.  A roll of film only has 24 or 36 shots, so you can’t keep shooting until you get the shot you want.  You need to take the time to carefully plan each shot, set the exposure just right, and then you only hit the shutter when you are confident you are ready.  There is no instant gratification of seeing your picture on a screen on the back of the camera either.  You just have to trust your skills and wait until you get the film developed.  When I set off to shoot today, I thought my 36 shots would take no time at all, but I found the opposite to be true.  True to the purpose for shooting film, I was forced to slow down.  I had to pass on shots that were, perhaps, not the best compositions in favor of finding something better to shoot.  I had to trust my camera, trust the light meter, trust my knowledge of how photography works to get the best 36 shots possible.  I also had to trust that I loaded the film properly and didn’t wreck the whole roll in the process.  Something I won’t know until I get the roll developed this weekend.

It was as these thoughts were running through my head while walking around my neighborhood that I realized that this wasn’t just a lesson in photography.  Just like with my digital photography, in my life I can be impatient, reactionary, and stubborn.  In work and relationships, I often want immediate results.  Film makes me slow down and wait.  I often try to solve problems through stubborn, repeated, trial and error until I get the desired result or I have ruined any chance of getting any kind of result all together.  With film, I get one shot, one exposure.  If I really need the shot, I might be able to afford a second try.  So I have to stop and think before I act.  When something does work, I repeat it with slight variations.  With film, even if I do get an amazing shot of a sunset or flower, I still have to move on and find the next shot.  There are no extra frames to waste.  Shooting film could have a great effect on my life beyond making me a better photographer.   And it isn’t just me.  I think a lot of people would benefit from just taking the time to slow down and do things the old fashioned way – not just with photography.  Of course, the old ways will probably never replace the new in our everyday lives, but perhaps we can learn something by occasionally slowing down and doing things old school.  Even if it is just an appreciation for how our fore-bearers lived.

But don’t take my word for it.  Give it a try for yourself.  You might be surprised at the results.  Now, back to work on Hikawa Maru.

Fujifilm 100 ISO color film. Not many companies still produce film, but since film photography has become more popular with hobbyists and purists, some companies still produce film.
ISO, just like in modern digital cameras, means how sensitive the medium (film, sensor) is to light. 100 ISO needs more light than higher numbers, but also has less grain or noise, just like in digital cameras. However, film ISO can’t be changed after it is installed, so one you select your film, that is what you are stuck with for the next 36 shots. So much more thought has to go into what ISO you choose before you start shooting.