What A Difference The Film Makes

I’ve gone into detail before about some of the logistics about my photography, including the film I use. I purposefully don’t write the technical information about each picture I post, though—I prefer the images to stand on their own; it’s my belief that strong images aren’t dependent on amazing equipment or expensive film. You can take a jaw-dropping picture on a smartphone, with a disposable camera, with a point-and-shoot, or with an SLR.

But it is undeniable that each tool you use creates a different kind of image. As a film photographer, I work with this every time I shoot—though my camera remains constant, the film I use change every 24 or 36 images. To an extent, I can predict what each roll can do simply from experience, but in many ways it is out of my control. The mystery and surprise of shooting film is a constant joy for me.

Recently, two pictures I got developed reminded me of the inconsistency of film, and the importance of choosing the right film for the moment, even if the moment hasn’t happened yet.

When I went to the Sehzade Mosque, I already had film in my camera—a roll of expired 24-exposure color film, either Kodak Gold 200 or a generic Walgreen’s roll. The last picture I took on the roll was of the mosque’s ceiling.

I loaded a roll of fresh Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 400 into my camera—one of my favorite films to shoot with. The first picture I took on the new roll was also of the mosque’s ceiling, with a slightly different framing.

Crazy, huh?

The difference is startling.

The thing is, most of the rest of the pictures on the roll were comparable in their quality—just THIS shot demonstrated that one film was superior for this purpose.

Why?

Well, to begin with, this film had a higher ISO—400 instead of 200. 400 speed film is better suited to low light—it can capture more detail in a space like the mosque.

Also, the Fujifilm was not expired, which leads to sharper and less faded images.

And then, I have found that the Fujifilm is exceptional at capturing reds, blues, and greens—all of which can be seen in this image.

This is the sort of thing that can only happen with film and that I find terribly exciting. For me, film isn’t about capturing something EXACTLY the way it looked—I would get a digital camera if I wanted that—but instead about capturing the intangible feelings about a place. Film captures mood and memory in its images.

For me, both images are wonderful, just in different ways. The mosque looked more like the second picture… but it felt like the first.