Why I still shoot film in 2026
It's not nostalgia and it's not snobbery. It's about the relationship between waiting and seeing.
People ask me this on almost every shoot, usually while I’m changing a roll and they’re waiting. The honest answer isn’t romantic.
Film makes me slow down
Thirty-six frames is a budget. A budget makes you look harder before you press the shutter. I take fewer pictures and I mean more of them.
I can’t chimp
There’s no screen to check. So I stay with the subject instead of looking down at a histogram. That attention is the whole job.
The look is a side effect
Yes, the grain and the way highlights roll off are lovely. But they’re the smallest reason. I shoot digital constantly for commercial work and love it. Film is just the tool that keeps me honest.
The camera you use matters far less than whether you’re actually present. Film just happens to force me to be.
