A film series

Words: Tricia

Photos: Zaid Izzuddin (@zai8izzuddin)

Film photography seems to be making a comeback in recent times, with professionals and amateurs both rediscovering the beauty of the past.

With the advancement of technology, digital photography, the younger sister of film photography took over years back. We have seen new-age photographers having the flexibility of editing a picture however they want, to create any type of mood they want, solely based on the set of filters and edits they choose.

Being so used to digital photography and the control I get from it, I was excited and mildly nervous when I found out we were going to be shooting with a film camera.

I met Zaid for the first time at Gillman Barracks. I was surprised that we were going to be shooting using film because that means there is absolutely no chance of a "QC", quality check. With film, there is no retake. Instead, there is 100% trust in the photographer's judgement and the shot he took. That is the beauty of film photography.

Film photographers, there is just something different about them. That meeting with Zaid sparked an interest within me. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know what inspired them. I wanted to know what goes through their mind when they are shooting. I knew then that I had to talk to Zaid and, I was pleasantly surprised by him.

The Interview

T: What inspired you to start film photography instead of sticking to digital ones?

Z: Film slows my process down and let's me be a more thoughtful photographer. I feel that when we adopt the digital mindset, it is always "I'll fix it later". The limitations (of film photography) makes me shoot smart and not shoot everything and choose later. Everyone these days uses VSCO, which are modeled after film stocks, so I thought why not just shoot the real thing. It is more fun that way too!

T: Does this mean you still print out the physical copies?

Z: Mostly, I sent them to the lab to develop and then scan them to myself. But I do this thing with my girlfriend when I meet her; we would shoot a roll of film and get them developed and printed. Then simply just look through them.

T: Can you tell me more about the process after you finish shooting a roll of films?

Z: When you develop a film, you get what is called a negative back. This negative is needed to be scanned into a computer. A print comes after you scanned the film. It is basically just printing. These are hard copies that you can get from the film lab. However if you are lazy to scan, the lab is able to do it for you and you will get the images back either in a USB or a CD.

After that day, I waited patiently for my photos to be developed. I was so excited to see how we will look like in raw unedited pictures and tadah! They all turned out (surprisingly) well.