journal features

film photography's next generation

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Tokyo, 2009.02.07

I've noticed something interesting going on with the user community of a couple of the photography forums that I frequent. Young DSLR photographers with no background in film photography are buying film cameras.

It's not a tidal wave of interest by any means, but it seems a steady flow of photographers born 10-15 years after me are picking up used film equipment and discovering that they love it. The usual experience seems to run something like; "The lenses for my DSLR work on older film cameras, so I bought one to see what it's like. I really enjoyed using the film camera, and find the results to be amazing; such vivid colours, so much contrast and dynamic range in the black and white. I find myself using my DSLR less frequently, now."

I'm sure that for every photographer going through this, there are a hundred going the other way (these mostly seem to sing the praises of the money they're saving on film and processing). But I'm very pleased to see my love of film photography resonating with people who never grew up with the habit.

rand()m quote

Meaning is not something you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something you build into your life. You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties, out of the experience of humankind as it is passed on to you, out of your own talent and understanding, out of the things you believe in, out of the things and people you love, out of the values for which you are willing to sacrifice something. The ingredients are there. You are the only one who can put them together into that unique pattern that will be your life. Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you. If it does, then the particular balance of success or failure is of less account.

—John Gardner