“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever…it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”

-Aaron Siskind

I went from seeing the negative film scans of my parent’s wedding to capturing my own photos and sending them to get developed. But I never thought that I would take photos using film. I always liked digital photography because it was easy and quick to use. It was just convenient. However, after taking Art Photography in my sophomore year of high school, I decided to continue with film.

I took a film camera with me on my trip to New York during summer break to see how the photos would turn out. I used a Kodak half-frame film camera and Kodak Gold 200 rolls of film. After shooting countless pictures, I mailed my five rolls of film to a local lab, Turbo Film Lab.

Since it was my first time using a film camera outside of school, I reminded myself not to get my hopes up. But I was hoping that it would be half decent. On Monday, July 8, I got an email of my scans. They were beautiful, and better than what I had imagined.

The colors on film were deeper and richer than on digital. The quality and feel of the film were different, even though it was lower quality, I loved it more. What made the film so special was it showed the true natural beauty of the world without manipulation or editing.

The entire process of shooting film is magical from the excitement of not being able to immediately see the photos to the anticipation of waiting for scans back. One of my favorite experiences with film is walking around the city, taking pictures of anything and everything. I truly believe film isn’t just a medium; it is an art form that will never be forgotten, as it returns to newer generations.