Pretending to shoot film!
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
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This week I'm pretending to do some film photography, in a way... But with an SD card, on a Sony a7r5...
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A couple of things you could add to get closer to the real "roll of film" experience. 1. Turn the screen off (no image review). 2. Don't take the memory card home with you, but mail it to yourself instead - second class (no instant gratification).
And only save JPEGs.
Haha love the second suggestion!
🤣🤣 that second part though..
😂
😂
Now, you know what is the recipe for paying attention with film?
- 1 roll of Kodak Ektar 100: ~27$
- developing one roll of film: ~5$
- printing 15x31cm all 36 shots: ~8$
You photowalk cost you ~40$. Or 1,1$ per each shot you take. As soon as you realize it, you really, really start to pay attention to what and how you photograph.
I just burn $1 every time I take a photo with my digital camera. My photography has improved immensely since I’ve started doing this trick!!
I like this challenge. Currently working my way very slowly through a roll of kodak 24. I find it takes me ages to fill a roll of actual film. But on digital i could easily go for a walk and take 100 or so photos
I think they both have there place for sure. I got into photography specifically because digital allowed me to shoot so much without worry. Now that I’m better at photography I crave the deliberate process that comes with film. Have fun shooting mate. 📸
one thing i used to love when shooting film was that sometimes you managed to squeak out a 37th picture :)
I always used to manage an extra 3 exposures (Practica MTL 5, fully manual wind-on, got very used to the minimum amount of film leader that had to go onto the sprocket before shutting the back). Definitely not something I miss though, I'm a big fan of digital for unlimited shots!
I always grumble that there are power or telephone poles ruining a pretty opportunity and end up not stopping. But you always manage to make them work. Beautiful images! :-)
Why do photographs have to be pretty?
@@philmartin5689 Good question - I guess I just like pretty things.
@@philmartin5689I don’t think they have to be pretty. I don’t search so much for pretty as I do impactful. I like to get the viewer to feel the same impact that I felt when I saw the scene I made an image of. Often difficult to do!
@@philmartin5689 Because we're naturally drawn to beauty which is even more noticeable in landscape photography. I don't mind poles though... within reason.
@@soundscape26 are orcare we just repeating cultural tropes handed down to us?
You had me cracking up with your sarcasm. Aside from your challenge, it was the experience of a simple photo walk and exploring through your lens that won the day! Something I haven’t done in way too long now. Thanks for the inspiration, I might just wipe the dust off my film camera as well… 👍🏼❤️
Love this channel, photography without the dead weight of the host acting cool😂
I think James IS pretty cool!
He's cool because he doesn't try to be, and manages to be relatable at the same time.
Powerful lesson to replicate a roll of film that I use every time I'm asked to teach a photography class. Modern tech will never replace the photographers' eye and learning composition and framing is a skill that tech hasn't (yet) figured out how to replace. Cheers!
"Poor car door's gonna be exhausted" 😂😂
Beautiful location. Thanks
Some lovely photos there. I often take a drive along that road in the evening. There are often amazing sunsets over Siabod and Snowdonia. And yes, "Oerfa" (the cottage) has had new windows and a new door recently. You could make a nice "part 2" to this video if you were to continue along towards Nebo and Pentrevoelas.
I've been shooting digital since the introduction of the Lumix G1 turning to RAW 9 years ago. Before it was Kodachrome 25 and 64. I still find myself framing my shots and adjusting exposure when taking a picture. I still tend to only take 1 maybe 2 shots of the same subject as if I have to pay for each one. Some habits die hard.
James, I always love your self-restricting photo challenges. They inspire me to try them too, and I always see improvement. Beautiful photos as usual of course, 11:00 #24 was my favorite.
I would just like to say a big thank you, after discovering your channel a few weeks ago it has reinvigorated my interest in photography, it has also cost me a couple of quid, as I have upgraded my Fuji XT-2 to the XT-5, keep up the good work and I am busy going through all your past videos.
Wales looking gorgeous as always. Loved this idea, I am currently making notes of photography ideas or challenges and this has inspired me
Bravo! Another slap in the face I needed. It also has me reconsidering some compositions I was going to delete as useless.
I love your videos, and I love your photos! It's inspiring!
Another interesting concept, thanks for sharing. Liked the photo of the house.
Fantastic video as always! A great cam for doing this "challenge" is the Ricoh you have. The built in memory in the camera is roughly about the amount of a film roll. Great way to stay sharp. Thanks again!
Love the idea of creative restrictions, especially as a tool to improving Composition - I tried it at a beach very recently... i.e. Challenging myself to find X number of shots within a very limited playing field AND limited amount of time too
Adds a great element of fun to Photography, as well as improving upon Composition
Appreciate your sense of invention-trying to keep your work alive through challenging yourself in different ways. As a career artist/photographer I know first hand that if you can't inhabit your vocation with a fresh sensibility, you're done. Keeping it alive.
Lovely setting. And I agree, the pix got better as the light dwindled. The real challenge was trying to make dynamic landscape images with a "normal" lens, not equating it to film. In fact, I'd say the images from your GoPro had more interesting colour and composition. Not sure if its your editing process or frequently shooting into the sun?
your style and choices for composition and editing constantly amazes me. Do you shoot a series, and make sure you choose photos from within that series, that go well together, or do you just randomly choose photos that you're happy with, to display?
The cow shot... My favorite!
Lovely photos! I am finding these kind of videos are really enjoyable vs gear videos
First camera Canonet 28 Rangefinder w 40mm 2.8. I was 8, most shots were rubbish but there were a couple of astonishingly good ones. Second camera, Nikon EM, marketed by Nikon "for women" it was my sister's that I nicked. 50mm 1.8. Only had Auto or Aperture Priority modes. Manual focus of course. I used it through 6th form and university. Shot either Kodachrome for colour slides or Ilford for B/W (school bought it in 100ft rolls. Used to fill my own canisters, develop the film and make my own prints - also no multi grade paper back then). Sometimes I'd borrow a different lens but the vast majority of the time I used the stock 50 and I think I took the best photos of my life then. As a penniless student if I bought film it would be 24 frames, slightly cheaper than 36. With judicious loading and slow cocking you could make it stretch to 26 and those two extra shots felt like pure extravagance. I left the hobby then and only came back in the last decade. Full digital and its still not natural and intuitive, I have to think about everything all the time which makes it hard to enjoy. And I utterly loathe digital editing. What a black hole of time.
Nice tan James,,, and some lovely photos. Thanks.
I do this with my Ricoh GRiii sometimes. I have an old 1gb memory card that gives me exactly 24 shots in raw. Makes you think a bit more before the shot
I agree 100%. On the Ricoh camera I use you has an internal memory of 40 raw files. The target of less frames does make you more aware and careful. With the Ricoh I also bought the very good but extremely expensive viewfinder which means you can turn off the back screen which saves battery power. Not managed to stop looking at each frame which does defeat the point but I am taking less and saving time not processing pointless pictures. Enjoyed the video.
I just did a similar challenge on my channel using an old Minolta film lens on top of a 1GB SD card, it was a fantastic challenge to make you think about your photography a little differently!
Your video reminded me My first digital camera. I bought in 2002 and it had ridiculously small memory card. It could fit only 36 photos in full resolution, top quality. For a while I couldn’t afford buying a bigger memory card…
Interesting exercise. What happened to the clouds in the final presentation of your shots?
love this!
Love these kinds of POV videos of yours.
I think there is a tendancy to be less judicious with our shots when there is essentially no lim I t or no cost assoxiated with each shot. Certainly when i used film cameras baxk in the say I was probably more economic with the shots.
Great video as always James
Love this video concept!!
Really good that 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Great Stuff ! Images & Narrative. I wondered through the video how you manage to count (I wouldn’t have) and now we know 😂 nice little touch, and so simple. I have a Pen F , also a great tool & way to simulate Film in many ways described here in the comment before.
I always wish there was a “film” memory card. One that somehow limits you to 36 photos or a very small amount. It would go straight into my xpro2 for the remainder of its life.
"I dont inow if there's a shot here, but cows innit.... Hello".
😂😂👍
Fun exercise! I will often start a day of shooting with an hour or two with only 10-12 shots. Discipline does indeed enhance creativity, however paradoxical that might be. The results are lovely, James. #24 is something special.
While waiting for my film camera getting serviced before shooting my first roll again after many years with only digital, I did something similar, just for practice. Not with limiting me to 36 shots, but with setting the camera to full manual, fixed ISO 200, screen flipped inward and most of these distracting elements removed from the viewfinder. And setting the camera to B&W. I am still waiting for that first roll getting developed, LOL.
I had only 25 photos left on my card for an assignment. I really thought about ever shot I took! Brought flash backs to my film photography days.
My approach for digital has pretty much always been the same as my approach for film. I try to get as much possible correct when I hit the shutter, not a generic expose to the right raw file that needs a lot of processing. I've swapped to OM Workspace when I can, so all the profile settings and stuff translate over to the raw file to the other processing quick, instead of me getting a flat raw in Lightroom trying to get back to the JPEG I dialed in settings for. Shot count wise, I limit to roughly two 120mm back's worth and one 35mm back. So 32+36 give or take total. I probably won't use that amount, but that's what I bring with the Mamiya 645 most of the time.
I always try to shoot very few photos of the same subject and only when I think there's a slight interest. Oh and I rarely bother to look at them immediately. I just stock them on hard drives and look at them when i want to make some space. Lately I discovered a few good photos I took more than a decade ago. So it was a pleasant surprise "what??? I took this photo?".
I think that we're so scared of missing or failing the shot that with digital, we overshoot. Most of modern cameras are able to manage highlights and shadows pretty well so i guess with paying minimal attention to that, we could focus on framing knowing we have more chance of getting a technically good photo.
I see how different his workflow is while on a photowalk with a digital camera from when im on a walk with my film camera. I’ve never told myself that i need to get a shot ever X minutes. I always found that regardless of how tired or sweaty I was, I take my time and deep down i knew that it was less dreadful than rushing and having a crappy roll of developed film laying around my room.
Instead of trying to find shots, I just galavant and enjoy my surroundings while gazing left and right up and down like im in a stock video of tourist enjoying the sights and sounds. When on a walk, I try to reason to myself that what I’m doing is way better than going back to what i was doing earlier that day (i.e. working and stressing)
Excellent use of the word 'galavant'. I salute you.
Crazy that different people enjoy different things...
You're not shooting a UA-cam video but
You have to think that he's making a UA-cam video as well so he has to make it engaging.
@@soundscape26 giving himself a time limit didn’t really make it anymore engaging especially when its a normal length youtube video with cuts imo but i just wanted to say how i think the digital photographers and film photographers have different attitudes while on their walks even if the digi guys gave themselves a 36 shot limit
Hey James, a way you can get your "Backup" by shooting film is using a Hasselblad and shoot a second shot on another back ;) I think you might enjoying it.
Great idea to make you more aware of your surroundings and composition. I'm bad for just firing off loads of shots. I will be trying this with my new ( to me) G9.
Why is it when I take similar images though I think they look pants but these James took and other photographers take look great. I bet I could take the exact same shots and dislike them, drives me mad 🤷♂️
4:34 ....my brain "oh the framing not the sheep"
There's a Kickstarter project that is live at the moment called flashback that might be worth looking at as it's a camera that only takes 27 shots at a time and takes 24 hours to develop via the app and is supposed to look like film
This was fun to watch James. It was almost like watching a game, where we don’t know if he is going to make it on time. It was fun. Maybe some more videos like it? Actually, most if not all of your photos looked good.
Since you were limited to 40 mm, I might suggest the shot of the gate at 9:10 might have been better if you tilted the camera down and focused on the long shadows on the road with the top 1/3 of the frame having the gate itself and the mountains in the background with the sun peaking over the top. Otherwise, I would have excluded all sky. Not sure I am right, but looking though the retrospectoscope, that is what I might have tried. Love your videos. Thank you.
Since shooting with a rangefinder I have slowed way down. I enjoy the process more.
Thought you’d gone all vintage for a minute there James! Talking of which I’ve found that using vintage lenses helps me concentrate more on composition, because of the manual focus.
James, if you moo at the cows, they do spin their head around, but be ready, they get interested in grass again . I like the way you keep your images n the sky a tad oover when shooting into the sun. Something to practice
Should a foveon maybe. They are terribly slow, the older ones have really bad lcd screens and you only get about 40 shots per battery.
I couldn't tske my film gear with me on a recent trip. I picked up a disposable camera from boots, then also setup my lx100 to mimic if (40mm, iso400, f9, 1/60th). Plastic lenses arent sharo, but like for like shots werent terrible!
Great video! Would have loved to see this with the xpro3 though 😢
nice to see you have to contend with gorse in every hedge ever too. NZ is filthy with the stuff!
Interesting. Couldn't work in a shot of the wind turbines (your man and nature theme)?
I'm going to try this challenge at some point for sure.
Where were located durig this shooting? I feel like I am right along with you. Nice job!
I still shoot film (35mm) but less than 5% of the time. Whenever I do, given the cost of the film plus development plus hi-res scans, it costs about $1 USD every time I trip the shutter. So I am quite deliberative when I shoot film. Does this make me a better photographer? Do I get any more keepers? Percentage yes; numbers probably not. One benefit is that culling losers is a lot faster. I just love the look of film, and love shooting film cameras with me in almost total control (for better or worse) on every shot. That's the photography I grew up with, and I still enjoy it from time to time.
I would love to see you shoot a roll of film sometime, I always wonder how my favorite digital photographers’ work would look on film.
You can get close to the experience of shooting film using a digital camera, but that is about it. Using Jpeg instead of RAW, shooting in full manual rather than all the auto this and auto tha, fixing the iso for the duration of the shoot, stopping using endless bracketing options, and if possible turning the LCD off. But, TBH if you really want to experience shooting film, the shoot film.
Hey James, love your work. Is there a reason you have to follow the link in your video to view the photos from that trip, rather than you having a ‘vlog’ link on your website where we could easily see the images from all your video’s? Also, what is your thinking behind not having the photos clickable to view a larger version? Is it so people don’t copy them? Would really appreciate being able to view a larger version as some are quite ‘thumbnaily ‘. Cheers
Although back in the film days, I always had a couple of rolls of film on me...
6:53 "Cows (are) in it" or "Cows, innit?" 😂
To be fair most film cameras have counters in them
"cows innit" killed me
I used to think I had loads of available shots when I had a 36 exposure film, my budget normally only used to stretch to a 24
I love the concept of your challenge. Buy why not go a step further and shoot an actual roll of film........Nah, who on earth would ever do that again!!!!
That was incredibly interesting! The shots were amazing and on a tourism website they'd look too good! I want to visit there! Was interesting to see how you never put the sun in your frame, couple of gopro clips had the sun
Good one 👍
Your creative limitation paid off in some lovely images - other limits could be 24 or 12 shots as per old school photography.
Adding to Beatsy and rbawaan, there was the limiting factor of the cost of film, so you wouldn't shoot a roll of film off just for the sake of using it in one evening. You get an awful feeling that many of todays wedding photographers would have gone bankrupt.
You finally changed the squarespace voice clip 🤣🤣
Make your next creative limitation to shoot 36 pictures in monochrome. It's a limitation we film shooters have to live with a lot of the time and I'm under the impression many digital shooters are also beginning to shoot in monochrome as well, especially for month- or year-long challenges.
I was 100% sure you took the M11 for this video :P
Great video James
Creative often talk about imposing limitations on themselves by only working with certain tools, only so many shot, etc...If we think about it from the perspective of decision fatigue, it makes a lot more sense seeming less to me like a limitation and more of a creative head start.
Very nice but what is the focal length on the lens and is the camera full Frame or Not?
He answers your questions in the video. The Sony A7R is a 36 megapixel full frame camera, and he made all the shots on a 40mm lens.
@@marksieving7925 Thanks but my English is not good
This is an interesting thing to do. Maybe I will try it myself.
7:36 my days if i could picture the entrance to heaven, this would be it.
Love the cow photo
I, myself, am also a big fan of creative limitation, that's why I shoot photos and videos exclusively on my iPhone!
As an aside, are you aware that a Sony A7RM4(A) with 40mm/f2.5 fits PERFECTLY in a Lowepro Adventura SH 100 II? Hood in side pocket. Recently discontinued but still available. This is my minimal kit.
Hey James. You complained about your hayfever in a lot of videos. I suffer from it myself quite badly this time of year. But for some years I am using a spray that really helps. The agent it uses is called "Mometasone". Maybe you want to give it a try. I am basically symptom free when I use it, without any side effects.
I know you mean well but that's a steroid. Even though it's over the counter it's worth mentioning it to your doctor before taking.
I do this for a few years. Conveniently, 1GB SD card is equivalent to 40-41 RAW files on my 12MP Fujifilm X100 (1st edition) -- almost as same as a roll of 135 film.
Now I have several 1GB SD cards.. Very cheap at just $2 each, even cheaper than the cheapest fresh films on the market and you can reuse the SD card until it fail or corrupted.. never happen to me anyway.
For a more "immersive" film experience, I will cover the screen with black tape, then completely abandon the existence of X100's EVF and only use the OVF. Never change the ISO and...
Voila! the old, humble Fujifilm X100 transform to a digital version of Konica Hexar AF (or a Contax G2 with 35mm lens.. Or an Olympus MJU ii.. Or whatever compact film cameras with 35mm lens that not affordable for me lol).
Could just pop in a 16 or 32 mb sd card to limit yourself 😅
32mb is like 1.5 photo's of 24mp raw lol
Great video
Oh using the 36-film instead of 24. This guy has some money
Commented this under a pete vid a few weeks earlier.
so what you should do, get yourself a small storage sd card (like one that can only storage up to 32 oder 64 images)
perfect!
This! Take an old slow one… imagine winding the film while you wait until it finished writing. 😂
I enjoy these photowalk videos. (Just pretend it's an old 24 exposure roll of film. They regularly gave 2-3 bonus frames that sometimes came out in development and sometimes didn't. Good times, LOL!)
Yeah, just crop a random amount from the right side of the last one
I used to load as little as possible on the takeup spool to try to squeeze another one in.
The view make me want to shoot like 36 rolls.
This back to film thing......ridiculous, I started photography in 1966, so I started with film, worked in photolabs of and on inhaled all those chemicals for years. I'm I going back to film, hell no. When I shoot digital the most frames I shoot is maybe 20 or less. Do like your channel.
James, had you had any luck comparing the 35 1.8 to your claim to fame 40 2.5?
Somehow your photos from this reminded me of Simon Stalenhag's book "Tales from the loop". I think you would like it, if you didn't already know it. Nature, something human and something futuristic :)
1:16... see that S-car-go... at a snails pace
Lol counting shots by the estimated remaining space, that's a typical James Popsys.
We should invent a term for when we make such funny rookie mistakes like you always do:
- oops... I just got Popsysed.