As part of my research into how film fits into modern culture, design and photography I wanted to analyse how I use film and what sticking points there are that show the process' age.
The Camera
So, I have two film cameras which I use. One I bought myself on holiday to take some quick easy pictures and another I was given a lend of by a good friend to try out as it is a bit more involved.
Samsung Vega 140s
The Samsung Vega 140s serves the same purpose for me as a disposal camera would I suppose, most of the time I leave it on auto and it does all the hard work for me.
Quick film photo fact, when shooting film it is important that you balance the films speed with the aperture and shutter speed of the camera to make sure the image is perfectly exposed onto the light sensitive film.
What's great about this camera is on automatic mode, it uses a light sensor and recognition of the chosen films speed to adjust the aperture, flash and shutter speed to take a perfectly exposed photo.
It's durable too, it's had some knocks and definitely experienced a lot of wear and tear as I often take it to the beach. For modern times, it's a great option if you want to take photos on a disposable camera but want to be more sustainable. It cost me around £40 so after around 8 rolls of film it is more cost effective than a disposable one too. Its come with me on all of my holidays the past few years and really made me consider what I'm taking photos of, I think it really helps you appreciate the real beauty around you which is important in an ever digital world.
In summary: really fun and easy to use, helped me begin to appreciate the beauty of the world around me, more sustainable than disposable cameras for sure and cost effective in the long run as well. Still uses old school film which needs to be more sustainable, battery powered.
Olympus OM-2N
After having a lot of fun with the Samsung point and shoot style camera I wanted to try a proper film camera. My friend who is a big film photographer suggested and leant me his Olympus to try. Another great camera but very different in feel to the Samsung, a lot heavier and bulkier with all manual settings and dials. This means when using it I set the aperture and shutter speed myself and have to make sure the camera know the speed of film I put in. This model does have a little light meter to help you out though, on automatic mode it gives you a helping hand to set the right shutter speed. When you look through the view finder you can see a dial on the left with an indicator showing the desired shutter speed for the set film, aperture and light levels.
It takes a bit of getting used to but this is definitely my favourite camera, other than looking cool and being satisfying to use. The photos I have taken with this have been some of my best and again it has encouraged me to seek out beautiful scenes around me. It's helped me concisely capture memories whereas before with my phone I rarely took as many photos. It is a lot easier to waste film with a camera like this one, something I've been guilty of.
In summary: more thoughtful use, encourages mindfulness of your situation, easier to ruin film which is expensive and material heavy. The recurring problem is the film that is used in the cameras.
So, to the crux of the problem.
The Film
Sustainability and environmental impact are the key things I want to discuss when it comes to film.
Most of the time I buy my film from online retailers such as Analogue Wonderland or Amazon, other times from a local film shop in Glasgow called Gulabi. Film is made all over the world, some better known brands like Ilford and Kodak make all of their film in one factory and have for years (see my first blog post). The film is shipped across the world so there are carbon emissions associated with that as well which I am aware of as a buyer.
It often comes packaged in a plastic tub inside a cardboard box, inside another cardboard box. I think the packaging could definitely be a place for improvements to be made. The plastic tubs are made of plastic which is not easy to recycle, often film labs use the packaging in arts and crafts or melt it down to try to make up cycled objects. But I think cutting out plastic in the packaging would be a positive step. The film in the rolls is designed to last forever so there shouldn't be any biodegradability designed in there, but all of the packaging should have minimal impact on the environment. As a buyer, on the surface the main problem is definitely excessive packaging.
I know as well that photosensitive film is not vegan as gelatine is used in the manufacture, the meat industry contributes hugely to global green house gas emissions so there could be an insight into a more sustainable alternative to gelatine in film.
I think my next step will be to reach out to Gulabi, my local film lab, to see what they do with the left over packaging from film and what they do to be as sustainable as possible.
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