Giving Film Another Try

Decay SPFTS, a photo by filmic (mawz) on Flickr.

FM2, 50/1.8 AI, Delta 100

I finally got off my butt and finished scanning the last 3 rolls of C-41 colour film I had laying around. While I was at it, I decided to soup & scan a few rolls of B&W 35mm film. Doing so has really reminded me both why I love shooting film and why I gave it up for the most part.

The C-41 was washed out, grainy as heck and covered in dust. It was also lab processed. This is exactly why I for the most part dislike shooting 35mm colour film, it just looks like crap for the most part. Sometimes you get lucky and it turns out alright, but it's expensive and a pain to scan. Part of this is the need to avoid expired 35mm colour, but even shooting Ektar 100, by far my preferred option, is a struggle in comparison to digital.

On the flip side, the B&W is turning out lovely. It has a gorgeous tonality that I struggle to match with digital, and is a lot less hassle to scan & process given the lack of spooling after hanging and the low dust levels due to my workflow.

This is really pushing me towards shooting a fair bit more 35mm B&W. I do love the results and unlike the colour work I get consistent, repeatable and not too expensive results.