As college students, we are at a point in our lives where we are constantly hitting new milestones, meeting new people and making new memories. For me, capturing these moments has become not only a fun and unique hobby, but it has also brought me immense amounts of happiness.
My obsession with film photography began before I was gifted with my film camera, but once I purchased my first pack of film and received the images I took from a trip to Seattle, the obsession grew. I felt such a rush of excitement while flipping through the photos that I began snapping photos everywhere I went. Now, I never leave the house without it.
Investing in a film camera, which, admittedly, is a bit pricey at times, can help you preserve all of the special moments and memories that you make throughout your life. You can’t put a price on the feeling you get when you finally find out how the photos turned out, and I can’t imagine what it will be like to look back on them in the future.
Film photography has also helped me to stay present in every moment. While I am always looking for things to snap photos of, I am not so consumed with the idea of updating my social media. I can’t worry about how I am posed or what I look like, because I won’t be able to see it until the film is developed. This might not seem like a big deal, but as a generation obsessed with appearance and social media, the raw images, free from filters and manipulation, are refreshing to see. It’s fun to laugh with friends and family when the photos didn’t turn out right. A blurry photo is still good if there’s a fun memory behind it, and when they do turn out right, it’s even better.
Of course, you could always take the photos on your phone, but the experience is part of the fun. Plus, these images will likely be stuck on your phone amongst a sea of screenshots and unimportant images or videos. If you take them on a film camera, you can still post the images if you want. In fact, starting a separate Instagram account or blog for your photos is a fun way to share them with the rest of your friends without compromising your creativity.
The most exciting part about film photography is knowing that when I’m older, I’ll have these photos to look back on and share with my family. Looking at family photos, especially those of my mom when she was my age, makes me so happy. I instantly feel closer to her when hearing about the stories behind each one or reading her handwriting on the back of each photo. Before I began taking photos on my camera, I had zero pictures of myself printed out. Now, my collection of photos grows every week and my memories are preserved forever.