Uniqueness Compared to Digital

An 11x14 black-and-white darkroom print made May 12, 2023.

Film photography is a medium that requires constant input from the photographer. It is an art, and one that was even debated against digital in 1994 by Geoffrey Batchen of Aperture. Aperture is a not-for-profit organization that has been dedicated to sharing the art of photography and inspiring its readers through their online site and in print since 1952.

In Batchen’s Phantasm: Digital Imaging and the Death of Photography, Batchen states, “Digital processes result in pure inventions that have no origin other than the computer program itself; they produce images that are no more than signs of signs. Thus, the reality the computer presents to us is virtual rather than actual, a mere simulation of the reality guaranteed by the photograph.”

Although digital photography may be quite less time consuming and more accessible, those like the engaged students in Minkler’s class show that when you are present through all of the steps required just to make one printed photograph in the darkroom, the outcome is far more special and original to that artist than had they clicked a few buttons and sliders on a digital imaging processor like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop.

Because digital photography is what people traditionally work with today, and are familiar with, film can seem quite intimidating to those looking to dip a foot in because of several reasons.

The first reason being that the photographer has no idea what their photos look like while they are shooting them.

It is completely up to their knowledge of the craft to compose, focus, and expose their images without a digital screen to aid them. The photographer also has to deal with the processing work required to develop the film. Depending on the film, this requires a variety of chemical steps, many needing specific temperatures and processing times.

Main Street in Telluride, CO is captured on 35mm black-and-white film, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021.

A storm rolling across U.S. Highway 40 near Twin Arrows, AZ, is shot on 35mm black-and-white film, Wednesday, June 20, 2021.

Then comes the printing, which may be overlooked by many people whose photography has lived in a digital world. To print an image, one needs a darkroom. A darkroom is a space sealed off completely from any light other than a red safe light. The safe light is the only light that can be on during printing as black-and-white photographic paper is not sensitive to its tone.

Here in the darkroom, the photographer exposes their light sensitive paper with an enlarger that projects the negative piece of film onto it. The print then travels through a series of chemical baths. And only after this process can a photographer see their image.

While setting up a darkroom at home is a feasible means for some, it is not convenient for everybody. Fortunately, community darkrooms exist across the country to give people access to the tools and spaces required to make prints from their film.

However, companies like CineStill and Intrepid Camera, a company based in the U.K. that focuses on large format photography and darkroom printing, have made the post processing procedure much simpler for those just getting started.

In an interview, Carter, who works at CineStill, mentioned that their mission is to “de-mystify film and make it more accessible to anyone who wants to use it.”

CineStill has worked to create simple products that make developing film easier for those interested. Their C-41 chemical kit is an innovative way that took what has traditionally been a three-step process to develop C-41 color negative film, into a two-step process. And their black-and-white monobath allows a photographer to develop any black-and-white film with just one chemical.

Intrepid Camera even makes small, modern enlargers that can easily be set up in a bathroom, or closet. Because of companies like these, there has been no better, or easier, time to shoot film than there is today.

This simplification of the film process paired with the decade’s worth of knowledge that can be shared through people like Minkler, prove that today is a great time for someone looking to step away from digital, and into the analog space.

Carter also spoke on the significance of film compared to digital and brought up the point that having prints and negatives allows for future generations to come back and look at those images. Who knows if a hard drive full of loose digital files will still be compatible with a computer 50-100 years from now.