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Film is not a replacement for digital photography
Pictured above: A scan from my first roll of film, an image of an overgrown playground.
In 2021 I bought my first film camera, a Canon AE-1 Program. I had no idea what I was doing, barely even knew how to load film.
I have often wondered if I enjoy shooting film because I'm supposed to, the nostalgia playing up in my chest with every jolt of the shutter. Perhaps it's the more mechanical or methodical nature of film that threatens to make it "better"?
But then I remember it's just a tool, a paintbrush serving a different nuance on the canvas.
Film brings a different type of joy to the art of photography. It's not a replacement; it's a co-author on the journey. A digital camera brings me freedom, a film camera brings me focus.
Neither is greater, and both are the best.