Raina shoots film

Why do you shoot film, Raina?

I only started shooting film this year after acquiring a Holga camera. I instantly fell in love with shooting film because I loved the tones that were produced in the images. I just could not reproduce that look in Photoshop. There is something so delicious about the anticipation of having to wait for that roll of film to be developed before I see what I have captured. Our world is so all 'about the moment' and having everything right this minute - having to wait for something is good for the soul. Anticipation absolutely has to be part of my life and shooting film allows me to look forward to something. I recently purchase a SX-70 Polaroid camera and shooting Polaroid has become a very expensive obsession. Working with film that is past its prime and creates these amazing 'mistakes' that are so pleasing to the eyes is fabulous. The entire process of sourcing out old film on eBay, pushing it into the camera, really thinking about what would look amazing shot in polaroid style - all these steps and then finally you press that button and a little card pops out and in the span of a few minutes magic happens. The whole thing makes my heart beat faster. Of course, film photography quickly becomes an addiction and I now have a new toy - a 1986 Hasselblad. Now I feel like I am in the big league. With a camera like that you actually need to learn some fundamentals about light, different speeds of film, how to use a light meter and framing a shot in a square. Film is truly a journey and each level of that journey gets me so excited. Everyone I know shoots a digital camera of some kind - very few people I know shoot film. Whenever I go somewhere and pop out my 1974 SX-70, people stop and want to see the camera, they want to see my polaroids and inevitably reminisce about a polaroid they had in their past. I love that connection and that conversation - I really believe that film creates a dialogue and that is why I love shooting film.

You can see more of Raina's film photos in this set on Flickr.