It was the act of winding on the film in the camera that triggered those memories of shooting film. That second or two just after you shot that scene, realising the moment is gone and you hope and pray you’ve captured what you saw, but you have to wait; wait to discover if it has been or not. There’s wonder in that. A delayed magic.
In Dublin airport I picked up a disposable film camera for €20, for the craic, as we say here in Ireland; a bit of fun. I was heading to Istanbul and I thought what the heck, it would be interesting to see what stories I could create with only 27 frames.
There is an energy and a majestic beauty to this city on the Bosphorus. A city parting and joining east and west; Europe and Asia. The skyline of mosques and minarets seen from ferries as you cross continents is stunning.
While I had my real cameras with me and shot incessantly with those. The film camera was used sparingly and with more purpose. Not being able to have that immediate feedback of what I shot, created a tension.
I can imagine I cut a strange look with a Fuji hanging around my neck, the iPhone hanging off my wrist (I use a strap for my iPhone) and what must have looked like a toy camera up to my eye as I framed and shot a single frame.
To be honest, I had to remind myself that I had it with me. I tend to shoot a lot; to shoot the same scene with the iPhone and the Fuji. I am fascinated to see how they both behave. Then adding film to the party is just more fun. The shot below of this girl bathed in light in a cafe. I have this on iPhone, Fuji and film. All three are different in how they respond to the light.
Film renders colour differently.
The final act of retrieving the prints from the printers. Getting those envelopes and taking the prints out as a batch to run through them one by one, over and over, each time seeing something new, remembering something you’d forgotten. That delayed magic becoming sustained magic.
Oh, I took thousands with the iPhone and Fuji. Could not imagine what it would have been like to have shot 5 or 6 rolls like back in the day.