Why Shoot Film?

by Hunter Longo

I’ve been hooked on film photography for five years now, addicted even. I think this medium is more relevant than ever and I want to tell you why. We live in a time where content is meant to be short, sweet, and easy to swallow. Instant gratification straight to our brain’s reward centers. What if I told you that film photography can win back your attention span and maybe even rewire your brain?

Film photography flips the script on what content looks like. From production to consumption, it requires a labor of love that is missing from today’s world. The act of using an analog camera requires attention. Attention to a moment. Attention to the here and now. Film photography requires you to be fully invested in your environment, because you never know what your environment will reward you with. There is no instant gratification with film photography. The photos you take are locked away in a little canister, and you have to unlock them. It does not take seconds, or even minutes. It takes hours and days to bring the images to life. This kind of dedication will translate across your life.

I am going to leave you with a quote from This Is Water, a commencement speech by David Foster Wallace. He states, “The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able to truly care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day. That is real freedom”. 

Win back your brain and find real freedom. Shoot film.