The look of film

I've been shooting digital since 2004 and can quite honestly say it has literally transformed the way in which I work as a photographer. I feel as though I've improved tremendously and I continue to learn something new on a daily basis. If there's one thing I've noticed with digital cameras though, is that they can sometimes be just too damn good, almost clinical in their execution. For the vast majority of my work this is exactly what I require, but just occasionally I may seek something that little bit different and that's where film comes into it's own. It's little surprise to me when I read about the resurgence of film cameras on blogs and other social media sites, especially with the many apps developers design for phones and tablets that can mimic film stock, light leaks and scratches. It makes people curious about the real thing, me included. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the film simulation apps, they do a great job, and sometimes I use them myself. But you can kinda tell when it's a photoshopped image, it can still look somewhat clinical, almost forced, especially if the editing technique is poor. An image captured by film can sometimes have an emotional quality, not something that you can readily put your finger on, but something that is most definitely there. The image below is a case in point. I happened to stumble across a narrow path leading towards a seaside cottage, the sign quite typical to those found on the many lanes and dwellings in the little villages populated on the North Norfolk Coast. I was using the Fujica STX-1 which I have just written about -  http://brettgardnerphotography.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/fujica-stx-1.html with a Fujinon 50mm F1.9 lens. Shooting wide open I focused on the sign and recomposed the shot so as to include the path. I wanted the path to appear blurred in the captured image and so hopefully ask the question of the viewer, 'what lies at the base of the lane, and would you like to wander down it?'. The sun just out of shot to the top left of frame causes a beautiful reddish light leak to spill across the image and the scratches were all present on the scanned negative. In my opinion this all adds to the charm and emotion of the photograph, something that would've been almost impossible to capture on a digital camera.  

Oystercatchers - Fujica STX-1 with Fujinon 50mm F1.9