Streets in Grain

When I started photography in 2008, it was already in the digital era, the golden age of DSLRs and everyone was saying that film was already dead. Cameras evolved rapidly, from digital SLRs to mirrorless systems. Fast forward to early 2025, after years of shooting digital and in color, I found myself growing tired of the same routine. I wanted to slow down, to rediscover the craft in a different way.

Film photography became that avenue. Learning to shoot and develop black and white film opened up a new experience for me. Seeing my images appear on negatives for the first time was fascinating. Today, scanning those negatives with a digital camera makes it easier to bridge the old and new worlds.

Film photography has taught me patience, to be deliberate and decisive with each frame. Every press of the shutter feels like a small challenge, a test of timing and intention. There’s always a lot to consider before committing to a single exposure.

With AI-generated imagery now dominating the digital landscape, film photography holds a renewed value. It reminds us to slow down, to think, to be present, and to truly observe. It trains the eye to see form, light, and how both interact within a space.

But at the end of the day, whether it captured on film or digitally, an image is still an image. What matters is how we arrange chaos, create order, and express meaning through a single frame or a series of them. But for the film photographers there’s a saying, “ Film is not dead.”

Ongoing project using film photography as the medium of choice.