Everything about a digital camera is instantaneous.
As soon as the shutter snaps, the image is there, ready to be deleted or kept, re-taken or printed to hang on the wall.
But there is something to be said for the element of surprise that comes with the development of photos from film, according to Laura Maruzzella, a junior and amateur photographer.
“It is more exciting to get photos developed or to develop them yourself,” she said. “I like surprises.”
Maruzzella, who is studying art and design, said she took a photography course last semester and had access to the University’s dark room in the basement of Brooks Hall. Developing photos is a skill she learned in a high school class.
University Director of Photography Roger Winstead said the atmosphere of the dark room is an attraction to some photographers.
“[Some people like] the idea of still going into a dark room–the smells, the touch, the feel and the artistry involved,” he said.
And Winstead said the quality of photos produced in a dark room is one that some are not ready to give up.
“It’s probably for purely artistic reasons,” he said. “It is almost why people choose to ride a bike instead of taking their car. A car could get you there faster, and a digital [camera] could get you there faster, but it’s more scenic if you take your bike.”
This quality is the reason Abby Cranford, an undeclared junior, chooses to shoot film instead of relying on the immediacy of digital photos.
“It’s totally worth my money because the quality is better,” she said. “Even though you can order prints of digital photos, I have found that the prints of photos from film look better.”
Cranford uses a Canon Rebel, as well as her roommate’s fish eye camera to shoot photos of her friends, nature and on trips.
Despite the state of the economy, Winstead said those like Cranford will fork over the extra money it takes to work with film.
“People who will choose to use film are probably those who could afford it in the first place,” he said. “It’s like somebody who chooses to use different ingredients when making something — people who truly want to be artists are going to pay for the quality they think they need.”
But the tools one would need to achieve the artistic qualities of photos from film range in price. Winstead said there are multiple levels of quality for paper to be used in dark rooms, for example.
He also said there are options when it comes to cameras. Holga and Lomography brand cameras are two used for taking artistic photos with unique focus and lighting. Holgas, Winstead said, are made of plastic and run from $20. He said Lomos are slightly more expensive.
Maruzzella said she enjoys using Polaroid cameras for artistic photos, although the manufacturers have stopped producing film. She also uses disposable cameras and her Nikon 40 D.
“My dad gave me his camera from when he was in Vietnam. It was a Japanese type of camera,” she said. “That was the best camera I’ve ever had, and then it died. I couldn’t find anyone to fix it.”
But digital cameras are ultimately the least expensive option, Winstead said.
“I would much prefer shooting digital these days than film, because of the immediacy of knowing that [the pictures are] right,” he said. “The whole reason more and more people are shooting pictures, more and more people are getting into photography business, is because digital is cheaper in the long run.”
To make digital photos look more artistic, Winstead said some computer programs can transform pictures to make them seem as though they were taken on a Holga-type camera.
