Do you remember when you first shot analog film? Earlier this year, I joined the Victory Camera team as the communications manager. There was just one small hitch: I had never shot analog film. Like ever, ever. Here's the thing about film: if you started your film journey a while ago (or yours never ended), you might forget that shooting film the first time is terrifying. Sure, I had shot digital before, but analog is a different beast. You have your eyes, maybe a light meter, and your intuition. You have 36 (ish) chances to take some decent photos, after which you send them off to get develop ..read more

  Using the Hexar in any mode other than program requires a lot of button pushing and/or dial fiddling. As one reviewer aptly put it, the camera is both “deceptively simple and deceptively complex”. One could get used to using the manual modes, but I didn’t feel like committing. Therefore, I shot a roll of HP5 through the Hexar mostly in auto mode where, by all accounts, the Hexar does its best work.     While visiting the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, I sat near a herd of deer to test the silent mode, the Hexar’s main claim to fame. A doe wandered over to me to see if I ..read more

I’ve always had a love affair with film photography; specifically black and white. I don’t know if it stems from the excitement of watching my first print emerge under the glow of a safelight, or using texture and shape to make a barren scene look beautiful. Maybe it’s both.     They say love makes you a better person. I think the same goes for the relationship between film and photographers.     There’s a certain level of trust and understanding that goes on between a photographer and the film loaded in their camera. Compared to image-making in this digital age, there re ..read more