003 - My love affair with film (Part 1)
Answering the number 1 question I get asked most!
Without a doubt, THE most asked question I receive as a photographer is 'what gear do you shoot with?'
Instead of simply listing cameras for you to consider - because, as we all know, purchasing better gear doesn't buy you better images - I decided to structure the answer to above question in two parts. Today (Part 1), I'll share how my love affair with analog film began, and in Part 2 (next edition), I'll dive deeper into 10 reasons why I fell in love with shooting medium format film specifically + I will introduce Film Verweij to you, my development & scanning lab and provide you with an exciting opportunity to start your own film journey.
But let me first get things straight. As much as I love shooting film, I equally love working with digital cameras. The choice really depends on the subject matter, the assignment, the client, your vision, budget, the field conditions, and a whole bunch of other factors.
Therefore, I continue to enjoy blending both worlds in my work; the majority of the work you see on Because People Matter is shot on film, whereas the majority of the work you see on Pie Aerts is shot on digital cameras.
I love them both, and I will forever merge them.
The difference between film & digital
After working with both mediums simultaneously for more than 7 years, I learned a lot, but I thing stuck with me in particular. Shooting digitally is cultivating a relationship with success, whereas shooting film is nurturing a relationship with failure. When you pick up a film camera, you essentially teach yourself to dance with mistakes, and there's something profoundly powerful in that choice, as learning to deal with the imperfections of the craft, fosters a very steep creative learning curve.
Therefore, deciding which camera to use for what assignment, for me is not a decision driven by aesthetics, but rather by methodology. I intentionally pick a tool that serves a particular purpose, sometimes that's a camera that puts me in a mental state that fosters meaningful exchange, and other times, that's a camera that allows me to experiment without feeling bad about failing. In both situations, aesthetics is just a result of that.
My first introduction to film
Even though I am theoretically old enough, to tell you a story of growing up in a dark room, the first time I considered using film more extensively, was only back in 2018, when I felt a strong intuitive pull towards the medium. I was questioning a lot of life choices at that time, and came to a point in my photographic journey where I felt it was time for something new. After some research, it was the Japanese Mamiya system, and specifically the medium format medium, that caught my interest for a variety of reasons. My first purchase was a Mamiya RB67, found in a dusty camera occasion store in Amsterdam, not an easy camera to use. It has a bellows system, which means it only manually focuses, has a waist-level viewfinder, and it's essentially built to confuse the shit out of you; projecting an image upside down and back-to-front in your ground glass. However, something inside attracted me to that 'rusty old lady'.
I was shooting a lot of wildlife at that time, all across the African continent, and everywhere I went, my RB was coming with me. The start of a new love affair. However, without a metering system, with a patchy manual focus, a 7kg heavy 500mm analogue lens, a max shutter speed of 1/400s, manual aperture rings and a fixed film speed, I soon realized wildlife photography was not made for this camera. I guess we all pay to learn. The look on my face must have been priceless, when I found out I exposed 1 frame 10 times on my first-ever roll, as I forgot to wind the film after winding the shutter. But I was hooked on the process, so I decided to continue using it exclusively to photograph African landscapes. With more time to think, my love for the methodology grew and slowly I found the courage and the technical knowhow to start using it for my portrait work as well.
A huge leap of faith
It's April 2020, almost 2 years into my career as a full-time photographer. Covid has just hit and as a result, I lost 95% of my income for that year. The outlook was very bleak. However, something deep inside me told me it was now or never. Against all ratio. I seized a sudden opportunity that emerged on my path and purchased a huge batch of Kodak Portra 120 film at a reasonable price, 600 rolls... It seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime offer. But more importantly, it felt like an agreement with myself, a commitment to continue investing in the craft. The final push I needed to invest in learning everything about it. The average expiry date of all film, across various ISO speeds was May '21. It was 'go big or go home'. I went big.
I used half of my last savings to make the purchase, and kept the other half reserved for the costs of development and scanning. It was a bold move, as I had no perspective on any significant income for a while due to the pandemic. The first 100 rolls I shot within a month after purchase mostly inside my own home. locked-up due to covid curfews, taking meticulous roll notes for every frame. The majority were self-portraits in all sorts of lightning conditions. obsessed by a drive to master skin-tone. I started to invite friends and step by step began to use the camera in a street photography context, which felt liberating and fearful at the same time, given that it's initially build for in-studio use. Looking back now, that decision became the foundation for all the work I would do in the 5 years to come.
No way back
The first real test came 1 year later, on my first-ever trip to Ladakh, a place that later in life would become so dear to me. Weeks before departure I purchased a second Mamiya, this time an RZ67 pro ii, with a set of corresponding lenses. And off I was. With a 30kg backpack of glass, metal and plastic, and a chunky tripod, I made my way around trans Himalaya. I shot the entire assignment on film, using both cameras simultaneously, and I took 50 rolls of film home with me. The rest is history.
In 2 weeks from now: Part 2
In the next edition I will continue this monologue about my appreciation for medium format film, and I'll zoom in on my top 6 reasons why I believe you should give it a try. Also, I will introduce you to Film Verweij, the film lab I partnered with, and who's doing all my development & scanning + I will offer you a unique opportunity as a reader of my Substack to kickstart your own film journey.
Where Else Can You Find Me?
Website: www.pieaerts.com
Instagram: @BecausePeopleMatter & @PieAerts
Let’s build something meaningful together.
Favorite read so far! You are an inspiration 🙏🏾
Thanks for sharing your story, it is inspiring to read how you create your own path and follow your heart. And we now read most on what all went well (the 'happy end'), but there must be a dozen of situations where you were full of doubt. Would love to read more of those stories as wel.
On a love affair with film: it is also a love affair with a camera. I tried the Rolleiflex first, but there was no connection. Now I have bought the Mamiya (different parts from different places in the world) and it felt right from the start. No idea how to explain. But in the end, I don't need to explain at all ;-)