It’s no surprise that history repeats itself, the culture and artistic taste is no different. Living in the digital age that we do, it seems that we’ve become increasingly fascinated with things that are seen as “vintage”. Why is that? Well, in the simplest sense, we’ve become obsessed with what we can’t have, or more importantly, what we can’t easily recreate. In addition to this key element, the minuet distinctions and flaws that we see in some of these vintage things, seem to be a billboard for authenticity, especially in photographs. Over time, the mediums we use to take photos have actually implemented specific filters and editing technology that will add the flaws of grain, light leaks, and lens flares, after the photo has been taken.

Shot by Nick Bianco on Sigma SA-7 w/ Cinestill 800t

Shot by Nick Bianco on Sigma SA-7 w/ FujiColor C200

With the first camera being released to the public in the late 1800’s from Kodak, we’ve had the concept of photography to our disposal for generations upon generations. As time has passed, camera technology has progressed at a rapid rate. When we were first introduced to the camera, the thought of freezing a single moment in time was almost unimaginable. Fast forward over a hundred years or so, we now treat photography as a casual expression of creativity and communication, while still pushing the boundaries that, at one time confined us. With apps like Instagram and Snapchat, it can be argued that we don’t appreciate a lot of the subtleties that come with composing an image.

​Ironically, in the last ten years or so, we’ve begun to romanticize the “nostalgic” nature of older, vintage photographs. This ends up happening in the same way we obsess over thrifting, record shopping, and now, film photography. As a result of this romanticization of nostalgia, there has been a rapid increase in those who’ve decided to pick up a 35mm camera to get that unique look to their photos.

There is more to shooting on film than just buying the film and camera however. Shooting on film all begins with properly loading the film into your camera. While this point seems to be overlooked as it is seemingly “easy” to do, if the film isn’t properly loaded, you’ve just wasted anywhere between four to twenty dollars on a roll of film. Don’t fret, I’m here to break down the five steps to loading 35mm film into your film camera!

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​STEP ONE
“This is my roll, there are many like it, but this one is mine!”

Our first step might seem easy at first glance, however, it is once again, a pivotal point to getting the best results out of your film photography.

​Start by picking your film, knowing  your film, and most importantly, knowing the ins and outs of your camera. If there is anything you take away from this article, it should be that every roll and type of film is different.

A quick visual example of what kinds of film you will into! (From left to right: Kodak Portra 400, Kodak Gold 200, and Cinestill 50D)

Rolls are typically separated by ISO speed, ranging anywhere from 50 ISO, all the way up to 800 ISO, and that is just your typical, run-of-the-mill film. Without getting too into semantics, ISO is the sensitivity of the film. The lower the ISO, the less sensitive the film is, and vice versa. Image sensitivity ultimately leads how much light can be exposed onto the film, without compromising image quality. For example, if you are shooting in the middle of the day, you should have no problem getting away with shooting on a film that has an ISO count of 100 to 400.

It is also important to keep in mind that the higher the ISO count, the grainier the image will be. A good rule of thumb I like to live by while shooting is that the “vintage” grain tends to be more than enough in the 200-400 ISO range. Once you’ve picked out your film, you need to figure out how to actually get it into the camera.

STEP TWO
Getting Your Hands Dirty

The only thing that is consistent with each 35mm camera, is that the film is loaded through the back of the camera. As far as getting the back of the camera open, I suggest you toy around with the camera, pressing buttons and pulling levers, one of them is bound to reveal where you need to load the film. After you’ve gotten the backside of the camera open, you should be able to identify which side the film canister will fit into. The opposite side should have some kind of gear system that you will feed the leader of the film into.

While every design of a roll of 35mm is consistent, the camera loading process is not. For example, I have three 35mm cameras at the moment, and every one of them loads film differently. With old-school cameras like the famous Canon AE-1, the loading process is entirely manual. While every “point-and-shoot” camera I’ve come into contact with, has an automatic winding and rewinding mechanism in the camera.

STEP THREE
Follow The Leader

Getting the leader to catch into the gears will take a bit of practice, so I recommend starting out with a cheaper roll of film, possibly FujiColor C200 (ranges between $4-$6 a roll). In my experience, I’ve noticed that the vast majority of cameras have a distinct “load film here”  signal, indicating where the leader of the roll needs to feed into.

Once you’ve got the leader into the winding mechanism and close the back of the camera, you will either have to wind the film to the first frame, or the camera will wind the film itself automatically.

​As I’d said previously, each camera works differently, and has a different loading system. If you are working with a camera that is more state-of-the-art, chances are that once you close the back of the camera, the film be automatically wound and ready to shoot.

STEP FOUR
All Wound Up!

In the case that you need to wind the film yourself, you’ll need to pull the lever on the  side of the camera you fed the leader into, and click the shutter button. You’ll need to do this three times to properly advance the roll to where it is ready to shoot. Every camera has its own patent system, especially when it comes to different brands.

​So at this point in the process, researching your specific camera is going to be your best course of action.

While the exact locations on each camera will differ slightly, the overall winding system will have the same general execution of winding the film. In case you were wondering what the winding mechanism does, this is what allows the film to be advanced out of the roll, onto the mirror image, and then thirty six images later, all rewound back into the roll, ready for development.

STEP FIVE
Take Notes!

You’d be surprised how quickly thirty six images go by. Especially in this day and age, we’re essentially given free rein to take as many photos as we can of one thing, and then pick out the best one afterwards. This ends up being a blessing and a curse when shooting on film. Once you’ve shot on a few different rolls, at varying apertures, shutter speeds, and ISO counts, you’ll get a much better idea of what your final image will look like.

Until you reach this level of professionalism however, I recommend carrying a small piece of paper and a pen on you, while shooting, to take notes of what the three key settings are (aperture, shutter speed, ISO count) and what image number it is in your roll. It doesn’t even have to be on a piece of paper, it can be on your phone, as long as you are keeping track of your settings and the photo count, you should be able to go back, after the development process, and reference which photo was taken at which setting, ultimately finding the sweet spot of your camera and the film you’re shooting on.

A FINAL TIP
It Ain't Cheap

If I can be completely transparent here, picking up film photography is not a cheap hobby. I started shooting 35mm in early April 2020, and have easily spent in the $500-$600 range. Paying anywhere from $10-$14 for a roll of film, not including development prices ($13 for color, $18 for black and white), is a common occurrence. If you have the available funds however, this is a great learning experience for those visually creative individuals out there. Being able to shoot only thirty six photos on a roll, while it can be limiting, definitely raises the stakes when it comes to what you’re shooting, at what times, at specific settings, and makes sure you feel confident about the composition of the frame.

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BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY...
Enjoy The Results!

See Nick Bianco's film photography work on Darkroom (goodgriefmedia.darkroom.tech), at @goodgriefmedia on Instagram, goodgriefmedia.com , and on YouTube.

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