Bill on his new board
I still love using film and often have an old camera with me when I am out and about. Using film and an old camera makes you think about every shot, as every shot costs you money.
This photo was taken with my old Canon A1. When it was launched in the mid-1970s this camera was regarded as one of the most advanced cameras on the market. Now you can pick up these cameras second-hand for less than £100 with a lens. The build quality is excellent and it is a great camera for shooting in natural light with easy to use metering. The focus is completely manual and capturing moving objects can be pretty tricky so anticipation and timing is everything.
I am often asked for advice from aspiring photographers and my response is always to get an old fashioned top of the range 1970’s film camera, read the manual, buy some cheap film and think about every photo in terms of framing, aperture and shutter speed. There is still something special about shooting with film and not being able to instantly see whether you got the shot right. It means you have to understand the basics of time and light, shutter and aperture. I still use old film cameras for a lot of my work especially portraits and weddings and I find that it helps to keep me sharp and focused concentrating on the basics of great photography that are too easy to ignore when using a modern camera.
