Film Photography as a Hobby

I remember the very first article submitted to WhenInManila before officially joining their list of contributors. It's about film photography titled: Hey Millennials, Let's Bring Back Film Photography (here's the link if you want to read it). 3 years passed and I'm happy that Film Photography is finally back as a hobby of most millennials and/or gen z today. It may just be another trend that will come and go but at least, more people enjoy the beauty of this hobby.


I've always been insecure about whatever art I'm making. May it be my paintings, drawings, my photographs, or vlogs, I don't why but I'm just so shyyyyy to share it with the world. This doesn't come as a surprise to some of my friends since I only have 82 posts on Instagram and I only got to post more often when 2020 rolled in. I promised to be more confident with whatever I am making so I'm starting to share it with the world now.

I got into film photography before because I've always been an old school person. I never compromise what I want to whatever is in trend as of the moment. I also like some of the trendy stuff today like shoes or some art style but when it comes to my hobbies, I've always been a traditional one. Maybe this is what happens when I consume too much digital stuff. As y'all know, I work as a Social Media Executive in a Digital Advertising Agency. This means that I consume more digital media than most people. This gives me somewhat a "withdrawal" syndrome when the clock ticks at 6 pm or during weekends. I'd rather spend most of the time doing my hobbies like creating vlogs, taking photos through film, or do some traditional journaling. This made me consume less digital stuff less and gives my life a much-needed balance.

Let me share with you some of my favorite shots throughout the three years that I'm doing this hobby:

I had my very first disposable film camera during our trip to Hong Kong.

Funny story behind this: I was able to buy my dispocam in HK during our last day in the country. We just accidentally stumbled upon this store near our hotel and when I saw that they have a dispocam, I immediately bought one. Too bad we were leaving the country that day too so I wasn't able to take many photos with it in Hong Kong.

I still have that disposable camera with me, displayed on my bookshelves. 

When we got back from HK, I immediately tried it out in Quiapo, Manila and instantly fell in love with it.

After trying out my first film cam, like what they say, the rest is history.

What I love about film photography is how it gives me this giddyy feeling every single time I'm waiting for my scans. 

No one really knows how each photo will look like until every film goes through its processing.

You can also immortalize your memories through this because once it's scanned and processed, you can have it sent directly to your email and save it to your laptop or phones.

I also love having my photos developed. When I say developed, I love seeing it printed because nothing beats the feeling of being able to hold your work physically.

Sometimes, it is frustrating when your shots come out as over or underexposed but remember, your memories will remain the same. It is forever imprinted in your heart and mind.

Call me old school or whatevah but doing this kind of photography gives me a whole new sense of fulfillment and excitement.

And you know what makes me love it even more?

I get to cherish more time with my loved ones when I use analog photography than when I whip out my phone to take our photos. In every shot that I take with my camera, there is always a moment to be cherished behind it.

I'm rarely on my film shots when I get them scanned because it's not about what's in the photo but it will always be the story behind it.

I honestly hope that this film craze will never die down. It's fun and heartwarming to see more and more people fall in love with film photography. The only downside that I can see with this hobby though is how it creates more demand for films to be produced making most of our equipment pricier than back when I started doing this as a hobby. But heyyy, that's the best problem that the film industry is facing right now. From dying to being revived, LONG LIVE THE FILM. 

How about you, what's the current hobby that you are passionate about right now?

Share it in the comment section below!

Love,

KAT 📸