Content is very important — observations about film photography

Which is more important; the poem or the pen used to write it? The song or the microphone used to record it? The keypad or the actual novel? The camera or the photograph?

I’m typing this article with my mid 2014 MacBook Pro and Pages app. I’m using 11pt Helvetica Neue Regular font. But that’s not why you are reading this, I reckon. You’re interested about the point I’m about to make — the content of this article.

The content is always more important than the camera, medium, t-grain, portra tones, bokeh or basically anything else. Embrace your enthusiasm, but remember it’s much more civilised and noble to emphasise the content, the depth of the actual image, rather than making a big deal of shooting with Pentax 6x7 (it’s all about the wooden handle) and Portra 400. If the gear is the most interesting thing to say about the photo… well, it says something about the photo, doesn’t it?

Why is it so important to get profiled as a film photographer and not just a photographer? Sometimes I see a beautiful photo on Instagram, but the caption only points out that it was shot with Hasselblad 500C/M and HP5+ pushed to 1600 as if it would be the most relevant thing to mention. I’ve seen Instagram bios stating that the author shoots only aspherical lenses or black paint Leicas. Even more common are the lists of the many cameras that they own, but nothing to suggest what their photography is about. Have you ever encountered a Leica M6 owner who would be able to shut the hell up about it?

Sometimes I feel like if film photographers were musicians, they would name their songs after their instruments. I would find it somewhat hard to get excited about an album called “Ibanez GRX70QA GIO Transparent Black Sunburst". Who knows, the music could be brilliant, but it would seem strange to have the emphasis, or the entire musical concept, to revolve around the artist’s guitar specs. Aren’t they just merely secondary curiosities?

I totally understand the appeal of film photography and I’m an avid film shooter myself too. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a rant against film photography. I absolutely love film, even though I shoot with whatever I can get my hands on. I enjoy shooting my Fujifilm X-pro 3 just as much as with my with film cameras. They’re all great instruments and with their vast range of capabilities, suitable for artistic visions of every sort, but they are nothing more than that. They are not the central point.