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Capturing the world through the lens of a camera has become even more convenient and accessible today thanks to rapidly advancing technology. But in the era of cell phone cameras, a special intimacy in photos has vanished — an absence that has led to a reverence for and resurgence in film photography.
With cozier hues, personalized touches and sometimes slight imperfections, film has attracted many people who prefer the way it nostalgically preserves life’s moments. Local wedding photographer Aly Hansen is one of them.
Hansen added film to her repertoire in 2022 after feeling creatively burnt out in her business. “I picked up a film camera expecting to maybe shoot a roll or two but ended up falling in love with the process and spent the summer developing all my client rolls in my bathroom,” she says.
To capture couples’ celebrations, Hansen relies mainly on a Yashica twin lens, a Canon 1V and a vintage SX-70 Polaroid, each of which has its own aesthetic impact on the end product.
“I think most people are drawn to film because of how it slows them down. For me, personally, I am drawn to the way it can’t be replicated. Not only are no two film frames the same, but digital simply cannot replicate the look of film,” Hansen says. “You can add grain to a digital camera photo, but you can’t add the depth film gives you — the way light and color translates. Digital just doesn’t compare.”
Derek Keaton is another film enthusiast whose journey with the art form goes back to his youth. As a kid in Richmond, Keaton often used film cameras to shoot skateboarding photos.
“That was all we had,” he says. “Digital was still pretty new, and trying to afford one of those cameras was out of the question.”
Keaton originally set out to be a painter but ended up trading pigments for light. About seven years ago, he started shooting film more professionally and has since immortalized everything from haunting Richmond riverscapes to whimsical portraits, often with 4x5- or 8x10-inch-view large-format cameras.
There are several opportunities throughout the community to explore this newly niche art, including at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. Home to the largest publicly accessible darkroom in Virginia, the center features 10 enlargers that primarily support black-and-white film processing, although alternative developers — like those for color film — are available on occasion.
VisArts also offers a range of classes in film photography, including multiweek courses and weekend workshops; each seasonal semester has something that caters to all film photography skill levels.
Another place to learn is the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which often hosts black-and-white film photography darkroom courses at its Studio School facility. Two courses are scheduled for the first part of 2025, with an introductory session to teach the basics and another session designed for more experienced photographers seeking to perfect their skills. Students must supply their own camera equipment, but all darkroom chemicals are provided.
“We get so drawn into the digital world and instant gratification,” Keaton says. “People want to step away from that and try something different.”
