Since I started shooting film, a lot of people have asked me the same question- why film? Consider we're living in digital age with all the technology available to us, it is a fare question to ask. Everyone I spoke with have had some experiences with photography either direct or indirect. I'm sure there is no person living in the developed world who doesn't have a camera (everyone has got phone cameras today) or had a photoshoot done, or has a friend with fancy camera. People have associations with dark room printing, when I mention negative development (I don't use film labs and I do it all by myself) which usually leads to a lot of confusion. I understand that the question will inevitably pop up in people's minds and decided to make a short video about the process I take.

THE PROCESS

This process is one of the reasons why I fell in love with film - it doesn't start and end just with shooting a roll of film, it includes everything above and beyond that. I use a bulk cinema film and with bulk loader and empty film cassettes I make a 36 exposure rolls of 35mm film- it is the most financially viable way of shooting on film. Even today the colours and texture of film are way more beautiful then what you can get on digital cameras, in my opinion. Thus I use several different kinds of film and that's why all my film rolls are labelled and it becomes part of the process to prepare and organise the film stock.

DEVELOPING NEGATIVES

When the photoshoot is done I develop negatives myself in my studio, both colour and black and white. This process is relatively quick, it requires a lot of attention and precision, as you are dealing with chemicals at this stage. Once the negatives are dry, I scan and archive them. Scanned images could be posted anywhere online, just like any other digital file. It may sound like a lot of work, but honestly- it's fun, it's creative and it's actually quick. Photographing on film allows me to stay present and be in the moment and feel the moment since I don't have a screen to look at.

THE VIDEO MAKING

The making of this video required a lot of planning. All footage was recorded with mobile phones Lumia1020 and Lumia930 from Microsoft, the majority of the video I shot myself, and with assistance of Pavel Fedoseyev and Nina Sipova. Creating video footage is only part of the whole process. While filming episodes requires more planning, the editing takes the most part of the project since it is very time consuming, however if you planned everything accordingly, it becomes a great fun to see the idea finally getting its shape and form, I used Adobe Premier Pro to edit this video. Another challenge is to find the right audio track for the video- this can be tricky, because the music sets the mood and atmosphere of your story. Choosing the right song for the video is very intuitive process, and It seemed to me that the Smoke City With You fits the best.

I hope you'll enjoy watching this video as much as I enjoyed making it

Fine Art Photography and Why I Shoot Film