When I was sixteen years old, my grandpa gave me his Canon film cameras and lenses. I instantly became obsessed with photography and everything encompassing it. 

Learning on film as a teenager was an interesting process, because I was forced to learn quick. I didn’t have much money and if I made a mistake, I would have wasted my limited finances on the costs of development and film. So it became important to learn from my mistakes immediately. 

As my hobby turned into a profession, I stopped shooting on film and started working completely digital. Shooting thousands on images on every commercial shoot. 

Slowly over time, I have spent more and more time on the computer working on edits for both my video and photography work. Every shoot I did required at least three days of editing, so I felt the need to capture something that wouldn’t put me back at my desk. 

Film was the solution. 

After a 12 year hiatus from film, I picked my grandpa’s Canon F1 and two rolls of Portra 400 and captured this test shoot. To be honest, I completely forgot how to use the camera and properly expose the images. With fourteen years of experience under my belt, I felt as a novice again. 

This forced me to slow down my process and spend more time composing my shots versus capturing everything for sake of having it.  Everything had intent, but without seeing the image I was forced to move on and trust my instincts. 

This shoot instantly reignited my interest in film photography and now it’s become a major focus of my new work. 

– Jeff Thomas