It started with a broken Nikon FM stuffed in a nappy bag. No working light meter, so I had to guess the exposure before lifting the camera to my eye. My son is a teen now and I can still do it.

I’ve never quite been able to explain what happens when I pick up a film camera. Something slows down. Every part of the process demands attention and that attention tends to trigger something. A different angle. (Hang on, we could do that differently). It’s why I’ve spent years trying to get my digital cameras to feel the same way. Simpler. More out of the way. It’s why I shot Fuji cameras for so long. But nothing quite replicates it.

For you, what that means in practice is pictures with a different kind of soul to them. They’re imperfect and messy and they react to light in ways a digital sensor doesn’t. The grain is warm and present and real and the photos feel a bit like listening to an old demo tape. All the rough edges left in.

That’s not a description everyone finds appealing. If you want everything clean and sharp and technically correct, film really isn’t for you and that’s fine. But if it sounds like exactly what you want – if you’d rather have something that feels like artistic documentation of life than a perfect record of an event – then let’s talk.

(Although if you’re looking for ‘perfect’ rather than warm, artistic  and scuzzy, my digital work probably won’t be for you either)

35mm film is available as an add-on to any booking. You’ll get digital and film images delivered together. I also dabble in instant film – it’s fun, unpredictable and has no lead time whatsoever.