Well, where do I begin.

I shot film for longer than digital.

When I moved from Bulgaria to South Africa in 1996 I’ve sold or couldn’t take with me my equipment.

Then for over 6 years here I struggled to get back to it and even to survive in a new country , having to learn new language and to find my way in a new world.

In those years digital became the new game, with it’s new fascinating features and possibilities.

First I bought few smaller cameras, later my workhorse was Canon 20D.

After 2-3 years went over to Nikon with its D300, but I was missing the Film days and it’s approach.

In the 2009 When I went to visit home I took with me a Konica Hehar AF together with my recently Purchased Nikon D700. The Konica I’ve picked up for about 30$ from a pawn shop before.

On my return when the film was developed (I apparently forgot ), had been loaded and shot before , and there were few double exposed images- that was so cool.

Much later I realised fully the potential film holds, but it made me wanting to shoot more of it.

There was this grainy pleasant structure as I’ve known for years , and we used to do everything to diminish it , but now it didn’t look so bad, or I wasn’t ashamed of it, that it may be too much grain.

Shortly after I really fell in love with it again, my perception of the rigid rules and dogmas of the film days slowly started melting away.

I now so much enjoyed the previously disliked square format, vigneting, off colours, uneven development,

X process, , even LoFi and all sorts of analogue imperfections.

When I saw Lomography for the first time, I thought - Great idea, it helped pull down lot’s of preconceived ideas of what a great photograph is.

The great image has very little to do with having to use the aberration free lens, perfect composition and focus and as many Giga pixels as you can get.

Slowly I became to dislike the Clinical and predictive perfection of the digital files to the tasteful surprises of grain and colour flavours of film.

The machine gun shooting in hope to get the best shot is not my thing, but then I don’t shoot journalism ,sports or wild life.

Since it became more and more difficult to find and buy film I didn’t mind using expired film, Anything I can get my hands on ( we can’t be choosy ) and enjoyed the uniqueness of the different emulsions and colour shifts.

These last few years I have and shoot more types of film than for the past many years of my life.

Although I still think for a great image you have to know your equipment , film ,and carefully look for and wait , even plan your shot, still with film you can have such fun and pleasant surprises even when you just shoot for fun.

I enjoy experimenting with different cameras lenses stiles and films, I want to try every film, approach and analogue technique available.

That of course has its disadvantages, but thats where I am now.

Ive also noticed , that the mere fact you are using film won’t necessarily make you a better photographer!!!

I will acknowledge a great photograph, even shot on digital, but it doesn’t please me.

To me is as important of what equipment , technique and approach is used to achieve the image as the actual image.

Photo Shop is not the tool i respect.

Don’t try to impress me with the endless Post production filters of imitating and faking the film imperfections, I like the original ones.

So through the last years Ive really went back to the joy of analogue and am very happy and set in what I like.

On Film one can do things which are impossible on digital ( although they are trying very hard to fake everything).

2015