New Friend Introduction

1974 Nikon FM2. 50.4 lens. Film. All manual. Every reel, every push, every photo counts.

I've just recently bought this, foolishly enough. I've long debated in my head whether I really wanted to jump into film photography because I was well aware of the cost, the technological disadvantages, and its durability due to its age. Thankfully, the early FM2s were made of titanium casing and has even been notoriously known as being used as a hammer from time to time. Its later models used titanium and aluminum alloy, which decreased its weight significantly without compromising its durability too much. But it's still a trade-off. I went for the hard-headed steel.

Unfortunately, the cost of practicing film photography is a little demanding, to say the least. There's the cost of each roll of films, then there's the cost of processing and printing them. There's also a technological disadvantage since film processing, in most cases, have become an automatized industry. So there's not much of personalization if you do not have access to a darkroom. Also, it's time consuming and even after the print is ready, it needs to be scanned to be uploaded. As a blogger like myself, it's an inconvenience if I hope to use the pictures for blogging. Yet I bought it, because I didn't see it as an inconvenience. With the arduous process, I gain something as well. Full command of my expression through photography, but even more, the utmost intimacy with the camera and the film.

Ha! It's only been few days, but we're already on a first name basis.