Why I Love Shooting Film (And Why It Helps Me Slow Down)

The answer for me on this is a combo of simple and complex.

The simple answer is: it’s fun, creative, and an activity I’ve built friendships around.

The complex answer gets a little gritty and maybe a bit preachy — so if that’s not your thing, feel free to skip along. But if you’re in the mood for a soapbox moment, gather round.

There’s a slowed-down concentration that comes with shooting film. It literally forces me to focus — to look at something longer and see it from a different angle (super nerdy photography talk, I know).

But stick with me.

With AI, social media, binge-watching, doomscrolling, and everything else pulling at our attention, I feel like there’s this constant, low-level cry for connection — to each other, to hobbies, to the physical world.

And that’s what film photography does for me.

It pushes me to slow down. To breathe. To focus. To connect. To enjoy simple things again.

We do a majority of our photo walks in downtown Sisters. And honestly, I have enough photos of downtown to support a small gallery at this point.

But I love what happens when you keep shooting the same place over and over again. Creativity shows up differently. I start wondering if I can frame something another way, or focus on a detail I missed before. And more often than not, I’m pleasantly surprised by something I hadn’t noticed at all.

It’s kind of like getting to know someone well — when you reach that point of trust where they start showing you the real, gritty parts of who they are.

And I love that.

That’s why I keep coming back to film. Not for perfect, but for presence.

Film reminds me that there’s always more here than what we see at first glance — if we’re willing to slow down long enough to notice.