Film photography has made a comeback in the last five or six years. Film companies such as kodak are re-manufacturing and selling old film types. Film didn't go away for that long however seeing as how digital cameras became the professional standard in the early 2000's. There are major differences in the visual components of film and digital photography that I'll be covering in this post.
As you can see in the above unedited image, there is detail in the highlights and shadows when shooting into direct sunlight. This is because film has a higher dynamic range which means there is more room for the highlight and shadow levels to register on the film as compared to a digital sensor. Film also has a larger color gamut which allows for a wider range of colors to appear in an image. This is because film is an organic process. The range of light levels and color tones when shooting into direct sunlight would be impossible with a digital camera unless you take multiple identical shots with a tri-pod then merge them into an HDR photo using Lightroom or Photoshop. Film also appears blurry around the edges of objects. These characteristics together make film appear much closer to what we see naturally with our eyes.
These colors on an unedited image would be impossible to obtain with a digital camera. Film has some drawbacks however, it is harder to get a well-exposed, sharp photo with film. The film process also takes much longer than the digital process because loading and developing film and then making prints of the negatives with an enlarger and finally developing the print is a very lengthy procedure. Developing film and prints also requires multiple kinds of chemicals as well as a dark room. In both the following images, I scanned the film negatives into a computer so the 35mm film borders could be a part of the image.
The image below was shot with large format 4x5 inch film. You can see the high dynamic range and the sharpness that comes from film's organic process.
I love film but don't shoot it as much as I want to or as much as I used to. This is because of a lack of time and no access to a dark room, enlarger, or developing chemicals. I hope in the future I can shoot more with film again.