A young Japanese photographer (edit: who shoots film!) by the name of Asada Masashi has put out a book that is going out of stock fast around Tokyo. In fact, it is already on its second print run in less than 6 months.

photos from auracross.net/asada

What makes the book so great is the humor in the photos. He has taken a very simple idea, the family portrait, and brought a new twist on a tired old Japanese photo icon. He took his family and set them up in myriad situations (as firemen, electric workers, mobsters, drunks) and photographed them fulfilling the Japanese stereotypes of these groups. The pictures are beautiful, funny, and a little bit nostalgic.

What I admire of his work most is that he was able to get these set-up shots in so many locations with so many ideas. It can't be easy to convince a fire-station to allow you to use their truck in Japan. Once you have the technical skills and some creative ideas, 99% of success is just getting it done. He did in spades. A great book.

Asada's gallery site

It is said that to learn photography you have to take a lot of photos. This is partially true. You also have to believe that each photo counts or you will just try to shoot until you get something. There is a tendency with digital photography to shoot like a machine gun until you get something you like. The problem is that you don't improve from your mistakes.

When you shoot film, every frame counts. It counts partially because it costs you money every time you click the shutter. It is a wonderful motivator. You want to make every frame a good one so you take the time to compose and consider a little bit more before you fire. With a $10 used film camera (Nikon F2), a $60 lens (Nikkor 105mm f2.5), and a $10 roll of film (Fujichrome Velvia) you can take pictures of world class quality and resolution. Pictures good enough to go on the cover of National Geographic.

To keep costs down when shooting film you can load your own rolls. It's easy. Unless you do what I did and accidentally open the bag containing the film and expose it light. That's what I did last time. Whoops. Mistakes aside, tonight I loaded 100FT of Ilford Delta 100 film and Kodak T-MAX 100 film; both are top notch B&W films. With 100FT of film you can load approximately 20 rolls of 36 exposures. The beauty of B&W is that you can develop it yourself and save even a few more bucks.

If all you have shot is digital, it is worth giving film a try. There is a quality to the look of film that is unique and desirable. It isn't expensive and done right it is world-beating in terms of resolution and tonality.

Although digital keeps getting better and better, it is hard to imagine a better time to be a film photographer than right now. While it is true that film labs have been closing and my local pro-lab has gone from daily to next day film development of E-6 slide film, you can still get one-hour photo development. At the same time, with new films like Ektar 100 and a whole bevy of new B&W films from Freestyle and other online retailers film is more available than ever.

Feel free to send me questions if you have any. Shoot some film.