First off, I must mention a disclaimer: I am by no means a professional photographer, nor am I even anything relatively close to that. I'm hardly even a "photographer". I'm just a regular dude who likes to explore and happens to take some photos along the way--anyone can do this sort of stuff. I can't stress that enough, anyone can take beautiful photos. Now to be a "photographer" is a delicate subject to me. I cringe every time someone mentions my name in relation to that profession. I don't think I deserve such an accolade, at least not yet. I'm just an average guy and some of my pictures happen to come out looking pretty rad; its all just lots of good fun and expression.
Now back to the main subject, film photography. I shoot the majority of my photos in 35mm film with a Canon AE-1. Any other photos are just cell phone photos and editing (LG G3, and mostly editing). People always ask, why film? Well to be honest, I just never could afford a DSLR or nice digital camera. In fact, when I first began taking photos at all it was purely to satisfy my girlfriend at the time (thanks Christin you're the best). And at first I absolutely sucked, every photo looked terrible. Years of rigorous training by my confidante helped me improve, very slowly. When I would take photos of her it was almost always cell phone or DSLR (mostly iPhone). If you'd like to check out some of her photography\aesthetic it's damn gorgeous: www.instagram.com/naturecat_ By the time I had split with her my interest for photography had matured into a love so I ventured off to develop my own sort of style. However my LG phone took the worst photos--absolute garbage. I would try, but never the same as with Christin's Nikon or iPhone. I certainly couldn't afford my own digital option so film appeared to be my best option. I bought a Canon AE-1, two lenses, and a case for around a hundred bucks or so on eBay and started learning. It's been about a year plus about 50 rolls of film since then.
Film is incredible to me, I absolutely love it. It feels so manual, just so hands on. With my camera I can adjust aperture, shutter speed, focus, ISO, etc. and it all just makes sense. I know what my camera is doing and everything is clear and easy to interpret. Every time I've ever shot with DSLR I just get lost in all of the options and configurations and it would always just take so much time to apprehend everything it was doing when I would change a setting. I honestly would usually just throw it in auto mode and let it do its thing. I could always just edit later and make it look cool right? Who needs all these frustrating options and modes? Not me man.
Now that's just my personal opinion. DSLR and other digital options are probably better in the long run and they give more flexibility overall. And another major con to film photography is that you have absolutely no idea how the photo is going to actually turn out. Not until you get that roll developed. Digitals are a bit safer in that aspect, but its really just not as fun. Every time I finish a roll of film it feels like a little gift to myself I can open whenever I want. It's so much fun. In fact, I've got about six or seven rolls sitting in the refrigerator right now that I can't wait to develop. But if photography is a profession you want to pursue seriously, then having something digital is a must. Especially in today's technological era, everything is instant. Film definitely takes time to gather, develop, transfer, and edit. Five of those seven rolls of film are actually almost six months old; from my last road trip to the Pacific Northwest.
So, in conclusion, the only reason I even shoot film is because I can't afford a nice digital/DSLR camera. I'm all over the place with jobs and traveling and I live my life pretty close to the blade of poverty. The only reason I have a place to live all the time is because of loved ones around me; friends, family, etc. Beautiful people. If you've never shot with film I highly suggest giving it a try or at least learning about it. It teaches you the fundamentals of camera operation and shooting perfectly. But if you want something that does most of the work for you and is a lot quicker while still enabling tons of options and control then go DSLR, you won't regret it! I'll stick with film for now, keeps things interesting for me.