Analog(y) of life
in a world full of surprises, i pull a thrifted analog camera out of my pocket to capture it.
A few minutes ago, i was scrolling through Shopee looking for the cheapest film rolls i could find for my Fujifilm MDL-9. I still can’t believe how film rolls for just 36 pictures can cost more than the camera itself. Most of them, like Kodak and Fujifilm rolls with the C-41 developing process, are priced around 150,000 IDR. And yes there are cheaper options like piccolo and stuff for some around 99,000-ish but the catch is, their development process is ECN-2, which costs 20.000 IDR more than the C-41 +we have to wait around 1 to 2 days to develop in my local city’s lab in Kemang.
And it got me thinking, why am I still doing this? Still using this old vintage analog camera even though i’m a broke student with super limited pocket money? like why would i spend so much money for only 36 pics? and im not even good at photography? so why? when there’s clearly a much cheaper, more practical option like using my smartphone or a digital camera. Why do people, including me still so obsess over analog camera? Despite all the outdated features, the hassle, the limited number of shots, the high cost, the waiting. Why are we still so into it?
Then I remembered something so random. I used to guess which high school i’ll get accepted to, or what kind of person I’d become when i’m seventeen. And guess what? None of my guesses came true. Not a single one. Everything turned out different and honestly, it wasn’t that bad. It surprised me. Life surprised me.
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And maybe, just maybe that’s what people secretly chase when they shoot on film. The guessing. The mystery. The waiting. Not knowing how your shots will turn out. Not being able to instantly delete or retake them. You have to wait. You have to trust. You send the roll to be developed and you wait, and wait until one day you get it back and boom, there it is. Your memories. Frozen. Grainy. Raw. Imperfect. Beautiful. Unexpected. Or sometimes even burned (LOL).
Analog photography is the perfect analogy for life. It’s mysterious. It’s surprising. And sometimes, it’s unexpectedly disappointing, but that’s the thing, it’s real.
“Digital photography is science, film photography is a chemical miracle” -Steven Spielberg
Analog camera is a chemical miracle that captures moments that will never happen the same way again. Yes, you can go to the same place, with the same people, wear the same outfit but it won’t ever feel exactly the same. The lighting’s different. The people in the background is different. The mood’s different. You’re different.
And just like life, we don’t know what the outcome of our efforts will be. We try. We shoot. We hope. And then we wait. We wait for the results. We guess. We overthink. We daydream about the possibilities, and in the end, we accept whatever comes out of the developing process whether it’s blurry or overexposed or unexpectedly beautiful. That’s life, you don’t get to preview it. You just live it.
So, if you ever feel low or unsure where life’s taking you, take that analog camera out of your bag or your drawer or your random dusty shelf. Capture the moment, take a picture of your family, your friends, or even yourself, freeze it. Not because it’s perfect, but because it happened. And later, when the film’s developed, let it surprise you, maybe it will be the most eye-pleasing pic ever, or it’s just your sister not looking ready for the flash. Let it remind you that not everything has to be in your control. That sometimes, the waiting is worth it. That maybe, just maybe, life is developing something beautiful for you, too.
