35mm Film



35mm film is the most common type of photographic film and what people often picture in their mind when they think of film. It is becoming outdated as digital photography advances at such a fast pace. Because film cannot keep up with digital, many chemical companies are dwindling—Kodak recently went bankrupt and most chemical and paper producers around 20 years ago are out of business. Many photographers will be devastated if Kodak does not bounce back from the bankruptcy. In 1880, George Eastman created the Kodak company to make photography more accessible to the public—their motto was “You press the button. We do the rest.” In 1884, Kodak patented the first paper film which was a precursor to modern film.

Film with chemical burns. Notice how the burns
are fairly symmetrical and always occur in pairs.

Today, film is sold in a variety of speeds, which is determined by its sensitivity to light. A lower ISO (film speed) number, the less sensitive to light the film is. Thus a lower number, like 100, is good for bright, direct sunlight whereas a higher ISO, 400, is best for low-light situations. A higher ISO will produce a granier photo, which becomes evident during printing. When processing the film, it cannot touch itself at any point or you will get what is called a chemical burn that makes the affected negatives unusable. After processing, film is best kept in plastic negative sleeves to keep dust and scratches off the emulsion.