Behind the lens
BEN HAWKINS & LIZA KANAEVA-HUNSICKER
Authors of Shooting Film, published by Ilex Press www.ilexinstant.com
It’s fair to assume that many a Digital Camera reader will have an old SLR film camera tucked away, discarded when they crossed over to digital. But now could be the time to dust it down and give it another lease of life, because film photography is back and predicted to become more popular. Starting next month, we’re adapting a series of projects from Shooting Film, a new book from analogue aficionados Ben Hawkins and Liza Kanaeva- Hunsicker. Ahead of the first part, we caught up with the authors to discover more about their passion for film, and how the book came about.
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Lucia, NYC. Shot on a Yashica Mat-124 G (medium format).
Liza Kanaeva-Hunsicker
It’s great to see a new book that conveys such a passion for shooting film – what do you think is driving the resurgence of interest in analogue photography? Does it chime with the vinyl record revival, a desire to explore alternatives to digital formats?
Ben: I think vinyl is the perfect analogy. I grew up in a house full of records – my mum was into Motown, my dad was a blues fan – and as a kid I loved the ritual of removing vinyl from its sleeve, carefully placing it on the turntable and slowly dropping the needle. It was magical. Compact discs were great, but for me the ritual lost a certain charm when the warm crackles were replaced by digital clarity.