Super 8 in NYC

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dthHDqqDACI&w=854&h=480]

Shooting Super 8 film for the first time in New York City was quite an adventure. We started the day off at Grand Central and then walked to B&H to buy some film for the video camera. Even though I'd never used our 8mm video camera before, it was super easy to load the film. 

Prior to using this Canon AutoZoom 814, my only experience with analog was our Canon A-1 film camera. I had shot a bunch of rolls of 35mm film prior and always had a hard time getting the exposure just right. And while I did enjoy learning more about photography (F-stops, light meters, shutter speed, etc), I have to admit the fact that our Super 8 camera is all automatic made the day out shooting film much more fun. All I had to do was get the subject in focus and hit record! 

One of the aspects of shooting an 8mm film that I loved so much was the ability to capture motion in a way that isn’t possible in a single frame. Whether it was panning to a new location mid-shot, using the zoom to frame a certain image, or having a steady shot where the action transpired in front of me, I felt like the 8mm was capturing the world around me in a way that isn’t possible in a photograph. 

After so long away from the analog world, I’m excited to be back and exploring this beautiful medium. I’ve always loved the look of Super 8 film stock footage, so it’s pretty crazy that now we have the tools to make our own! 

So my question for you is if you like shooting film - are you a 35mm person or an 8mm person? What makes you like analog photography over videography?