Okay, so I’ve been meaning to try out this “Film Washi” thing for a while now. It’s supposed to be this special kind of film, made with traditional Japanese paper techniques. Sounded pretty cool, and I was itching to see what kind of photos it would produce.
First thing I did was get my hands on a roll of the stuff. Found it at a local camera shop, tucked away in a corner. It wasn’t cheap, I gotta say. But hey, gotta treat yourself sometimes, right?
Next up, I loaded it into my trusty old film camera. It was a bit of a pain, honestly. This film is thicker than your usual roll, so I had to fiddle around with it to get it to fit properly. Took me a good few minutes, but I managed it in the end.
Then came the fun part – shooting! I took my camera out for a spin around the neighborhood. Snapped some shots of the usual stuff: trees, buildings, my neighbor’s cat. Nothing too fancy. I tried a few different lighting situations too, just to see how the film would handle it.
- The park in the afternoon, lots of natural sunlight.
- My living room in the evening, with just a lamp on.
- The street at night, with all those streetlights and shop signs.
Once I finished the roll, it was time to develop it. Now, I usually send my film off to a lab, but I figured I’d try developing this one myself. Seemed fitting, given the whole “traditional” vibe of the film.
I set up a makeshift darkroom in my bathroom – basically just covered the window with a blanket. Then I mixed up the developing chemicals, following the instructions that came with the film. It was a bit nerve-wracking, I’m not gonna lie. I haven’t developed film since high school.
I dipped the film into the developer, then the stop bath, then the fixer. Swished it around, waited the recommended amount of time. It was all pretty straightforward, really. After that, I rinsed the film with water and hung it up to dry.
The Results
The moment of truth! Once the film was dry, I took a look at the negatives. And you know what? They looked pretty darn interesting! The images had this unique, textured quality to them. Kind of like a painting, almost. It’s hard to describe, but it’s definitely different from regular film. You could actually feel the texture when touch the negatives.
I scanned the negatives into my computer and did some minor adjustments in a photo editing program. The final images were really something else. They had a dreamy, almost ethereal look to them. The colors were muted, but in a good way. It was like looking at the world through a different lens, literally.
All in all, I’d say my Film Washi experiment was a success. It was a bit of a hassle, and it definitely cost more than my usual film. But the results were worth it. I’m definitely going to shoot with this stuff again. Maybe next time I’ll try some portraits, see how that turns out.
If you’re into film photography and you’re looking for something a little different, I’d say give Film Washi a shot. It’s not your everyday film, that’s for sure. But that’s what makes it so special.
