‘You only have one shot’: how film cameras won over a younger generation

A new wave of enthusiasts are eschewing the multi-megapixel convenience of digital photography in favour of an older, slower, magical' tech

Indi Shields first discovered film in the drawer of her childhood home. The first film camera I picked up was my great grandfather's," she says. It felt so special to hold it and use it in the same way that he used to. Even though I never got to meet him."

While Shields was already taking analogue photographs before the pandemic began, the way she used it shifted during lockdowns. Where once the camera would only come out at big events like birthday parties, she found herself snapping away at mundane things like my friend watching TV on the couch or the tunnel I walk through to get to the train - just because these are sweet little moments I want to look back on or remember in five or 10 years."