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Steve Selvidge : Film Photographer

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This month marks the start of a new feature from Film Shooters Collective. Approximately once a month we will be featuring a film photographer on both the blog and our Instagram feed. The IG feature will be a one day feature exclusively highlighting the photographer’s work and the web post will tell you a bit more about the person behind the photos.

This month’s featured photographer is Steve Selvidge from Memphis, TN. You can see a lot more of his work at his Instagram https://www.instagram.com/SSS_Film_Pix/ . This photo of Steve is courtesy of his wife, Joann Self Selvidge.

In this post we will feature photos Steve has selected himself as representative of his work. As can be seen from the captions he likes to work with a variety of film stocks and cameras.

I asked Steve a bit about his journey as a film photographer and these are some of his replies.

When did you start shooting film and why?

I'm in my 40s, so I grew up with film.  I intentionally started shooting it again in late 2021. I grew up loving photography but was always single-minded in my pursuit of music and guitar.  That's what I do for a living.  When I started checking out the film photography community on IG, I got inspired to dig out my old Olympus 35RC, load it with whatever expired film I could find in my house, and make some pictures.  Something connected inside that was unlike any other thing that I had tried outside of music.

My son has a rare genetic disorder called Prader-Willi Syndrome, and that comes with fairly substantial behavioral issues.  I found that when I was out shooting, or making selections from the scans I had gotten back, all of the noise and stress seemed to go away.  Some people have yoga.  Some people have exercise.  I make pictures with film cameras. 

Do you have any favorite films to shoot with?

Ektar 100, E100, Cinestill 800T, Fuji Superia, Portra 400.


What are your favorite topics or style to shoot (eg., portraits, landscape, street, travel, etc.) ?

I'm drawn to color, contrast, and shape.  The look of my hometown, Memphis.  My favorite topic is that which moves me when I see it.  Occasionally, I get lucky with street photography. 

What type of camera do you use (if you have many like some of our members, choose one or two favorites) and why?

Typically, I will go out with three cameras. A compact rangfinder (Oly 35RC or Hi-Matic 7SII), a full size rangefinder (Leica M2 or Canon P), and some sort of SLR (Nikon F2 or Canon A1, usually with a 50mm)

Many of the images you selected for us are shot on a 400 ISO stock. Why do you like 400ISO?

A lot of that comes down more to the images that I chose, rather than my choice of film stock. Ektar 100 is one of my favorites!  It may also have something to do with the fact 400 ISO tends to be a bit more accessible and affordable compared to some others these days. 

Is there something in particular you look for in creating your compositions?

I would say color, shape, and anything that can catch my interest. When I see something that interests me or moves me, I try to compose and shoot in hopes getting back a photo that really excites me, moves me, or just makes me happy. When I pull it off, it’s exhilarating. 

It seems like there is an underlying current of seeing patterns in the ordinary. What are you thinking when you make these images? 

Sometimes I’m not thinking at all. Sometimes, I’m trying to pull a narrative out of what I’m seeing.

I have always loved photographers that have simply shown the world around them, so I guess that factors in there somewhere. I am very much drawn to patterns. Growing up as a skateboarder in the mid 1980s, I was always obsessed with the graphics, many of which were pattern based. And just as 80s skaters used the architecture around them for something other that what it was designed, so too can that architecture be reimagined into a different image. As a musician, I’ve spent over half my life on tour, often times walking in unfamiliar parts of different cities, staring out of the window of a van or bus. There’s usually something exciting around the next corner, and I try and stay open to that.  

Film Shooters Collective is grateful to Steve for sharing his beautiful images and his thoughts about film photography, and for consenting to be our first featured artist.

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Pocketed: Adventures with 110 Film and a 1980s Pocket Camera | Melanie Faith

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Pocket cameras, or spy cameras as they were often marketed, had their heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. The pocket camera is built like a slender gold bar, and it’s very rectangular. My mother had the Kodak Instamatic that was packaged in a golden, heavy-cardboard case and took flashbulbs that looked like glitzy ice-cubes that I was transfixed by as a kid. The pocket camera was my first glimpse into the magic of photography, so no wonder they still hold wonder for me.

During high-school in the 1990s, my parents got me my first camera for Christmas—also a Kodak pocket camera, in a bright teal shade that was made to appeal to teens in the era of neon (it did). With the dawn of the new Millennium, I upgraded to a Fuji 35-mm camera, and from there it was but a hop, skip, and technological jump to my first digital cameras.

So why shoot today with 110-film cameras?

While pocket cameras aren’t sought after in the same way that 35 mm or twin-reflex cameras are, there are still plenty of reasons to give them a whirl.

*Style: There’s just something so deliciously grainy and lo-fi about 110 film. Fancy and crisp it’s not, and that’s part of the appeal. The negatives are teeny tiny (think: postage stamp), and so the uber-focused, exact-replica digital camera compositions we’re used to are the exact opposite of what you get here. Refreshing. For Gen Xers, like myself, or Baby Boomers, there’s an invigorating return to the atmospheric sheen of those first rolls of film taken, triggering memories. For Millennial and Gen Z photographers, this camera and this style of film offer variety to your shooting repertoire. A few rolls of 110 film would be an awesome addition for capturing high-school portraits, sweet sixteen parties, bar or bat mitzvahs, quinceañeras, or baby showers. Family or wedding photographers could mix 110 film shots into photo packages. I’d heartily recommend it for photography students or fine-arts classes to try as well.

*The price is right. They are readily available and not heavily in demand, so it’s a buyer’s market for sure. You can often get a used 110 camera for $15-30 dollars online. If you frequent yard sales, you could probably pick one up for even cheaper, and many people looking to downsize are literally giving them away. Ask around.

*They are pretty easy to use. The camera I got for a song at an online auction recently, the Vivitar LF 110, includes a built-in flash. Like most pocket cameras, it takes 2 double-A batteries, which is a nice change from the pricier batteries my other cameras take. Easy to load, too. I had forgotten that a little door slides back (taking the viewfinder with it) and that the little cartridge (which looks like a dumbbell if it had a thinner middle) just pops into the snug space molded for it. It’s very intuitive, because there’s nowhere else for the film to nestle, and there’s no way for it to close other than to slide the viewfinder plastic piece the opposite way back over the film, and then it all clicks into place and closes. Easy-breezy.

On a funny note: I’d forgotten about where the flash and viewfinder are located, and a few times I almost took shots that included various fingers or the black wrist-strap, all part of the journey of relearning an older technology.

*Nostalgia and kitsch, in the best ways. Holding these cameras and hearing the little clicks after taking each exposure is a hearty piece of time travel. It’s uncomplicated and uncompromised over time.

*Portability and sturdiness. This camera is sturdy enough to take the bumps and bruises of in-transit movement and small enough to store easily. It would be perfect for camping trips or trips to the beach, especially if you want to take landscape shots. I tried it on clear, sunny October days, but it would be interesting to experiment with during or after snowstorms as well.

*Enhanced creativity. Since these cameras are point-and-shoot (so no need to learn numerous functions/buttons and there’s no zoom function), the basicness of these machines sparks creativity. Take your compositions to new levels, relying on your own ideas more than technology. Try taking shots from up high, from down low, landscape and then vertical. Instead of putting effort and money into accessories, this camera encourages slowing down to put more focus on your subject and thinking about how much or how little you want within each frame.

Bottom line: These are fun cameras that require no accessories and inspire plenty of creativity. Bonus: they travel well. Certainly worth giving them a go, especially if you’d like to add to your photographic repertoire. I enjoyed every minute of playing with a pocket camera again and found it an alternative to the easy-do-over shots we take on our phones and digital cameras.

Photo collage of 110 images

Here are a few additional tips from my recent experience shooting two rolls of 110 film:

* If there’s a subject you really want to document, make sure to take multiple shots. Judging from the small viewfinder what’s actually going to show up in the picture is often more guesswork than I’d remembered.

* I’d also forgotten that this camera is not great at focusing up close; better shots are taken six feet or more away from the subject.

*A firm hand is required here. The shutter takes a lot of pressure to take each shot. For the first roll, I felt like I was smashing the button, unlike shooting 35 mm and digital cameras which are sensitive to feather-light touches. It was a bit comical at points and definitely made taking a selfie with the camera nearly slapstick. Approach the process with a sense of humor intact, and go with the flow.

*The winding mechanism between shots is sometimes easy and sometimes requires persistence. Sometimes, it jammed or required extra pressure to push in the winder than I’d expected. I ended up with some unexpected double-exposures and some dark gray smudges. Prepare for unpredictable performance at times; it’s all part of the process.

*As with most cameras that have been in attics, basements, and storage units for many years, each camera will have quirks to work with and work around. That’s perfectly normal.

*110 negatives are very small, so if you develop your own photos they might be a challenge to work with compared to 35 mm film. I send mine away to an online lab. Development of 110 is more expensive than 35 mm.

*Expect surprises. For example, when I got my first-roll shots back I found that the pictures I took with the flash on—both inside and, curiously, outside, too—took markedly better than ones without. I applied this new knowledge to the entire second roll and had much better results.

*Speaking of flash, I’d highly recommend buying a 110 that has built-in flash. No manufacturer that I know of makes the external flash bulbs like my mom had, so if the flash isn’t built-in, you’ll go without.

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Connect with film photographer and writer Melanie Faith on her Instagram and Website. Also check out her book Photography for Writers!

Holga Week 2022 | Katie Mollon

In celebration of Holga Week 2022 – we asked you to send in a favorite Holga image. The Holga is a simple toy camera. It's usually associated with square images on 120 film - but is also available in a variety of formats – including 35mm. Because its lens is plastic, the edges of the frame are quite soft, and often vignetted. I encourage everyone to embrace the quirkiness of this camera. Its lack of mechanics make it very easy to experiment with. Simply click the shutter as many times as desired to create multiple exposure effects.

This set of images shows off the wide range of photographic styles that can be achieved with this cult camera. I was happy to find similar threads between images – whether it be the color tonalities, or subject matter. The Holga adds a unique moodiness to any scene.

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Film photographer Katie Mollon is based in Michigan. See more of her work & connect with her on Instagram.

Check out (and follow) Holga Week on their Instagram and website! Hurry to participate and enter this year’s competition!