The slower I shoot, the more I remember. Film gives our summers space to breathe.

Why Summer Is Made for Film

Summer, for me, holds a kind of dreamy chaos, sun-drenched, sticky, wild, and a little nostalgic even as it happens. When we pack up for our family trips (road trips, camping weekends, or just a few days at the coast) I always make space in my bag for film.

There’s something about the way film renders the season: light-soaked, imperfect, honest. It doesn’t capture everything, and that’s exactly the point.

Choosing Film on Purpose

Digital photography is efficient. Convenient. Sharp. But when I shoot film, especially while traveling with my family, I slow down. I see things differently. I don’t take the same photo five times; I wait for the photo.

It’s also a boundary. I’m not scrolling through the back of the camera while the kid and dog are sprinting toward the tide. I’m just… watching. Waiting. Remembering.

Film slows me down.
It teaches me to shoot less.
The results feel like memories, not records.

What’s In My Bag

This year I’m keeping it simple:

Nikon N80 – My go-to 35mm camera. Lightweight, reliable autofocus, and perfect for chasing kids and dogs along the beach.
Fujifilm GA645 – A dream for travel. It’s compact for a medium format camera, and the fixed lens rangefinder style works beautifully for scenic landscapes. I don’t bring it everywhere, but when I do, it’s the one I reach for when the light and the view demand something special.
Lenses: Just two: my trusty 50mm f/1.4 and a 24mm f/2.8 for wide, environmental frames.

I carry everything in a Think Tank Retrospective 5, and I use Moment’s film pouches to organize rolls. Last year I brought both a Canon 1N and a Nikon FM2, but I found that the Canon, while excellent, was just too heavy for travel. It’s my main 35mm for client sessions now. As for the FM2, I love it, but with a fast-moving little one and a dog in the frame, autofocus wins. If I still had a slow moving baby I would likely stick with the slowness of the Nikon FM2.

Nikon N80 + 50mm 1.4 + 24mm 2.8, Fujifilm GA645, and used film waiting to be developed from our last vacation.

What I Shoot With (And Why)

My summer film choices are simple, budget-friendly, and beautiful in bright light:

Kodak Gold 200 – Perfect for high sun and warm tones. I love pushing it to 400 for a little extra grit.
Ultramax 400 – A reliable, flexible stock with good latitude and pop.
Ilford HP3 – My favorite black-and-white. I’ll push it all the way to 1600 when I want mood or need extra speed.

I’ve experimented with Fujifilm 200 and 400 but found they didn’t match the tones or contrast I was looking for. The greens never quite landed for me, especially compared to Kodak’s warmth.

This summer, I’m sticking with just two color stocks and one black-and-white. Simple is better when time is short and film is precious.

Lessons From Two Summers

The first summer I brought film along, I didn’t fully commit. I had my digital camera with me at all times and juggling both left me feeling stuck in my photographer brain. I’d swap cameras mid-scene, scroll through previews, and try to make quick choices that pulled me out of the moment.

In the end, I liked my film photos more. They told the real story. My digital files? Still buried on a hard drive.

These days, one of the biggest perks of film is how manageable it makes my personal work. There are fewer files to cull, no RAW files to edit, and when the scans come back, they’re usually 95–100% done. I don’t obsess over color or crop. They’re just… ready. Ready to print, ready to frame, ready to share.

It’s also a relief to leave the tangle of chargers behind. No more worrying about whether everything is fully charged before we head out for the day.

Film doesn’t just change how I shoot. It changes what I bring home—and how much energy I have left to enjoy it.

This Year’s Game Plan

This summer, I’m packing intentionally:

One 35mm camera with two lenses. One medium format camera for scenic shots.
A handful of rolls: two color, one black and white.
Film pouches organized and pre-loaded.
No backup gear “just in case.”
A point-and-shoot for my son, because he wants to remember too. I chose the Kodak Ektar H35 (a half frame point and shoot) for him this year instead of disposable because it actually gives him more frames when I pop in a roll of 36.

The goal isn’t to capture everything. It’s to be in it, and come away with memories I actually want to hold onto—not hundreds of files I’ll never sort through.

Vacation doesn’t need to feel like work. And film helps me draw that line.

Why I Keep Choosing Film

Even with the unpredictability, the delayed gratification, the lab fees, film brings me back to something simple. Something creative. And something grounded in trust; that I don’t need to see the image to know it mattered.

It reminds me that summer is fleeting. That my son won’t always climb into bed with sandy feet. That I won’t always have to pack six kinds of snacks before we leave the driveway. These are the messy, beautiful years. And film sees them the way I do.

Last year one of our family vacations was a camping trip to Cape Disappointment State Park. There’s a long jetty you can walk out onto as the waves break on the rocks around you. My son waited and waited to be sprayed by the perfect wave to hit the rocks. The first photo below is that mist splashing him. I’ll never forget how happy he was when it finally splashed him and how wet his face was after. The second photo, backlit in golden sun, he was still wet as we hiked back to the car.

I don’t need 2,000 photos. I need 20 that make me feel something.

Curious About Film?

If you’ve ever been tempted to shoot film on vacation, I say try it. Just one roll. Just one walk. You don’t need to get it all right, you just need to let go of perfect and let it feel like summer.

Why I Shoot Film on Summer Vacation (and What I’ve Learned From Mixing Formats)