Tabitha McCausland - Wow! You should write MORE!!!! Very well said!

lauryn galloway - yay! jose I love you! I hope to switch to film completely by the end of this year! Holga and a Rolleiflex maybe this coming week!

Kim - I've commented to you before - about just how extremely beautiful your work is. So, film is the answer. :) Your last paragraph there makes so much sense to me. You're doing an amazing job. I like your passion for F*** (lol). Keep it up, hope to work with you one day.

Marcus Murphy - Vent on! You are so right Jose, there is nothing better than "timeless". I love the look of film. I am only a second shooter with my wife Gina ,(www.ginameola.com), but I REALLY love film. I love the history that is associated with photos. I love looking at old photos of couples, there is something so romantic in the simplicity and imperfections of each photo. I just now started looking for a camera to shoot with film. I also think I take so much pride in the process, getting a real hands on experience. As always thank you for the post. :)

Cynthia Brown - O.K. Jose-I love this post as I am a former still life/food photographer and shot mostly with a Sinar. I went through Polaroids like they were breaths of air. What do you shoot now? 35mm or medium format, Nikon, Canon? Just curious cuz I do love the results that I got with my fuji provia film (do they even make that anymore?).

Harmony Loves - I love your work. However you do it :) And I am taking my first film class!!! Yea! Teacher handed out a questionnaire and one of the questions was to write a famous photographer... I wrote Jose Villa and Jonathan Canlas! Will that get me a discount on your next workshop? ;)

Kia Gregory - Wow. Thanks for your thoughts, Jose. I used to shoot film with my husband (a high school B&W photography teacher). I remember spending the weekend waking around our rural parts of Oregon capturing old mossy trees (they were my obsession); the first time I developed my roll in the dark room and it was so magical; running the negatives through all the chemicals, so antsy while watching it in the stop bath. And picking the images I wanted to enlarge. It was a process. So thankful I learned how to do it, though. And your pride on love for your work is so evident. Bravo for doing what you love!

Bartek Witek - Interesting reading. There is no doubt that your work is different. Now you have explained why :) I would not mind getting back to film times. Clients would not expect so many images. In today's time people have plenty fabulous images but they do not know about it, because they are hidden deep on the hard drives instead of being printed. Looking forward to see more film photographs from you Jose :) All the best.

Cathy Crawley - I must admit when I found out that AGFA Ultra film was no longer available I had a little cry, that was the best film for landscapes - my first photography passion :)

Melissa Sweazy - You don't need a ghostwriter after all!

Julia Holman - I love you!!! :) This is exactly what I was thinking! Thank you JOSE!!!!

Riccis - Shhhh... Don't let the secret we all know too well out :-) Love you, brother!

Kathy - Wonderfully said! What do you shoot with? I spent hours as a child watching my dad develop film in his darkroom.. There is nothing like film.

Tiffany Converse - Hi Jose, My thoughts are this: I shot weddngs with my hassleblad for years and printed most of my blk and white in the darkroom until I left the industry for a couple of years. When I came back I was convinced that digital was just as good and so on. Somehow I stumbled across your website and also Elizabeth Messinas and knew instantly that it was film! This was all I needed. I am slowly going to move back to film but am just so excited about the process to go back! Am I doing this to look cool? Who cares, your work is amazing and I'm inspired!

joy thigpen - preach it brother! ;)

sherri - I played a classic grand piano at a funeral this week and was reminded yet again how nothing can beat analogue. I often play a keyboard with the "grand piano" setting. I am a purist and old school girl at heart...which is why I continue to shoot film...and have never embraced digital. You are truly an inspiration in so many ways Jose. Thank you for sharing your gift with all of us...xoxo

Paul Sargeant - agreed. I float between both worlds but know exactly what you mean.

Suzi Q - Hi Jose...Thanks for saying it perfectly. My clients say the same thing about my work...it looks "different, better" than digital. I could never figure out why everyone jumped on the digital bandwagon so quickly and with such abandon. Hope to see you and Yvette and Bryan and Jonathan and hang out with all the other film shooters in Vegas. Suzi Q

des - jose, it's you who has the magic, its in your heart. film is just the medium. xoxo

catherine - you have to be a skilled, confident, talented photographer in order to shoot film for paying clients. let's face it, there is an entire industry devoted to photoshop fixing of less-than-perfect digital captures. i am not saying everyone who shoots digital is not talented or unskilled. what i am saying is that if there was no digital, if all photography had to be perfected in-camera and shot using film, there would likely be far fewer photographers. (and in my opinion, that would not a good thing.) your work is beautiful and inspirational, and i so look forward to opening your beautiful blog every week!

Clayton Austin - Jose, Your work is timeless. There is no denying that. However I love digital for so many reasons as well. It is true that without a proficient work flow digital can really strain. The key is really mastering the amazing automation capibilities of PS to your advantage. Even if I shot film I believe I have a very unique style that simply requires PS and therefor digital is home to me. I do have to say that all this time I have admired not just your work but your humility as an artist as well. I am a bit suprised to see this "tone" from you...

ronnie - And film cameras last forever and hardly ever break, but digital ones are always changing, supposedly getting better and they break at least once a year. And they want you to buy one with less "noise" and then buy actions to put the "grain" back in!

David Stephen - I'm going to be shooting film this year (not the whole wedding...baby steps) with a seagull or in mandarin haiou twin lens reflex, and a Yashica GT electro 35. I can't wait. FILM!

Jeremy Dueck - Great post Jose, there is a lot to be said for both film and digital, and I enjoy both. But I do like film better - it is photography, and I love that I don't have to sit at the computer - I can go shoot more. Digital is more about capture and working it on computer. Are computers bad? No. Can they be a huge benefit no matter what you shoot? You bet. Can the digital work flow be overwhelming? you bet. With computers we can do whatever we want in less time than when we worked without them. Do they make us better photographers? No. Better image makers, maybe. Clayton, they can give us a unique look (BTW I really like your style) but they don't make us better photographers, more proficient - yes at times but actually getting a better image in camera? I don't believe so. I once walked into an ad agency with my portfolio, when I slapped it on the light table the art buyers said "wow, you know what you're doing, there is no hiding behind anything". They were looking at a sheet of 120 and 4x5 trans, straight out of camera. No printing, no color corrections, no cropping. Nothing but real photography - it actually does make you a better photographer. The larger the film you shoot they better you become because you shoot slower and think more. This does not discount any small format shooters or digital images that are great. There are many of them, I truly believe that. But if you can master great images on slide film, you will become a better photographer - whether you shoot film or digital in the future.

Emily - Very good post! I recently listened to an interview of yours in which you discussed film vs digital, and the next day I took my film camera with some ridiculously old film to an engagement shoot I shot. The film wasn't great, so the pictures turned out ok, but I really enjoying switching back and forth between my film and digital cameras; it made me slow down in a way I haven't done in a while. I don't think I'll ever convert completely to film, since I love what I can do with digital, but this year, I'm going to invest in some better (newer) film and take that camera with me to every wedding I shoot. I can't wait to see what kind of results I get!

Jyllian - Woohoo film!!! Right on Jose...thanks for getting me into shooting 220 and picking the holga up again=) What a great inspiration you are.

Jean-Pierre Uys - Love both as well, but in my country (South-Africa) medium format film is hard to get and you pay between $10-$12 a roll of 16 exposures, so its is costly here....maybe is even worth more for the clients here! I must say Jose you made shooting film a possibility again!

carin - I agree completely, but most clients are not willing to pay the extra cost for film. I guess it gets easier to charge what it costs when you have the type of recognition you have. Very nice that you take a stand on this, cause you feel "forced" to go digital these days - even if you don´t want to.

andrew - thanks for this post Jose..i stick to film because of people like you..

steve - couldnt agree more.. Cost effectiveness in digital does not in any way better the quality of film... Photoshop does not make a photographer... Actions are dull and boring...sick of seeing the same old photo's with the same old processing... 800 -1000 images a wedding is pathetic and shows no integrity... digital users would not do that with film, but they do with digital because they can... digital cameras are very expensive..... the RAW file being poor..... public are being ripped off.. What happens in 5 years time when your images no longer can be opened because you dont have the most up to date software..... you're a slave to the Adobe machine! images saved on cd's,. hard drives... its a fallable archival system.... nothing beats a properly stored negative (and now with scanning the way it is you can double up against disaster) Too many benefits to film..... see through the propaganda....

Krissy - Great post Jose! I just bought a digital camera last year, but have not totally made the switch. I LOVE film. I was just out in CA attending one of Jessica's workshops where I brought my film camera with me. Can't wait to get the pictures back! It is so wonderful that you feel the same way about film as I do...

Chris - IM A DIGITAL SHOOTER AND I AGREE WITH JOSE! Here in the UK film processing and printing is rediculously expensive, AND, we have very few labs, if any actually, that can do a great job. Ive been MADE to shoot digital because of the LACK OF PROFESSIONAL LABS AND TECHNICIANS. That simple. Photoshop can be manipulated to look reasonably like film, however, its not the real thing and doesnt quite get the look - its a compromise. Jose I think your work has real integrity - however one reply did trike a chord - from chenin - do you post process your work in PS Jose? You need to be honest about this, because otherwise your reputation means nothing?

julianne - Here here!! I love film as well. Some of my fave spots here in Vancouver, B.C. have gone out of business, though :(

glauce - Hola, Jose Es una buena iniciativa la de escribir un poco en tu blog. Te animo y espero que sigas incentivando el film en la era digital.

jessamyn harris - I too love the work, love the look, miss film occasionally. But I'm not not shooting it because of the expense, or because I don't know how. I'm not shooting film because of the added uncertainties that are just too big to risk on a wedding day. I know how to properly expose, I know how to shoot film very well. But I don't miss at all the uncertainty of not knowing if everything went perfectly in camera, on route to the lab, in processing at the lab, and so on. I know you use an amazing lab, but options are limited in my area, and I sleep much better knowing that the photos are there immediately, not a week later after Fedexing everything to a lab location and waiting for them to send things back. Not to mention that I am a color control freak ;) and could never get things just how I wanted them when working with a lab - which came from years of doing my own color printing at a custom color lab in SF! With digital, I'm not trying to replicate the look of film, I'm trying to get as close as I can to my ideal colors, densities, and individual vision, and doing the post processing myself (while a pain) gives me that control that I just can't ever see myself giving back up again fully. When I was still shooting film, I would always have it scanned, always end up tweaking color and contrast anyway. There's also the added benefit of proofing in camera, much fewer waste when it comes to chemicals and film base, and of course the expense, too. But for me the reasons are as explained above, not primarily due to any expense. That said - I'm so glad you DO shoot film, and I LOVE looking at it. I miss those beautiful Fuji colors sometimes, but I liken it to working with a certain set of paints or canvases - it doesn't dramatically change the end product so much as influence where your vision will take it. My guess is that if you spent more time shooting digitally you would not feel so restricted, just as if many digital shooters switched to film it would be shocking at first but become second nature. But, then, why mess with success? : ) Nothing wrong with throwing some film into the mix, but it just never seems to end up making sense to me when I'm in there shooting.

jess rensch - A big thank you to you for writing this. I NEEDED to hear this! I love film and want to just switch back. Im exhausted trying to make digital files look as simple clean and beautiful as film does! Thank you Jose! I heart you!

Chris - Jose - I dont think thats Chenin Boutwell as in the photographer - its going to another website. I know shes a digital user, and sells actions, but its not her LOL

chenin - hey all! Just to clear things up. That was most definitely NOT me posting. For the record: I think Jose is an amazing photographer. In fact, if I were getting married today, there would be no question that I would hire him to shoot my own wedding. Whether he shoots film or digital, you can't argue with the quality of his work. I am super-sad that someone would leave a nasty comment under my name. And to the person who did that, I encourage you to use your time and energy to raise the quality of your own work, instead of using it to lower the spirits of others.

Carolyn egerszegi - Hi Jose. Thanks for this post. From the first time I visited your site I could see something wonderfully different about your photos but it took me a while to recognize the difference between film and digital. You see, my first real serious foray into photography was due to a hand-me-down DSLR given to me for my birthday by my Dad a few years back so I really only know digital. I used to shoot film many years ago, but I wasn't very good at it because I couldn't seem to understand the "exposure triangle" without the instant feedback that digital provides. Call me impatient or (stupid!) but I just didn't get it. So... I think digital has an excellent place for helping a new photographer to learn, but now that I understand how to create the images I want, I would love to try out film again. I just LOVE the way it looks. (Well, at least I love the way you make it look!) One thing I've noticed - it's getting increasingly harder to find film and very few places in Vancouver actually do developing. And if they do, it's only a couple days a week. Anyway, sorry for the novel... and please write more on your blog. I love hearing your "voice" and what you have to say about photography. Oh, and one (or two) more questions... do you have any basic equipment recommendations for someone like me who wants to try film? I cannot afford expensive equipment right now, but I'd love to try it out. Any brands that you think are better? Your Contax 645 is just a little out of my price range. ;-) I might be able to borrow a film camera from my Dad, so do you recommend Fuji film as the best? Thanks again for all your inspiration and your beautiful vision.

Kameron Olds - I'm with you on the consistency of film. I think the industry is flooded with people that have taken a single course or maybe two on photography, purchased a base model DSLR, bought business cards and are now "professionals". Film takes an understanding of the camera, techniques and processes that most photographers don't want to spend the time exploring. In short...it takes actual work to know how to shoot film and be good at it. In a lot of ways, the digital world has made people lazy, and it tends to show in the bulk of work out there now. It seems like the digital world which once gave a fresh look and availability to create a unique look for each photographer has now become homogenized. Personally, I hope film does make a full comeback. It'll definitely weed out the people that have the passion to do the work vs. those who simply want to play behind the camera. Although I don't claim to be an expert of film cameras, I do use them in my personal work for the timeless feel that film gives. And, as I've progressed with my understanding of film, I've worked it into a lot of photo shoots recently. Thanks for all of the wonderful inspiration!

Jeremy Dueck - Okay, I got one more comment. For the most part film photography is about pre-visualization and digital is more post-visualization. I posted these comments on my blog about a year ago: "The whole word inspires me. Photography is about the play of light on the world, capturing the deep emotions we feel and what matters to an individual. Photographs are as much about the photographer as they are about the image." Robert Cavalli Well said Robert, well said... Shooting film in the old days was an art, and I miss it. You know what that film is capable of doing with special processing; and how you see differently through the camera depending upon what film you used. One of the great things about film is that when you put it in your camera, you stretch yourself to see things in the light of the commitment you made when you picked that specific roll in the first place. You force yourself to see in accordance with your decision. Unfortunately that seems to have been lost in the digital world. That pre-visualization of what your are going to do with that image is lacking. It's too easy to fix it in Photoshop or come up with unlimited variations. A lot of my competition think they love the instant gratification of digital. There is no such thing. I never knew a digital file that looked awesome out of the camera (for the most part - there are exceptions to everything, so no hate mail). One is always 'making it better' in Photoshop. We all use PS actions to spice up our photos. Real instant gratification is when I pull out a sleeve of medium or large format slides (trans) when I get it back from the lab knowing I don't need to do a thing to make them look better. They just are.

Chad Morgan - I agree. But only to a point, Jose. First, I think it's more than the film quality that gives your work the "timeless" feel people refer to. Like they say of people who can sing, "if you can sing, you could sing the phone book." I'll tell you man, I have a feeling your work, regardless of the format, is worthy of praise. No doubt the film differentiates you from all of us digi shooters. But, I think there's more! Keep being you, J.

mindy L - yup, that's why i love your work!

Amanda - Hey Jose, any plans on bringing a workshop to Toronto? We'd love to have you!

Yvonne - Agreed, the look of film is usually more striking then digital. Very well said! A lot is personal taste though I suppose...

Meg - your work is wonderful. breath of fresh air and I have to agree with you about film. I refused to work with digital at the start of my wedding business...and was laughed at by others that I was STILL shooting film. Unlike you, I surrendered to the digital world and I sometimes cringe at that. It isn't the same. Film was simple. Yet beautiful. A bit more interesting not only in the feel of an image, but the waiting to see how it all came out after having it developed. You miss that with digital. Digital has truly made photographer's lives incredibly more complicated. Ugggggghhhhh...as far as work-flow I miss shooting a wedding, sending it off on Monday and getting it back, excitingly open the box to view the images for the first time, and not having to worry much about anything else, like turning up my blacks, or exporting as a jpg...Keep up the great work!

kate holt - hip hip hooray for FILM!

Kristen wood - I have to agree with Kameron Olds, who wrote, "Film takes an understanding of the camera, techniques and processes that most photographers don't want to spend the time exploring. In short...it takes actual work to know how to shoot film and be good at it." I like to compare it to skiing and snowboarding. It takes years and years to beocme a skilled skiier, and snowboarding, well—anyone can master that in no time :) Jose—Your photography is truly a work of art, and your choice of medium reflects that honestly. Always love looking at it:))

Courtney - Putting down digital photography is one thing, but why you got to put down snowboarders, that is just wrong, Kristen wood. :)

wendy g - Thanks José for making it so clear. I started in film and went digital because it just seemed like "the future", etc. After struggling for so long to get my digital images to look like film, I decided to go back to film. I hope everyone who reads this starts shooting film again..... wendy g

ELM.K. - I echo the thanks many have also shared. I truly appreciate the work you do to keep film alive. I do not think film is dead- it's just in a valley before it rises again. A new generation is learning on digital without ever trying film. In addition many young, more struggling photographers are trying digital in an effort to cut costs (as you mentioned). I believe it will take some time for the this ounger generation to get established and then turn back to film once they have the time and money. Film will never die! love your work- thank you!

Kristen wood - HI Courtney, certainly not putting down digital photography or snowboarding. I am both a digital shooter and a snowboarder (and a really bad skiier) :)) haha.

Julie Delisser - totally agree with Meg! I would get hassled for "still" shooting film and switched to digital 2 yrs ago. I like certain aspects of digi, but I spend 5 hrs or more processing each wedding trying to make it look like film! I'm going to dust off my film camera and go shoot a roll or two-maybe it's time to go back to the simple things in life. I think the main reason I stopped using film was I wasn't getting great prints back from the lab. I'm an ex-printer and very fussy, so everyone out there using film or wanting to try it-make sure you find yourself a really good printer!

StacyD - Love love love your work from the moment I saw it. It's funny, i came into photography digital... film? Must be for the old guys who don't want to change their ways, right? NO WAY! In my blog surfing, every time i come across a piece of work i love, turns out it was shot film... this got me thinking and then got me researching... didnt know how much more detail film holds! Couldn't figure out what my whites were missing... um, detail! Still learning, but I'm thinking my journey will bring me to film... Must say though, the dogmatism of the hardcore filmies is a bit intimidating... I dont even want to even ask questions after I'm shamed for shooting digital. Its all I've ever known people! I heard your interview and thought you were quite unpretentious, refreshing! I hope the east side / west side drama subsides a little so that people are more free to find what speaks to them. Just wondering, should I continue to cut my teeth on digital and switch it later or just bite the bullet? Digi just seems cheaper to learn on.

miriam - I do Love your work!! But I must say I agree with clayton austin.. The Tone of Jose Villa has changed.. Not so humble anymore.

Richard Photo Lab - Great to see so much talk about film. We see a lot of dig and film, and both can be good. But film comes out of the box with good skin tone and digital it seems, has most people chasing it. Another interesting thing that digital shooters mention a lot, is the "control" issue, they want to be in control. Its nice to be in control, but its also nice to have a tech that works on tone and color all day every day for 10 years or more point you in the right direction. Photographers, like a craftsmen, are each special in their own way, each has a different quality. But a craftsmen does not build his own tools, or mix their own paint, they use vendors to make their work the best it can be. Although not as many people shoot film, its still shot, and it is because the color is so nice in the finished product. And if you want to be in control, call your lab and tell them what you want. If they are any good, they will listen! Go shoot film!!

Vivienne Lee - Timeless. That's how I felt when flipping through your pictures at our first meeting. We met with 10 photographers and your pictures are the only ones that have stayed in my mind because each and every one of them was so beautiful and timeless! swoon...

Heather Marie - Thank you. That was very refreshing. I have sought to find my place as a film photographer in the midst of digital, to find a balance. Yet I still love and enjoy the process of film that trains your eye, the grain that pulls in texture and color and the mystery of waiting for it's unveiling from the roll. Blessings!

Tonya Peterson - I am nervous and excited about switching back to film. I know that I can nail my exposures, I do it with my digital. I guess what I am most nervous about is the scanning/developing process. I just am so lost on what to do and how to get started. That seem pretty silly I guess. I am going to go with Richards for sure. They come so highly recommended. Are they easy to set things up with. Will they help me decide what is the best option as far as what my develop/scan/print options are? What do you do?

Richard Israel - Perfectly put Jose, my work and my life have not been quite the same (for the better) since my switchback.

Amelia Johnson - Hi Jose! Prodigious blog! You claim to not be a writer, yet your writing is so tight, so succinct. I am a film shooter and so naturally my work has that "timeless" look you described. It is so true that while people cannot quite pin down "the difference" in technical photographic terms, they do notice a DIFFERENCE. Excellent point made with the money vs time argument. If one does not shoot film, they really have to evaluate how much their time is worth. You either shoot film, or don't and pay for it in dollars or long hours in front of a computer to make the pictures look like a product that is readily available - FILM!

Fabricio Sousa - Well done, dude! I think digital/film it's only ONE choice in this art of choices that photography consists. I'm glad that you're happy using film but I really prefer digital. Ah, and we photographers should write more, even pictures worth more than words. regards from Brazil

Heather-one love photo - I am loving the BMW comment, so perfect and true. I use to shoot 100% film for weddings until about four years ago. Although I still shoot a Hasselblad at weddings usually around 15-20 rolls. I like to use digital for the darker low light situations and big group shots. My husband uses digital the whole time. I can't believe how many digital images we have to edit, it's crazy. I have to agree that I feel like I have to "work" the digital images so much to make them match the tone of the film shots. I use the film as my guide for image correction for our digital images. The time on post production is killing us. I think the biggest advantage to adding even more film to our wedding work would be less images to cull and overall better quality. I think it's time to buy a film camera for my partner in crime:) I have to agree with the others. Film is great but it's your EYE that really makes your work so unique and wonderful. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it's much appreciated! I have a couple questions for you..... I am curious if you edit your film scans? And if the prints/proofs that you get from Richard's lab are from your scans or actual negatives. If they are from scans do you edit them in PS before you make the prints for clients? Or does a Richard's lab tech edit them and do skin correction for you before they print the proofs (that would be so worth it). Any input would be awesome on post production. I am just trying to figure out our workflow for 2010 (with more film in the mix for sure). Thanks again! xoxoxox -H

Sasha Prince - I miss my film days and I appreciate every single shot I've ever taken on film.