SHOOT FILM, THE ORIGIN STORY — SHOOT FILM MAGAZINE

by stuart henry

Published on  24. 08 .21

it’s an age old story… Some 20 years ago, another spring afternoon of attempting to avoid homework and the ensuing boredom that overwhelmed you as a 13 year old. I was working my way through my parents garage, curious about the boxes, the books and the objects. I was digging for Gold, hoping to find something that would be my next ‘thing’. That afternoon I stumbled upon what would be the first film SLR camera I ever knew existed (being a 90’s kid of course I grew up with film cameras around – mostly point and shoot cameras but never really took account of what was going on). Back then smart phones didn’t exist and digital cameras weren’t cheap so I was never allowed to use my parents’.

Sheathed in a faux black leather case was this ‘Ricoh KR-5 Super’ fully manual SLR camera sporting a classic 50mm lens. The buttons, the knobs, the switches, none of it made sense to me but I was curious. My step-father had purchased it in the 80’s and no longer had need for it since the ‘superior’ digital cameras came to be.I remember the first thing that encapsulated me were the mechanics.. face pressed up against the camera, eye peeled through the viewfinder. I pressed the shutter for the first time and felt the reverberations of the springs run through my cheek bone, it was this tangible experience. From that point I was hooked, I found the next ‘thing’. For me It was never about the results (until recently). It was more about the process, the limitations, the mechanics, the un-knowing, the unique variables.

In 2015 I was out on a photowalk in the streets of Melbourne City (Australia) with my trusty Canon AE1 when I had this thought – “Does anyone else still shoot film?”. So I took to Instagram, which at the time was only just starting to expand its technical capabilities. I didn’t personally know anyone that posted their film work on IG, so I dug deep and eventually stumbled upon a couple newly established ‘feature accounts’, one of which is still standing today - @filmphotographic (hats off to you). I got this wave of inspiration like never before.. I was so inspired by all the film photographers, I knew then and there that I had to start a feature account of my own. I set it up that afternoon.

To all the OG’s I named it @film.is.not.dead when I first launched but I got absolutely hounded daily by this one guy throwing hate in all the comments. He claimed he was the rightful owner of the phrase so finally I gave in to his heckling, and at about the 400 follower mark I changed the name to @shoot.film which later became what we are today @shootfilmmag.

It has been a hard but very rewarding journey curating the work of film photographers from around the world for the last six years and I wouldn’t change it for a thing. To this day I see it as a privilege and a responsibility. What I know for sure is I would not have lasted if it wasn’t for the likes of Fred Tougas who joined me in curating in 2017. Fred has played a huge role in shaping the culture and direction of Shoot Film Mag and I am indebted to him for the work he has contributed. I also want to thank Kelsey Vansickle who since joining the team in 2020 has brought an important and refreshing perspective to our curation.

I am proud to finally announce this new chapter, the official launch of this website.