1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Bill Smith
Hi I’m Bill, a film photographer with a focus on landscape, street, architecture and portraiture. My works have been sold via commission and exhibited in two group shows at Sovereign House and in Oakville Camera Club exhibits at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community Cultural Centre in Oakville, Ontario Canada.
I have a life long interest in photography starting with an early childhood interest in my dad’s cameras including a Nikon F and Leica M3. Fast forward to 14 years ago I started getting serious about after receiving a Canon Rebel G from my parents with a subtle hint I was working too hard at my marketing job and needed a creative outlet.
My brother got into photography at the same time and sparked my interest in older film cameras on the cusp of digital photography’s beak out looked to be an odd obsession. I got a Canon AE-1 and started shooting black and white in 2002 mostly with Agfa APX 400, later switching to other films. While some people suggested sticking with just one emulsion and developer I tried different combinations, I am not going to be hostage to a supply issue.
My dad’s passing in 2005 brought me back to his Nikon F and Leica M3, both got overhauled and are still used today.
Along with teaching myself film process and traditional black and white darkroom printing I started collecting cameras, mostly Nikons, Pentax screw-mount, Olympus OM, Leica M mount rangefinder, Canon FD and exploring medium format with Rolleiflex.
As you gather from above, my two formats of choice are 35mm and 6x6 in 120, while black and white is still my main interest, I have been shooting a lot more C-41 colour negative in the past two years.
See more film photography from Bill Smith on his blog.