Finding meaning, humour and lightness of heart in traditional film photography

“A joke is a very serious thing.” — Winston Churchill 

It’s easy to take life too seriously, and even easier to do the same with photography, even film photography. For many years, I took myself too seriously. My work, goals, achievements, and opinions were all of the utmost importance. Then, at the age of 41, I was diagnosed with colon cancer, which forced me to reevaluate my priorities. 

While recovering from the surgery that uncovered my cancer, I decided I needed a constructive outlet to distract myself from the uncertainty of a life-altering disease. That outlet came in the form of film photography: a 1971 Leica M4 with a 50mm Summicron and a box of Kodak 400 T-MAX

Fascination

I’ve had a fascination with Leica for many years. I’m a biology professor and during the pandemic I started collecting vintage microscopes, including those made by Leitz. Not only that, but I became particularly interested in old microscope cameras, such as the Leitz MIFILMCA.

And through these, I ended up reading about the development of early Leica “Barnack” cameras. But it wasn’t until I bought a Leica M4 that I shifted from being a collector to a genuine user of Leica products.

My goal with purchasing a Leica rangefinder designed for film photography was to slow down and appreciate the world and the people I share it with, including my wife and seven-year-old son. To be honest, until that point in my existence, I’d never been interested in photography or cameras, nor had I ever considered myself as creative or artistic. Still, I always had a passion for well-made mechanical objects, from Italian steel racing bikes to WWII military watches to fountain pens.

Finished in two hours

I finished that first roll of T-MAX in a couple of hours, chasing my wife, son, and cat around the backyard yelling, “Look profound!” I took the exposed film to a local studio to get developed, and a few days later they sent me the scans. With all the negative things that had happened of late, I latched onto the positivity of those images: my son smiling, my wife laughing…

As time went on, film photography helped me heal in myriad ways. It was a refuge from the various surgeries, treatments, and physical and mental changes my body endured. Before cancer, I was an avid marathon runner and long-distance cyclist.

Photography filled the absence of endurance sport in my life and gave me renewed meaning and purpose, and one that is less self-centred, as I can share my photos with friends and family. It also motivated me to get out of the house when I was feeling ill and allowed me to savour and appreciate time spent with loved ones.  

Lately, as my health improved, I have discovered a sense of gratitude and light-heartedness that eluded me in my pre-cancer existence. I’ve also let go of the self-importance that I once held to so tightly. I believe film photography is partially responsible for these positive changes. This may explain why I resonate most strongly with whimsical and humorous photos—photos that don’t take themselves too seriously.

Documenting everything

It’s funny that I spent most of my life travelling to fascinating and exotic places, from the game parks of South Africa to the jungles of Borneo, and never once felt the need to take a photo. But now that my travelling days are behind me (at least for the moment), I suddenly have the urge to document everything in my vicinity on overpriced film.

There are worst places to live than London, Ontario, which is about a two-hour drive from Toronto, but it is a far cry from the souks of Morocco or the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. 

Most of my photos come from a small park behind our house. I spend countless hours there looking after my son and his friends while they play in the jungle gym and the neighbouring forest. While the kids run around, I sit on a park bench and think of interesting compositions. Every so often, I jump up, yell “freeze!”, and grab a shot or two.

I’m embarrassed to tell you how many photos I have of my son looking through the holes of an old chain-link fence bordering the park. And don’t get me started on the swing set… it’s just not designed for rangefinder photography.    

Cringe

Any serious street or travel photographer would likely cringe at the thought of having to photograph London, Ontario, in perpetuity. But I find it both comforting and challenging to capture on film the same faces and places again and again and again. I just pray that I can keep the “agains” rolling for as long as possible. 

With this article, I’ve included a selection of my most favourite shots since taking up photography in the fall of 2022. If you enjoyed these and would like to see more of my photos, you can find me at Leica Fotografie International and Instagram


Leica M4: The story of one of Leica’s most popular rangefinders

Military Leica M4 sells for half a million

Fokus Pokus: Time to reassess the role of the rangefinder



24 COMMENTS

  1. A heartwarming and inspiring story of how film photography helped you find gratitude, light-heartedness, and a new perspective on life after a cancer diagnosis. Your photos are not only beautiful but also capture the joy and simplicity of everyday moments. Thank you for sharing your story!

  2. Excellent writing. Excellent images. Emotive. A life lesson.
    Thank you for crystallising your archive following a health shock. It was particularly moving for me as I did the same, heading into serious but fun photography after a big health scare a decade ago. Thank you.

    • Wayne, I’m happy to read that you, too, found photography helpful for navigating a major health scare. All the best

  3. Thanks for this personal and thoughtful article. The article reflects the experience in “Leicadom” perfectly. I particularly liked the emphasis on a home place and what can be seen within our daily lives with the familiarity of place over time. In the age of trophy travel, the intimate depth of experience at home ……… thanks again.

  4. Thanks David for this series of photos and a truly enjoyable read. I love capturing family images of my children and grandchildren with my digital cameras. I don’t mind having blurred images as I can delete them or not, which is one of the main advantages of digital phtography. My favourite camera for B&W family images is the Ricoh GXR and 50mm module. It takes so long to write a file (about 2 seconds) that you are forced to slow down but the sensor has some of the analog magic when processed properly

    • Jean, thank you for the considerate words. I’ve never tried a Ricoh GXR but will keep an eye out for one on my camera shop travels.

  5. Thank you very much, David, for a moving story and some outstandingly fine photos! No need for far away places; you’ve shown that you can do it all in your own backyard.

  6. Thank you for this David. You describe your journey movingly and the photos are lovely. How did you get the photo of the boy and the reflections/things within the ball?

    I am going through photos from the 1980s throwing away those of buildings and keeping those of my family.

    Also Freeman Patterson is a useful guide to photographing the everyday things around us. He was stuck in his Canadian house for days on end by the weather. I recommend his work.

    • Thanks for the comment, Kevin. I wrote a short essay for 35mmc.com about the Bubble photo; you can find it here. I’ll be sure to check out F. Patterson’s photos.

  7. Thank you, David, for your article above. I really appreciated your story because I thought I was the “weird one” out there. I was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer four years ago. Surgery removed the cancer and follow up CT scans showed a second cancer…….Lymphoma blood cancer. Eight months of extreme chemotherapy got rid of the cancer. Follow up
    CT scans showed a third cancer, a spot on my brain. MRI confirmed that is was not a cancer, just a hiccup. Follow up of the brain spot showed a fourth cancer…..lung cancer. Surgery removed a portion of my lung and got rid of the cancer….but has left me without much air to do what I had always done….like you, long distance biking and, in my case, competition water skiing.

    So, what to do. My pulmonologist told me the best thing I could do for my lack of oxygen was to walk. Walk, walk, walk. I told the Dr ok, BUT, I run out of steam after about 50 feet of walking. He said when that happens stop, rest, and then start walking again. I said what am I to do when I am stopped and recovering??? He said…..I don’t know……take a picture or something.

    So, I bought my first Leica M and that’s what I have been doing for the last year and a half. I now am able to walk a mile a day and I have taken thousands and thousands of photos.

    This daily routine has changed my life in many ways. Like you, I never really paid any attention to nature around me as I was working most of my life supporting my family…..BUT….now that I have been forced to slow down I have found something that was unknown to me for most of my life…….the beauty of nature around me….WOW.

    My very amateur photos have now expanded in a new passion….learning all I can about photography (especially Leica photography), editing, composition, and learning all that I can (thanks to this publication)……..all at the young age of 77.

    I wish you only the best in your cancer journey…….and…..keep taking pictures.

    • Jon, thanks for the encouraging words and for sharing your story. It sounds like we’ve been going down similar paths over the past few years. All the best and take care.

  8. Thank you David,

    This is such a joyful set of images that make you want to keep returning. Clearly photographing children can be a balm for the soul.

  9. Thank you, David; for your moving and thought provoking article or mini-lecture on how to really compose and take an informal portrait
    Each one shows the individual personality of each family member

  10. Thank you for this lovely article. Your photos are fantastic. I’m the same: I take pictures of my family, almost always within a few miles of our house in a small town on Long Island, U.S.A. The pictures are valuable in themselves, but the process also helps me keep an even keel and remember what’s important. I travel to some neat places for work, but what interests me photographically are my wife, my kids, my immediate surroundings.

    These are lovely pictures. I’ve been away from film and on digital only for a while. Maybe I should buy myself a box of T-Max . . . .

    • Many thanks. I’m happy to hear that I’m not alone in my photographic approach. Now go and get yourself that T-Max!

  11. David. Thank you for writing this moving and profound article. I am pleased you have found solace in the hobby of photography during these challenging times.

  12. This is wonderful, David. One of the most precious things about photographing your own child is that they will never be that age again. I recall that, when they were young, my wife often complained about the number of photographs, using slide film, I took of our two daughters. Now she treasures those pictures of our daughters who are now in their forties. I recall taking a photo in 1983 on Fujichrome of our two daughters, aged 7 and 3, standing in a pool of light in a forest in Donegal, near a place called Churchill. I got them to stare at the camera and hold hands. I called this photo ‘Babes in the Woods’ and I entered it into a competition in Dublin Camera Club where it won first prize in the first photo contest I ever entered. What is important to me now is not the prize, but that image of our two daughters as they were over 40 years ago. Your photos really capture many moments like that of the joy of being a child and growing up and discovering the world. These you will value for many years into the future as they cannot be repeated

    Like yourself, I have travelled and I lived outside of our Ireland and have visited many different countries, particularly in the Middle East, such as Syria, which I could not visit today for obvious reasons. The photos I took on those trips are good for retaining memory of those places, but it is the photos of my family and children that I keep coming back to.

    I love the photo of your son and the cat. I very recently acquired a Leica Q3 43 , the first digital camera I have bought for many years, and the nicest photo I have got from it yet is one of my grandson with his family cat. In my case, my grandson is 28 years old, but I will still treasure the photo. Keep on using that M4 with Tri-X. You have a tremendous eye and compositional sense and you really know how to capture the most important things in life.

    William

    • William, thank you for taking the time to write such thoughtful words. I’m happy that we can both find meaning in photographing our families and loved ones.

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