Sean Thow: Last standing photographer with a film camera

A 55-year-old photographer who believes taking photographs with a film camera has more value as he appreciates the process of taking and developing the photos himself compared to taking photographs with a digital camera.

It was a cooling morning and while the sky was still dark, Sean Thow woke up at 5:30 a.m. to prepare himself for the Penang Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. He was hoping to snap photographs of the event with his old-fashion large film camera which look like it came out from an old Hollywood movie from the 1940s.

The camera is the AGFA/ANSCO large format camera looks more bulkier compared to a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera. The price of the camera on Amazon is USD2,000 (approximately RM8,200) and with that amount of money one can buy a high-end DSLR camera namely the body of the Canon EOS 60D which cost RM7,200 on Lazada.

Thow took his camera to Padang Polo where the hot air balloon fiesta was held and began to take photos with his AGFA/ANSCO. Some may think it is a troublesome task to carry a large camera with them whenever they want to take a photo, but to Thow, he enjoys taking photos with the camera as he believes a photo taken by a film camera is as good as a photo taken with a digital camera.

Thow (Right) is taking a photo of the Penang Hot Air Balloon Fiesta with his AGFA/ANSCO with his son using a Fujifilm digital camera

“Anyone can take a great photo with their phone or digital camera thanks to the advanced technology we have today, but I do believe a film camera can take a photo as good as those electric devices,” said Thow

Thow began to his love for film cameras seven years ago when he had a bad experienced with his digital camera as it ran out of battery when he was trying to take a photo of an exotic bird in China.

“That experience made me shared my undivided love towards film cameras at it do not have any electric failures or obstacles like low battery, memory card or external hard drive failure,” said Thow

He still use his DSLR camera to take photo when he requires to move around a lot, however he still prefers capturing photos with his film camera.

When Thow finished taking photos, he went back to his house and started to develop the negative film in his darkroom which is a time-consuming process as it takes hours to produce a finished photo. Then Thow kept the developed photo in an album so that he can walk down the memory lane again. Although the photo developing process is long and slow, he felt satisfied with his work as he knows his effort is not wasted.