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In the fast-paced world of digital cameras and social media, analogue photography is a rare practice. Analogue or film photography is leaps and bounds more demanding and time-consuming than digital photography. So why practice it at all? It is precious because not very few people are working on it these days. The practice of analogue photography transports you to a nostalgic era. Yes, it punishes every single mistake because as soon as you press the shutter, the image tone is set. It is scary yet freeing at the same time. It teaches you to be more mindful of your resources as you do not have unlimited ‘clicks’ at your disposal.
Analogue photography teaches you to appreciate the present moment. You can let go of the idea of perfection and just submerge yourself in the creative process. With analogue photography, the process does not end with a ‘click.’ If you have the space and the time, you can create your dark room. If not, you can always bring your analogue camera to a studio, that develops photographs. You spend days waiting for the photographs to develop and finally on the day of revelation, as you take the first glance at the photographs after having waited with bated breath, you feel like a child opening a Christmas present.
With that in mind, today I am going to tell you about a unique analogue photography store called Bombay Film Collective. As the name suggests, this Bombay-based store is run by the dynamic duo, Maya Daga and Anvi Savant, who embody the concept that film is not dead. Their online storewas born in the year 2021 out of their mutual love for the practice of analogue photography. To revive this classical practice, the duo bought second-hand film cameras, repaired them using manuals on the internet and spare parts found on eBay, and resold them. Within a year they generated a revenue of ₹ 4,00,000+, having transformed their passion into a thriving business model.
Maya and Anvi have brought back to life vintage cameras like the Panasonic C-335EF 35mm, Yashica Kyocera EZ Zoom 105, Canon Prima Zoom 85 and my personal favorite, the Canon Sureshot AF 7S (as I have several childhood memories associated with it and was the first camera I ever had). You can buy these retro beauties or also rent them by reaching out to Bombay Film Collective via their Instagram. Their prices are affordable and they ship all over India. You can also get your film roll developed at the store.
Find out more about the Bombay Film Collective here.
