Photographer revives beauty of yesteryear using film cameras

In the digital age, negatives and photo prints have become a rare sight. But a couple in Taiwan is hoping to preserve the art of film photography.
They travel to Japan to collect film cameras, and they sell rare finds in their store. They also shoot portraits using large format cameras. FTV reporter Stephany Yang takes us into their world for a look.

He snaps a photo using a large format camera. This is Yeh Jen-chieh. Yen and his wife regularly travel to Japan to collect film cameras. He said that bringing this large format camera to Taiwan was not an easy feat.

Yeh Jen-chieh
Owner
It was produced in Osaka, and then we found it in Nagoya. It took some effort bringing it back. Because it is very large, we had to file a customs declaration and deal with shipping. Lots of money was spent. This camera is estimated to be about a hundred years old.

Yeh started working as a photographer 20 years ago. After switching from negative to digital photography, he came to appreciate the value of film cameras. He uses a large format camera and old photo paper to shoot portraits for his customers.

Yeh Jen-chieh
Owner
Almost 15 or 16 years ago, before the rise of digital photography, we actually used cameras like this for commercial photography. We use this out-of-print photo paper to help our guests take such photos. We call this a "one-shot portrait" because it has no negative film, and it can’t be repeated. There''s only one photo.

In 2017, he and his wife opened a shop. They sell many rare film cameras such as the rangefinder camera. They also sell negatives such as pack films and medium-format films. They help customers repair and develop negatives.

Yeh Jen-chieh
Owner
This area is where guests can discover that when negatives are viewed with a magnifying glass, they can actually be very detailed. That is to say, some relatively large negatives are actually more detailed than many digital cameras today. A high resolution can be achieved. It''s just that most people are in contact with 135mm film, so they don''t know that there are larger ones.

The couple also holds workshops and lectures in the store. They hope to teach more people about film cameras and kindle appreciation for a fading art