Why You Should Bring a Film Camera on Your Next Hike

On a hike last summer one of my friends had the brilliant idea to bring a disposable film camera. I hadn’t used one in years, since I was a child at an overnight camp and my parents didn’t trust me to bring electronics. While a disposable film camera doesn’t have any fancy settings (or any settings at all really), the look of film brings out a nostalgic, old-timey feel to the photos you take.

The trip we used the film camera on was our three night stay in the Yoho Valley which you can read about here if you’re interested. We had four days to use our precious 27 shots, and with the heavy smoke from the wildfires in the air we weren’t sure if any of our photos would even turn out. But I could not believe the results when my friend shared the photos. They were better than I could have hoped. The smokey air adds to the old look of the photographs and creates an interesting depth effect to the mountains in the background of some photos.

Usually I just bring my phone on trips, put on airplane mode it can last 3-4 days without a charge. It serves the job of a camera better than any point-and-shoot model I’ve owned, and I am not an avid enough photograph to want to carry a large camera while backpacking. Bringing a small disposable camera was such a fun idea, creating unique photos and rewarding us with a fun surprise after getting them developed. I hope you will consider going back in time a little and bringing one along on your next adventure.

And without further ado, here are the photos!