Why We’re in Love With Film

At Not Quite North, we spend a lot of time with our hands in the dark, and no, not just rummaging for snacks. We’re talking film. Proper film. The kind you load into a camera with a satisfying click, then rewind like you’re winding up a secret.

In a world full of filters and infinite retakes, film is gloriously limited. You get 8, 10, 12, 24, maybe 36 shots if you're lucky. Every frame matters. Every click of the shutter is a decision, a moment, a maybe. And somehow, even your mistakes come back beautiful.

We like to think of film photography as a kind of mindfulness. It slows you down. It makes you look. Really look.

You start to notice how the light hits the ground in the late afternoon. The way shadows stretch out lazily across the street, the quiet story in an empty chair.

There's a little magic in not knowing exactly how the shot turned out until it’s developed. That anticipation? It’s like opening a time capsule from a week (or month) ago, a moment you made, now soaked in chemistry and light.

And when you see your first roll come back from the lab here at Not Quite North (or from our sink, if you’re lucky enough to be here for one of our workshops), something changes. You realise this isn’t just photography. It's magic.

We think that’s worth holding on to.

Visit us at Not Quite North. Whether you're a seasoned film nerd or just film-curious, we’ve got space, stories, and probably a camera with your name on it. Stay for a cuppa, stay for the darkroom chat, don’t ask us how many cameras we own.

(It's definitely not too many.)