OK I admit it – I have a little bit of a of Luddite streak in me. Even though I own and use the latest and greatest digital devices, I still listen to vinyl, use a VCR, listen to plain old two-channel stereo and watch standard-def TV.

Those old-tech tendencies carry over now again to my photography. Every once in awhile I’ll break out my old Nikon F100 film body at the races and shoot through some rolls of film. I’ll freely admit that there is no advantage whatsoever to this silly habit. Digital is faster, sharper and infinitely easier, but for some reason I still enjoy the look of film and, like that 1980s bike in the corner of your garage you just couldn’t bring yourself to sell, I figure I should keep my old F100 in working order by firing it up a couple of times a summer.

Wait… I just thought of one potential advantage of film! Should the big computer virus come and delete all of our digital files into space, I’ll be the one guy who has at least few photos of current racing. It’s a stretch I know, but it’s all I got.

Someday in the not-too-distant future film will once and for all be relegated to the history books. When that happens maybe my claim to fame can be being the last motorcycle racing photographer to capture a race on film. That would be cool.

Last Memorial Day weekend I brought the F100 and a few rolls of Fujifilm Superia 400 with me to the Springfield (Ill.) AMA Grand National Doubleheader. I took some shots during practice for the national TT and Mile. I’m not sure you’d be able to tell these are photos from film, but there is a subtle difference, sort of like watching a movie shot on film versus digital video.

Of course the other bad thing about film is forgetting to have it developed, which is why I’m just now publishing these photos from May of last year.

So to all my fellow Neo-Luddites out there – enjoy the film.

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