My name is Ahmed Abdalla, though some people know me as Bibo. I picked up film photography in 2022, and it changed how I think about making images. Loading the roll, dialing in shutter speed, ISO, and focus by hand, that process is the point for me. The final print has always been secondary.

Shooting film forces you to slow down and actually be present. You can't glance at a screen and check the shot, adjust, and fire off five more in the time it takes to blink. You have to think before you press the shutter, and once you do, that's it. That kind of attention is something a phone camera just can't replicate.

What I love most is the gap between pressing the shutter and seeing the film developed. That stretch of not knowing is what makes the image matter once you finally see it. We live in a world where everyone carries a camera and fires off photos they'll never look at again. A digital file rarely earns that same weight. Film does, imperfections included. The grain, the light leaks, the small flaws are what make a photo feel true. That, to me, is what capturing a moment actually means.