Comments on: Shoot Like You’re Using Film

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:57:09 +0000

I have a digital SLR and two point and shoot digital. But I still miss film and the click of a real shutter. I have recently purchased some Argus 35mm Cameras from 1936 to 1954. I can actually work on these cameras and even take the lens apart. I never used a separate light meter with a camera before but I’m going to try it. Im sure this will make me a better photographer. Some very cool american made 35mm cameras can be had today on ebay for the price of a memory card or a half tank of gas. Just as cars never replaced horses people still ride those animals dont they? Film photography will still coexist with digital. Why not get a vintage camera and shoot a vintage car or building, what a great hobbie.

By: Gowri

Gowri — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:23:39 +0000

Hmmm…thought-provoking. In fact I have tried this unknowingly sometimes. I always have a great admiration for film photographers because they manage to get their shots with all those constraints. So whenever I try to take images…I decide the composition beforhand and try to get full-frame images without doing it the digital trial-and-error method. And it can be very gratifying.

Thanks for sharing this Brian and making me think more profoundly on this.

Cheers,

Gowri.

By: NickTrop

NickTrop — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:41:41 +0000

Bought a digicam in 2003/2004. For a year, my film SLR sat in a closet. Thought it was the best thing since sliced bread… Then? Where’s the DOF? Where’s the bokeh? Why can’t I shoot above ISO 200 (very “slow” imo, used mainly 400 speed film. Perfect for indoors and out) without it looking like crap? And always that flash keeps popping up? Why is the lens so slow? Where’s that f1.7? Forget candids. Uggh. Shutter lag. Keep an eye on that battery indicator, better buy a spare. Geez these inks are expensive. What’s this cost per print. Yikes! 9,000 pics to sort through! More software. Gotta run everything through PS - sharpen them up, adjust levels, adjust color balance. And the final straw? My SD card died in-camera, before I transfered. Unreadable, Hundreds of pics - lost, forever. Then, yikes - HD went! “Luckily” I backed up most - but not all my pics.

Bleh…

Dusted off my film camera, went back to shooting 35mm, never looked back. Started shooting medium format, started developing my own black and white. Bought some excellent vintage cameras - cheap. Started making black and white prints (fun!) but now I scan (best of both worlds). DSLRs produce a nice color image. Can’t argue that. But - eh, not my thing. I’m having way too much fun doing my own black and white, which is about 90% of what I shoot. Buy a 100′ of Tri-X, bulk load it yourself, it will last you a year. Keep a few rolls of color around - absolutely beautiful Kodak Ultra Color professional, that in my biased opinion tops anything digital. Got my fast lenses back, my wides back, and I’m always shooting “full frame”. I don’t need to shoot a thousand images where’er I go. A couple rolls = 48 to 72 frames. That’s plenty.

By: David Ziser

David Ziser — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:16:25 +0000

Hi Brian,
I just voted in the “Film Poll”. I ran a similar poll over at http://www.digitalprotalk.com. Here is a recap of my results - I’m interested in how they compare.

All Digital - 84%
MostlyDigital, Some Film - 13%
Mostly Film, Some Digital - 1%
All Film - <1%

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:03:33 +0000

This is certainly an interesting perspective Brian and one that, truthfully I had not thought of. I learned my photography with a 35mm Canon F-1 and I was a hard convert to digital in the beginning (my first dslr was a Kodak DCS200). Having sat back and reflected on your post, I find that I still shoot like I only have 36 exposures. I guess it’s the old habit of checking and double checking my exposure settings even though I know I can just let it rip. Somehow that doesn’t seem natural though. I have a friend who uses a Canon point and shoot and he shoots like he is in movie mode. He shoots 50 to every 5 of mine. It drives me nuts but it’s how he learned in the land of cheap pixels.

Jeff

By: Ken Maurer

Ken Maurer — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:16:17 +0000

by Mikel “Just an idea: buy a very small memory card, which fits about 36 photos” -These are the ones that came with the p/s that you threw in a drawer after camera purchase. It is a good idea, just have to tweak my d80 image quality/size.

By: JS Nature Photos

JS Nature Photos — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:18:24 +0000

I tend to agree with some of the comments posted here stressing that whatever the camera/capture technology, in the end it is nothing more than a tool.

To take more time and think about each picture a little more is certainly a good thing. However, to throw away the many benefits offered my modern equipment and impose upon myself the arbitrary limits of an old technology does nothing, in my opinion, to promote better images.

Certainly, if the film mindset really did provide better results, then by all means adopt it. But I would personally hate to forfeit even one great image because I was being careful not to waste film.

By: Joseph Szymanski

Joseph Szymanski — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:26:52 +0000

A film virgin! Brian I never knew….

I think it’s important to remember that the camera is a tool, and film / digital is the medium, the brush to the paint as it were. I don’t think that slowing down and thinking about your pictures should be labeled as a side effect of film. Making intentional photographs should be on everyones mind, regardless of format or capture. It seems to me that if you’re blowing through 300 frames in an afternoon shoot, you’re probably not thinking about much of anything except your trigger finger.

By: Lucy

Lucy — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:52:41 +0000

This is an interesting approach, especially for the youngsters who have never shot film before. And, as someone (who apparently still uses film) said here there are just as many keepers in film as digital.

Having said that, the advantages of digital are undeniable, in that a) there is less need to worry about the very technical bits which allows you to focus more on creativity, and b) the ability to take many shots, and be involved in their post-processing makes you learn 100 times faster than with film.

I really enjoyed film, the surprise element in particular, but I’m enjoying digital so much more that I would never go back there, even in my mind, except perhaps for an afternoon as a learning exercise.

By: Anand Dhingra

Anand Dhingra — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 22:55:07 +0000

I recently watched the documentary “Chased by the Light”, a great project by award winning National Geographic photographer Jim Brandenburg. Jim challenged himself to taking only a single exposure per day, between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.

I too like to marry digital and film techniques: digital for learning exposure and composition, film for honing your instincts.

Take a look at some of Jim’s work for a great dose of inspiration!