Film Still Photography
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Salzburg, Austria

"No place is boring if you've had a good night's sleep and a pocket full of film." - Robert Adams
​
"Tea first, then photography..." - Philip Lee Harvey

From an Article written by Philip Lee Harvey

Never Going Out of Style 

11/4/2016

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Picture
Digital cameras seem to go out of style in record time. There is a constant marketing push to buy the latest, and we consume this marketing like crazy! Consider all the photography web sites, blogs and YouTube channels that we like to look at.  Most of these (dare I say all?) will tell you two things,

1. It is not the gear, it is the photographer
and
2. You do not need the latest camera to take a great image.

But these same sites will review the latest camera and list all of the "improvements" that have been made. Many of these are fantastic and we consume their material and enjoy doing it. We mockingly complain of having G.A.S (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and many, even myself, will argue that we enjoy acquiring gear. 

I am beginning to think that we cannot have it both ways. If we are truly interested in photography, and wish to develop our skill set, should we not spend more time on our photography and less time on our gear? With film this is easy as any film camera you get is not likely to be replaced with a newer model. But with digital we can always be convinced of the improvements that the newer model will give us.

Is my Nikon D300 which shoots 12MP not the same great camera that I bought in 2009? Since I have purchased my Nikon D800 with 36MP I have only printed large prints a handful of times, and my D300 would have been just as capable of handling them.

So I have jumped off the digital gear train. The last camera I purchased was a second hand Leica ME. Its 18MP sensor is not as "advanced" as the new M240 sensor but its quality is just as impressive as the day it was first released. Perhaps it is time to keep shooting our digital cameras until their useful life is expired and then go out and purchase a used camera as a replacement? Perhaps it is time to spend the money that we would have put towards the newest incarnation of our camera and spend it on a trip to enjoy the old camera.

Cameras can go in and out of style but good photography is timeless. I will stop chasing the latest digital camera and try to capture better pictures. Except for film cameras....I can't stop buying them.....that addiction I have been unable to shake off!
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    Patrick...confirmed film & digital photography addict.

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Photos used under Creative Commons from left-hand, Ant Jackson, Skley, mikecogh, Helen.Yang, TheeErin, Dean Hochman, CJS*64, DaveR1988, FootMassagez, Loco Steve, dmytrok, Christiaan Colen
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Vintage Cameras
    • Argus 75
    • Brownie Flash II
    • Contax G2
    • Ensign Selfix 820
    • FED-1 (PE0320)
    • Graflex Crown Graphic
    • Ihagee Exa
    • Leica M6
    • Nikon S2
    • Nikon F
    • Nikon F2
    • Nikon F3
    • Nikon FA
    • Olympus OM-1
    • Olympus OM-2 SPOT
    • Olympus Stylus
    • Pentacon Six
    • Pentax Spotmatic IIa
    • Rollei 35
    • Voigtlander 15mm ver III
    • Yashica C
    • Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2
  • Learning Composition
    • The Monochrome Diaries
    • Single & Multi Elements
    • Symmetry
    • Keep the Right Strong
    • Framing
    • Color in Composition
    • Deep Dive Bubble Man
    • Photo Assignments
  • Darkroom Lessons
    • Building a Sink
    • Air Ventilation
    • Analyser Pro
    • Development Hints
    • Primer for Film Photography
    • Bulk Loading Film
    • Pushing & Pulling Film
    • Color Development
    • Digital Contact Sheets
    • Stick to One Film Stock?
    • HP5+ Shot at 200 ISO
    • HP5 Shot at 1600 ISO
    • HP5 Shot at 3200 ISO
    • Medium Format
    • Washing Film
    • Split Grade Printing
    • Using Distilled Water in Film Development
    • Darkroom Paper
    • Foma100 EI 400
  • Photography Books & Films
    • Colin O'Brien
    • Lartigue Life in Color
    • Magnum Contact Sheets
    • Top Photography Movies
    • William Eggleston's Guide
    • Helen Levitt
    • Sally Mann Immediate Family
    • Saul Leiter Early B&W
    • Leica 100 yrs
    • Calendar Days of Asaya Hamaya
    • The Decisive Moment
    • Regarding Women
    • Robert Capa in Love and War
  • Single Image Deep Dive
    • Sergio Larrain "A Man After Dark"
    • Colin O'Brien 'Comings & Goings"
    • Erwitt Mother & Child
    • Man Running
    • Samuel Becket
    • Koudelka Wristwatch
    • Dovima with Elephants