No more Digital

I have made the decision to switch to Film completely and will only be using my digital camera to scan the negatives so you guys can see them. I will post more info on this process shortly. So, what's the question you want to ask. Why?

First, I want to say, shooting on Film does not make you a better Photographer but it does make you stop and think differently. Those of an older generation who started in photography can remember a time when there was no such think as a digital camera. If you haven't  shot, developed and printed you own neg's then I believe you are missing the point and magic of photography.

I lost the Fun or Mojo 

Plain and simple. It wasn't fun anymore to get yourself out of bed at "Stupid O'Clock". Walk for miles. Carry a heavy backpack. All for what? 

This happens to every creative person. Don't fight it. Let it happen. But, and it's a big but...... Change something. Routine, habits or anything. For me it was selling my Canon DSLR cameras and switching to the wonderful Fuji X series cameras. I had only one camera and one lens on a completely different system. I had to start the process of learning all over again and this was the factor to take me out of the photo slump.

But, and here is another and even bigger But ......... 

As of November 2019 I have hung up my digital camera.  No more digital images. My fridge is full of film and not eggs :-)

When I made the change to the Fuji and started to see things differently which lead to the purchase of new lens ( vintage Olympus Zuiko Glass ). See this post for more details  < Vintage Glass >  Why waste the wonderful glass on a digital camera. Why not put it on a camera it was designed for. And so I got my hands a couple Olympus OM cameras. 

I found myself enjoying using these cameras more than I was the digital camera. The feeling of winding on the film. The process of not looking at the back of the camera to view the image. Calculate the exposure you want. Set the aperture and shutter speed. Compose and press the shutter button.

Oh that sound, that wonderful sound as you press the shutter button.

This for me was the point of getting up off the couch and taking a image. This feeling. This process of not knowing what you have captured. All the time waiting to develop the film to see if you have indeed got the image you wanted. I have film in my fridge that was shot a few weeks back mixed in with film shot yesterday. I don't know which roll is which. I don't want to know either. I could keep notes and label the rolls but where the fun in that.

At the time of writing this post I still don't develop my b&w film negs. I drop them into a shop in Dublin to develop and not cut the negs. ( again more on this in another post ). It's like Christmas morning every time I run to the shop to collect the negs. What's surprise is waiting for me.

If you want to keep up to date with this No digital - Film is Alive journey then follow my Instagram feed    < Click Here >