Archiver
Veteran
My first camera was a black plastic Kodak 'Brownie camera' that used 110 cassettes and had a big yellow shutter button. Dad had a big and heavy Minolta SR-T and a lighter, but still heavy to a child, Pentax ME. I was often told to choose my shots carefully, and be careful because film was expensive to develop.
ME - Sky High by Archiver, on Flickr
Many years later, my first digital camera, and the one that really started me on the photographic journey, was the Canon S45. With a digital camera I was free to take as many photos, try as many things, and stuff up as many times as necessary to get a halfway decent image. Over the ensuing years I took thousands of crappy snapshots but always pushed myself to shoot better ones, as well.
GPO Canary exhibit by Archiver, on Flickr
And then I started using film. Many of my images were still experimental as they lacked the immediate feedback of digital, and I shot a lot of random and banal things. But my parents' words still echoed in my mind and I took care with my exposures and shot with economy in mind.
T3 - The Lighthouse Rocks by Archiver, on Flickr
That image of the lighthouse was taken on a solo trip to Sydney. I spent two weeks driving to as many scenic locations as possible and taking photo after photo with a Canon 400D. But the images that I liked the most were taken with my Contax T3.
Another few years of digital-only followed, and now I've brought film back into my personal work.
What I've discovered is that shooting the M9 for four years has improved my ability to shoot the M7 no end. The same metering and framing, plus experience with the lenses, means that I can much more accurately estimate what the film image will look like.
M9 - Valentino by Archiver, on Flickr
(this is not film!)
And more generally, all the failed experiments, flubs and experience with digital have given me a much wider base to estimate film images. While digital lends itself to a spray and pray approach, it also massively ramps up the learning curve if you're paying attention, naturally.
Looking back through my film albums, as well as my digital archives, I can see what were considered images and what were random snaps for the heck of it. As I shoot film now, I can take the hundreds of thousands of frames of digital experience and apply them to get images that I actually want.
At a technical level, I recognize colour negative's limitations in the night, and shoot digital there. Generally, I am now shooting film in daylight and moderate natural light situations, but keep night time for digital.
Digital has also helped me to appreciate film even more as a limited-resource medium. Nothing like the contrast of an unlimited glut to bring ascetic restraint into perspective. It must be like someone who shot with half frame transitioning to medium format.
Now, I shoot film like I want to create something special with each frame. Special to me, not necessarily a work of art, but something visually pleasing or of meaning and significance. I see a lot more portrait work with family and friends with film in my future.
Has digital changed the way you shoot film, too?
ME - Sky High by Archiver, on FlickrMany years later, my first digital camera, and the one that really started me on the photographic journey, was the Canon S45. With a digital camera I was free to take as many photos, try as many things, and stuff up as many times as necessary to get a halfway decent image. Over the ensuing years I took thousands of crappy snapshots but always pushed myself to shoot better ones, as well.
GPO Canary exhibit by Archiver, on FlickrAnd then I started using film. Many of my images were still experimental as they lacked the immediate feedback of digital, and I shot a lot of random and banal things. But my parents' words still echoed in my mind and I took care with my exposures and shot with economy in mind.
T3 - The Lighthouse Rocks by Archiver, on FlickrThat image of the lighthouse was taken on a solo trip to Sydney. I spent two weeks driving to as many scenic locations as possible and taking photo after photo with a Canon 400D. But the images that I liked the most were taken with my Contax T3.
Another few years of digital-only followed, and now I've brought film back into my personal work.
What I've discovered is that shooting the M9 for four years has improved my ability to shoot the M7 no end. The same metering and framing, plus experience with the lenses, means that I can much more accurately estimate what the film image will look like.
M9 - Valentino by Archiver, on Flickr(this is not film!)
And more generally, all the failed experiments, flubs and experience with digital have given me a much wider base to estimate film images. While digital lends itself to a spray and pray approach, it also massively ramps up the learning curve if you're paying attention, naturally.
Looking back through my film albums, as well as my digital archives, I can see what were considered images and what were random snaps for the heck of it. As I shoot film now, I can take the hundreds of thousands of frames of digital experience and apply them to get images that I actually want.
At a technical level, I recognize colour negative's limitations in the night, and shoot digital there. Generally, I am now shooting film in daylight and moderate natural light situations, but keep night time for digital.
Digital has also helped me to appreciate film even more as a limited-resource medium. Nothing like the contrast of an unlimited glut to bring ascetic restraint into perspective. It must be like someone who shot with half frame transitioning to medium format.
Now, I shoot film like I want to create something special with each frame. Special to me, not necessarily a work of art, but something visually pleasing or of meaning and significance. I see a lot more portrait work with family and friends with film in my future.
Has digital changed the way you shoot film, too?
btgc
Veteran
Now I shoot film even more, I think. They complement each other as both have weak and strong sides.
helen.HH
To Light & Love ...
Don't throw stones at me.... 
But it makes me Appreciate film more
I love what others Do with digital
But I am never Satisfied with my digital photos
Hence I Buy more Film
But it makes me Appreciate film more
I love what others Do with digital
But I am never Satisfied with my digital photos
Hence I Buy more Film
Spanik
Well-known
Certainly. Berfore digital I trusted the meter in the camera 100% and didn't know anything better. When the results with digital didn't turn out as I wanted I started to learn about exposure etc. Next step was buying a lightmeter and going back to film. Now I -more or less- know when to trust the internal meter and how to use a handheld meter my film is coming out a lot better then before digital.
bjolester
Well-known
During my teens and also later in life, I have been a happy amateur photographer. In 2009 I purchased my first DSLR, a Pentax K20D, and that revitalized my interest in photography. Since purchasing a Pentax 67ii system three years ago, I have been more and more absorbed with the qualities of film. I now prefer to shoot medium format film. But the Pentax K20D, and later the Pentax K-5, has been a great learning experience for me. Digital offers the possibility of taking an infinite number of photos and experimenting in a manner not possible with film. The costs of buying and developing film is quite high here in my country, so I never shoot 120 film in the way I do with digital. With film I try to make every photo as optimal as possible, which results in a rather slow and considerate shooting style. With digital I tend to be more impulsive and "free", knowing that a 16gb SD card can hold many images, and that it does not matter if there are only five good images out of eight hundred. For me digital and film complement each other.
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
Film has changed the way I shoot digital.
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
I wasn't confident in exposure on film. At all, clueless.
Only then I switched to DSLR from SLR, I was able to take about 50K pictures in M and AV modes and it was the breakthrough to me in understanding of exposure. I was able to see instantly what is relation between aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Now I'm confident with my manual film cameras, thanks to DSLRs.
Only then I switched to DSLR from SLR, I was able to take about 50K pictures in M and AV modes and it was the breakthrough to me in understanding of exposure. I was able to see instantly what is relation between aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Now I'm confident with my manual film cameras, thanks to DSLRs.