How has your photography changed over the years?

Godfrey said:
I don't really understand the ongoing tension between digital capture and film photography. Never have.

Neither is better than the other, to me; they're just two different recording mediums. What you do with them, how you render them, differs, of course, but the intent of your work remains the same in both. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, constraints and freedoms.

If you like one medium more than the other, well, fine: just enjoy it and move forwards with your photography.

G
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Well said!! But much too much common sense. Doesn't augur well for you, in this century of loud arguments and repeating silly statements (or outright falsehoods) until the gullible believe them to be truths...

Says one who thinks much the same as you do. BTW, my comment (about statements and falsehoods) applies more to politics than photography, tho' we also do get our share of silliness in our art/craft.
 
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One thing I would like to add - in terms of how my photography has changed - is that my gas is gone. I haven't bought nor felt the need to acquire new or vintage equipment in years. I really have enough.

As I am older now, I look at some of the stuff I bought and spent money CLA'ing and say to myself, "What was I thinking?".
 
raydm6 said:
One thing I would like to add - in terms of how my photography has changed - is that my gas is gone. I haven't bought nor felt the need to acquire new or vintage equipment in years. I really have enough.
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What is this place of which you speak?? Clearly I just don't have enough gear yet. 😆
 
Archiver said:
What is this place of which you speak?? Clearly I just don't have enough gear yet. 😆
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Ok, I'll fess up, I recently got into amateur ham radio and have displaced my gas a little buying ham radio gear. It's not too bad yet. Same gas discussions going on the amateur radio forums. Its kind of funny.
 
raydm6 said:
Ok, I'll fess up, I recently got into amateur ham radio and have displaced my gas a little buying ham radio gear. It's not too bad yet. Same gas discussions going on the amateur radio forums. Its kind of funny.
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I only just noticed your profile's tagline - omg that's the best! 🤣

Yay! Cameras! 🙈🙉🙊┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘ [◉"]​

 
JeffS7444 said:
I bother with refining my digital and hybrid workflows, for the same reason I once spent many hours in the darkroom: To become better at it! From time to time, I'll sample new software, (some of it free, some not) to see what value it might add to the process. Now that you mention it, I see that subscription price for Adobe Lightroom + Photoshop is now just under 240 USD/year, so maybe it's time for another comparison between LR (I'm not so concerned about PS) compares to current Dxo and Capture One offerings, as well as free software.

Not sure exactly when it happened, but at some point, I became more aware of light when out photographing. One pet peeve are warm-white LED lights with a nasty green spike in their spectrum. To me, they look yucky, and they photograph that way too.
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I subscribe to the photographer's bundle with Adobe ... gives me access to three different LR versions and PS. I never use PS, haven't even got it installed, just LR Classic ... Cost for 2023 was total US$119.88 (US$9.99 per month). LR Classic was upgraded five times in 2023... That's cheaper than the upgrades used to be.

I think it's quite reasonable. I haven't found anything that works as well as LR Classic, particularly for printing, despite trying about a dozen other image processing packages over the past year or three.

G
 
On GAS ... well, I have far more equipment than I need, a matter of decades of slow accretion despite periods of selling stuff off. I don't let it bother me. My latest acquisition ... the 1946 Leica IIIc and another lens for it ... have worked out nicely and motivated me to shoot and see a little more, a little differently. Walked with it fitted with the 'new to me' 35mm lens today, and it feels very right.

The goal always remains to make photos that satisfy me, and occasionally satisfy some other persons. Sometimes I don't see much, other times I can't stop seeing stuff and can't shoot enough. And even working 100% digital, I cannot keep up with what I shoot vs what I render. So ... eh? I just like doing it, and that's enough.

onwards! G
 
My father bought a Yashica when he migrated to Australia in 1964 and that camera was my source of fascination when I was kid - especially when I figured out how to set the self-timer. According to the family myth it was super-expensive (actually it was a Minimatic-c) but I suppose for an immigrant in the early-60s it was difficult to gather this amount.

3.JPG

In 1990 my brother came home holding an issue of March 1990 of "Photographer" which had short reviews of every SLR in the market- I was fascinated- I just wanted a camera, nothing else. My cousin bought a Zenit 122 in the flee market and I was using that whenever I could but I wanted some thing better than a Zenit.
It took me almost 3 years of begging until my parents bought me a Praktica BMS for Christmas present and I run a film through it as soon as I got it. This is the first picture I took of my brother's party.
ScanImage964.jpg

Being a city boy, I was interested in landscapes, shooting mostly slides when I was on holidays. I have a thread with some of the slides I shot in the 90s here :

My Slides from the 90's

Last weekend, whilst trying to sort out the attic, I came across my beloved camera bag. That bag was a love at first sight and Santa's gift back in 1993. Much to my surprise, it contained 12 boxes full of slides from the 90s. Obviously I must have brought them to the UK at some point but I...
www.rangefinderforum.com www.rangefinderforum.com

When my father died in 2001, my mother threw away all the pictures my father had taken in the 60s in Australia- it was too painful for her having those pictures around. I was devastated - it was such a massive archive of pictures. When I moved to UK in 2006 I decided to do something similar, I write a diary since then, recording my life and my family's life and I take the pictures I am posting in this forum.

My photography has definitely changed and so are the people that I photograph around me. And it keep changing.
 
p.giannakis said:
My father bought a Yashica when he migrated to Australia in 1964 and that camera was my source of fascination when I was kid - especially when I figured out how to set the self-timer. According to the family myth it was super-expensive (actually it was a Minimatic-c) but I suppose for an immigrant in the early-60s it was difficult to gather this amount.

View attachment 4842899

In 1990 my brother came home holding an issue of March 1990 of "Photographer" which had short reviews of every SLR in the market- I was fascinated- I just wanted a camera, nothing else. My cousin bought a Zenit 122 in the flee market and I was using that whenever I could but I wanted some thing better than a Zenit.
It took me almost 3 years of begging until my parents bought me a Praktica BMS for Christmas present and I run a film through it as soon as I got it. This is the first picture I took of my brother's party.
View attachment 4842900

Being a city boy, I was interested in landscapes, shooting mostly slides when I was on holidays. I have a thread with some of the slides I shot in the 90s here :

My Slides from the 90's

Last weekend, whilst trying to sort out the attic, I came across my beloved camera bag. That bag was a love at first sight and Santa's gift back in 1993. Much to my surprise, it contained 12 boxes full of slides from the 90s. Obviously I must have brought them to the UK at some point but I...
www.rangefinderforum.com www.rangefinderforum.com

When my father died in 2001, my mother threw away all the pictures my father had taken in the 60s in Australia- it was too painful for her having those pictures around. I was devastated - it was such a massive archive of pictures. When I moved to UK in 2006 I decided to do something similar, I write a diary since then, recording my life and my family's life and I take the pictures I am posting in this forum.

My photography has definitely changed and so are the people that I photograph around me. And it keep changing.
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So much of what I have photographed over the years acts to jog my memories of pleasant moments in the past. I can remember them and see them in color. The camera is a time machine or telescope that allows us to see the past again.
 
p.giannakis said:
In 1990 my brother came home holding an issue of March 1990 of "Photographer" which had short reviews of every SLR in the market- I was fascinated- I just wanted a camera, nothing else. My cousin bought a Zenit 122 in the flee market and I was using that whenever I could but I wanted some thing better than a Zenit.
It took me almost 3 years of begging until my parents bought me a Praktica BMS for Christmas present and I run a film through it as soon as I got it. This is the first picture I took of my brother's party.
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That reminds me: Dad had four folders of the partwork magazine You And Your Camera, from 1979 onwards. There are up to eight folders, apparently! Anyway, this weekly partwork magazine covered many aspects of photography, and for a long while, I pored over them avidly. It's still a thrill to leaf through them today.

You And Your Camera - weekly magazine from the '70s

In 1979, Eaglemoss Publications of London began production of the weekly magazine, You And Your Camera. Aimed at beginner and enthusiast photographers, YAYC was filled with articles about gear, techniques, lighting, subjects and more. There were many articles about professional photographers...
rangefinderforum.com rangefinderforum.com

p.giannakis said:
When my father died in 2001, my mother threw away all the pictures my father had taken in the 60s in Australia- it was too painful for her having those pictures around. I was devastated - it was such a massive archive of pictures. When I moved to UK in 2006 I decided to do something similar, I write a diary since then, recording my life and my family's life and I take the pictures I am posting in this forum.

My photography has definitely changed and so are the people that I photograph around me. And it keep changing.
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It must have been so painful for your mother to have the photos taken by your father around. Grief can make people do crazy things. It's so good that you've taken on your father's legacy of documenting your life through photography and writing. One can only hope that your legacy is treated with the respect and care that it deserves.

As for how my photography has changed - in its essence, I'm still the same kid with a 110 cassette camera, taking photos of the house and friends, documenting bits and pieces of his life. Now, I just have much better cameras and technique.
 
This is the question: How has my photography changed over the years?

This is the answer…

When I was young (1973, 18 years old) I was busy trying to get a grip on life and what it all meant to me. Joined the Navy.

1976 - I was stationed in Japan. I bought a Konica T3.

1980’s through 1990’s really busy with trying to survive at work. Photography takes a back seat, leadership comes at price… one is either taking pictures or they’re doing their job. Sold my Konica T3, used the money to buy beer… I was thirsty.

1990’s I bought a Canon F1n: I’m still in the Navy but life is changing… divorce… remarry.. All the things that boomers are famous for.

Throughout the ‘90s I took a boat load of meaningless pictures. I’d put them in photo albums and share them with my friends. They'd look at them and say… nice!

Film died. I was shocked. WTF. I sold my stuff and bought a cheap digital camera. I gave up on the idea of photography being a hobby.

I spent a few years drifting around. Not drifting around at work.. work is serious business.. man needs to make money!

Bought a Sigma SD14 - baby we are back to making photographs!

Okay, let's speed up the story… I’m all digital now. All digital now! I still love photography, I will always love photography…

This makes me wonder, why do so many people have such long answers to such a simple question?

Mike
 
I'll keep it simple. Graduated high school. Went to college and goofed off. Managed to graduate anyway. Other than a Brownie Hawkeye my parents gave me one Christmas I never owned a camera until I was about 23/24 years old. I bought a Nikon, then two. Set up a darkroom, taught myself what I needed to know. Got a job as a newspaper photographer. (Remember newspapers? They were made of paper and had news stories in them. Pretty much ancient history now.) Got wise, got pissed off, quit the job, got another job as a civil servant. Looking for stability and a decent retirement. Got interested in photography again--as a hobby this time. Digital came along. I was a Luddite, vowed never to touch the stuff. I did anyway. Studied the history of photography and the work of many of the greats. Realized I wasn't well educated, not very intelligent, not very talented and not much to look at (even though I had a few pretty lady friends over the years and married a lovely, wonderful lady--they must all have been blind and simple.). That's where I am today--retired, broke, fat and ugly with a bunch of cameras and I realize I'll never become famous, wealthy, thin or anything other than the same guy who, fifty-something years ago bought a Nikon.
 
Dogman said:
I'll keep it simple. Graduated high school. Went to college and goofed off. Managed to graduate anyway. Other than a Brownie Hawkeye my parents gave me one Christmas I never owned a camera until I was about 23/24 years old. I bought a Nikon, then two. Set up a darkroom, taught myself what I needed to know. Got a job as a newspaper photographer. (Remember newspapers? They were made of paper and had news stories in them. Pretty much ancient history now.) Got wise, got pissed off, quit the job, got another job as a civil servant. Looking for stability and a decent retirement. Got interested in photography again--as a hobby this time. Digital came along. I was a Luddite, vowed never to touch the stuff. I did anyway. Studied the history of photography and the work of many of the greats. Realized I wasn't well educated, not very intelligent, not very talented and not much to look at (even though I had a few pretty lady friends over the years and married a lovely, wonderful lady--they must all have been blind and simple.). That's where I am today--retired, broke, fat and ugly with a bunch of cameras and I realize I'll never become famous, wealthy, thin or anything other than the same guy who, fifty-something years ago bought a Nikon.
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Other than the Nikon you nailed my life, too. It's still pretty good.
 
raydm6 said:
One thing I would like to add - in terms of how my photography has changed - is that my gas is gone. I haven't bought nor felt the need to acquire new or vintage equipment in years. I really have enough.

As I am older now, I look at some of the stuff I bought and spent money CLA'ing and say to myself, "What was I thinking?".
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There is an old saying that might apply to us both. "My get-up-and-go has got-up-and-gone".

I've had the same thoughts as you when I look at my camera cabinet. Another old saying comes to mind - about great minds.

At my age, I'm happy to have a mind left, whatever its greatness or not...

Anyway, enough philosophicalizing from me. Now back to things photographic.
 
boojum said:
Other than the Nikon you nailed my life, too. It's still pretty good.
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The story of my life, summarized. In my teens I was told I looked like Ryan O'Neal. In my twenties I was a lookalike for Mark Spitz (remember him?). In my thirties, like Sam Elliott (remember him?). In my forties, like a mature Tom Selleck (remember him?). In my fifties, like Walter Pidgeon (rem... never mind!). In my sixties onwards, like Jackie Gleason (everybody remembers him!). Now I'm told I'm avatar'ing into Sydney Greenstreet.

Time to go on yet another diet. SO, lock up the grog cabinet at home and hide the key, please.

Cameras always long term with me. 1960s, Yashica and Rolleiflex. 1970s, Nikons and Rolleiflex. 1980s, Nikons, Rolleiflex, also various odd-bod expensive cameras I couldn't afford as a callow youth, I was finally into reasonable $$ and had the credit rating o buy them. 1990s, more of the same from the '80s, notably Contax Gs and Hasselblads (the latter a big big big mistake on my part, but heck, it was fun while it lasted). 2000s, mostly Nikons (film) but I offloaded a pile of cameras while the going was good on Ebay. Digital Nikons from 2009. Now thinking about a Leica CL as my final image-baby.

Oh, well. It keeps me going. If only I had stuck with one Rollei, a Nikon (film) and a Nikon (D), the $$ I would have in the bank. Not that I regret all or any of my profligacy, mind you. Just sayin'...
 
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