I was shooting digital and getting stuff done, but then I decided that chores, etc. could wait. My house is falling apart. My family complains, but I'm shooting a roll of film every two days and taking an hour a day for myself to develop and scan them. In the spring I plan on devoting 4 more hours a week to serious darkroom time, and getting some prints done.
In the past I have been all about how can I please those around me who depend on me to make their lives better. But the kids are both teens now, and need to pick up some of the slack. I'm gonna make sure that I am enriched by my own actions now, and shooting film is a part of that equation.
Let me tell you, I enacted this new philosophy this week, and so far, the backlash has been ... intense! Digital ain't so bad, eh?
You have to do something for yourself in this life, otherwise there is no quality of life.
Remember the old saying
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?" People seem to have forgotten that little truism. It's still true, though. Too much work and not enough recreation results in burnout. It sounds like many who are responding to this thread are on the cusp of burnout - if not past the cusp.
Take some time for yourself, brothers and sisters! Do something for you, something that is
fun. The house won't collapse if it's not 100% perfect in every little detail. The teenagers won't die if you don't cater to them 24/7/365.
...The film approach is too expensive...
It all depends on how you look at the money and cost facet of photography.
I find $4.50 for a roll of Tri-X and less than $0.25 for chemicals to develop each roll alot more affordable than buying a Monochrom M to use with my Leica M lenses.
Sure, I could get a D7100 for around $1000 to use with my Nikon glass. But SLRs can be very exasperating in some situations, lile low light shooting when the autofocus goes deaf, dumb and blind -
GRRRRRRRR!!! SLRs and the lenses for them are big and heavy compared to a rangefinder camera - and SLRs are noisy as hell compared to the whisper quiet operation of a rangefinder.
I frequently find myself photographing in situations where a quiet camera is mandatory. I have tried to use my F100 and it is just to loud. It causes disruption and distraction in the quiet of a church or temple, which is exactly what you don't want. When doing street photography at close range, the racket caused by a SLR alerts your subjects. It intrudes on the unguarded moment - or else it causes them to walk away.
Once you become accustomed to rangefinder cameras, SLRs are just not as much fun as they once were. That's been my experience, at least.
