anerjee
Well-known
If it wasn't for digital... I probably wouldn't be shooting film 
Like many here, I'm a convert who came from the dslr world.
I have a newborn at home now, so time and space are both limited. Digital is convenient, but I don't like the experience as much.
Like many here, I'm a convert who came from the dslr world.
I have a newborn at home now, so time and space are both limited. Digital is convenient, but I don't like the experience as much.
yanchep_mike
Always Trying
Keith, i am with you mate, have not shot a roll in about 4 weeks and no time for cameras at all lately, seems that in about 2 weeks all comes to a stop and no work can be done ever again.
valdas
Veteran
Surely, time is the scarce resource, but I still can afford to develop/scan once a week. What's the job for if you cannot afford to have quality time with your family or your hobbies or both. I don't live to work, I work to live... Or at least I try I live now in Northern Europe and I see that people here are not so stressed about their careers. Still, those societies are very productive, innovative, educated and... happy. I am a believer that there must be a healthy balance... I know, it's not always possible.
I live now in Northern Europe and I see that people here are not so stressed about their careers. Still, those societies are very productive, innovative, educated and... happy. I am a believer that there must be a healthy balance... I know, it's not always possible.
Lucadomi
Well-known
Lately I just take pictures in the little free time, with my Rolleicord mostly, and have no time for processing and mostly for scanning. Exposed rolls of 120 are piling up in my closet. I need to find a better way or a better scanner (do not enjoy scanning).
For now I am considering a Leica X1 for a change. Digital, but Leica.
Work is everything here in NY, a little too much and not much energy left in the short weekend.
Photography is still a great relief anyway.
For now I am considering a Leica X1 for a change. Digital, but Leica.
Work is everything here in NY, a little too much and not much energy left in the short weekend.
Photography is still a great relief anyway.
Bill Clark
Veteran
I'm a nerd. Digital works for me. Especially for my business, though I'm pretty much retired.
B&W film is still great.
For the first time my life my wife and I are having a room finished on the lower level with a large bathroom that includes a chemical darkroom. Even have electric heat installed under the ceramic tiled floor! It's due to be completed this Thursday!
Range-rover
Veteran
If it wasn't for digital, I would not of be able to print all those school portrait jobs
I did. Film is great and I have a lot of film cameras now but it's getting harder
and harder to find places to get it done.
I did. Film is great and I have a lot of film cameras now but it's getting harder
and harder to find places to get it done.
zuiko85
Veteran
I'm retired but do volenteer work and also am always ready for "Dad, can you watch the kids this afternoon", IOW, defacto babysitter.
Should have a little more time but the day goes by quickly. The missus just quit her job for a bit. She was just too worn out with it. That has put a monkey wrench into sitting up the darkroom. Just when I've opened the box of paper, she has to go! Yep, small apartment, one bathroom.
I use my DSLR as a meter, for a few digital famly snaps, and, if I can get it right, to copy my negatives.
Should have a little more time but the day goes by quickly. The missus just quit her job for a bit. She was just too worn out with it. That has put a monkey wrench into sitting up the darkroom. Just when I've opened the box of paper, she has to go! Yep, small apartment, one bathroom.
I use my DSLR as a meter, for a few digital famly snaps, and, if I can get it right, to copy my negatives.
daveleo
what?
Up to this point, I have been thinking how this question impacts the hobbyist photographer.
But I wonder how many professional photographers need to shoot digital to remain competitive and profitable (quick results, lower costs, etc.).
But I wonder how many professional photographers need to shoot digital to remain competitive and profitable (quick results, lower costs, etc.).
burancap
Veteran
As someone who straddles both sides of the fence ... I bought four cameras in the last week. Three were film!
goamules
Well-known
If it wasn't for digital....we wouldn't be spending a lot of our free time on websites. You have 16,000 posts???
I know, I do it too. But sometimes when I'm about to sit down for another hour of surfing the net, I force myself to put on shoes, get the dogs, grab a camera, and take a walk or drive.
noisycheese
Normal(ish) Human
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.
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.
boomguy57
Well-known
As a young guy with a family and career, I understand busy. I also happen to live in the north of the USA, and lately the sun rises at 8:00am and sets at 4:30pm. With a workday typically from 7:00-5:00, there is scant daylight. And I'm the typical hobbyist: this photography stuff garners no income for me, and is purely for my own pleasure.
That is what I got from the original poster as well. If we are all hobbyists, as OP said he was, why then all the hand-wringing about film vs. digital? If one fits your life, and you're happy with the results, what's the problem? If one is difficult to squeeze in, but brings you more pleasure from your hobby, then find time for it. Why are we all so worried and stressed about our hobby?
For me, I enjoy film far more than digital. In fact, digital is not really enjoyable at all for me. I use my phone for snapshots of things I see during the day. I carry my XA2 whenever possible for the same thing. On the weekends, I try to make time for shooting with my rangefinder, because that's what brings me the most pleasure. And frankly, that's the point of a hobby. I also have other hobbies, some of which take precedence in the winter months when there is little daylight and the temperatures drop (as I type this, it's -5F with a wind chill of -30F) to the point that being outside is unpleasant at best, and dangerous at worst.
In other words...relax, enjoy life, and spending so much negative energy on your hobby. When you have time, the cameras will be there.
That is what I got from the original poster as well. If we are all hobbyists, as OP said he was, why then all the hand-wringing about film vs. digital? If one fits your life, and you're happy with the results, what's the problem? If one is difficult to squeeze in, but brings you more pleasure from your hobby, then find time for it. Why are we all so worried and stressed about our hobby?
For me, I enjoy film far more than digital. In fact, digital is not really enjoyable at all for me. I use my phone for snapshots of things I see during the day. I carry my XA2 whenever possible for the same thing. On the weekends, I try to make time for shooting with my rangefinder, because that's what brings me the most pleasure. And frankly, that's the point of a hobby. I also have other hobbies, some of which take precedence in the winter months when there is little daylight and the temperatures drop (as I type this, it's -5F with a wind chill of -30F) to the point that being outside is unpleasant at best, and dangerous at worst.
In other words...relax, enjoy life, and spending so much negative energy on your hobby. When you have time, the cameras will be there.
shadowfox
Darkroom printing lives
Dave, to your question above...
If it wasn't for digital... I probably wouldn't be shooting film
Like many here, I'm a convert who came from the dslr world.
I have a newborn at home now, so time and space are both limited. Digital is convenient, but I don't like the experience as much.
Here is the answer. And I heard more computer-bound (due to career) people starting to take notice that film allows them to get away from the desk once in a while.
Mark T
Established
I dunno Keith. Seems to me like much of your best work is done at your GF's place. As such, it could just as easily be film as digital. Having said that, my experience of digital cameras is that by most quantifiable measures, I get better pictures with them. That Fact aside, and it is a fact, my most satisfying pictures are the fewer, hard-fought (for want of a better definition), photos that I have made on film. You know the kind. You choose the film type, EI, aperture, shutter speed, developer, temperature, etc. if it's a print, well that's a whole new dimension. Method does count. A lot more than is commonly recognised.
willie_901
Veteran
Without digital, I would not be self-employed doing work I enjoy.
The expense of using film for interior photography in terms of time at the site and production time – as well needing assistants – would have made it very difficult to build a business from scratch.
Not only could I learn my craft very quickly and inexpensively, but I can deliver value to my clients at a price they can afford within a time frame they demand.
The expense of using film for interior photography in terms of time at the site and production time – as well needing assistants – would have made it very difficult to build a business from scratch.
Not only could I learn my craft very quickly and inexpensively, but I can deliver value to my clients at a price they can afford within a time frame they demand.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
I find the time to do photography one way or another. I get my work done and my home life taken care of. Life is sometimes a struggle, but that is part of the joy of it too.
G
G
paulfish4570
Veteran
i am retired and have all the time in the world, but not all of the money in the world. retirement has granted me other interests, too. so, i am mostly digital now, with the RFF x100. and aperture has made BW processing so much easier to get what i want from jpegs. s
taemo
eat sleep shoot
if it wasn't for digital, i wouldn't have learned photography quickly but now though, I'm mostly shooting film.
I just find it relaxing.
I load two cameras with film, 1 B&W and 1 color.
It can take me a couple of weeks to finish both.
I process my own B&W, have local lab develop colors, then I just scan them afterwards.
Less pictures to go through and not much editing required.
I just find it relaxing.
I load two cameras with film, 1 B&W and 1 color.
It can take me a couple of weeks to finish both.
I process my own B&W, have local lab develop colors, then I just scan them afterwards.
Less pictures to go through and not much editing required.
Sparrow
Veteran
Back in the 'sixties, we were told by many and sundry futurologists that the working week would be less than 30 hours, so we'd all need new interests to keep us from being bored.
Good job we haven't got things like digital cameras, then.
... and I distinctly remember hovercars being mentioned on Tomorrow's World ... whatever happened to them eh?
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
The time absents is not always valid excuse, IMHO. The luck of objects for photography, either.
If, OP is drywaller, who drives five minutes to work, may be. But if crocodile hunter!
After finishing of our basement I respect drywallers even more, BTW
Digital, film is the matter of personal choice and has nothing to do with busy at work time. If...
If you have time to take pictures it could be taken on film as quick and as easily as with mobile phone.
The question is - are the pictures only worth of FB, Instagram crowds only or pictures deserving the Winogrand's approach?
If, OP is drywaller, who drives five minutes to work, may be. But if crocodile hunter!
After finishing of our basement I respect drywallers even more, BTW
Digital, film is the matter of personal choice and has nothing to do with busy at work time. If...
If you have time to take pictures it could be taken on film as quick and as easily as with mobile phone.
The question is - are the pictures only worth of FB, Instagram crowds only or pictures deserving the Winogrand's approach?