Analogous

Back in the day I had a Pentax K1000 manual SLR camera. I shot a fair bit of black & white film and my brother processed it for me. No matter how many pictures I took, I didn't seem to get any better because I didn't really understand exposure, apertures, depth of field or any of the things I confidently manipulate in my pictures today. Ultimately, I found it all unsatisfying and frustrating mostly because I wanted to get better at it but was failing. Still I loved the feel of the camera in my hands. I probably should have stuck with it, or taken lessons, or taken notes...

We migrated to a compact 35mm camera, then to a good digital compact and all that time I used a camera for obligatory family occasions and holiday snaps only. Then there was the purchase of the first DSLR...for the man of the house...but I didn't take that much interest. At least not until one day I picked up the Nikon D70s to take a picture of the boy at his tiller. Instantly my hands remembered what it was like to have a "real" camera in them.

I took a few pictures and the instant feedback was intoxicating.

There and then I wanted my own camera. A few months later and I was bought a Nikon D50. Smaller, lighter and not quite as highly spec'ed as the D70s but a lovely fit in my small hands.

Took a fair few pictures here and there...started to get to grips with the technical aspects of the craft. Then 2007 unfolded in unexpected ways and I took refuge behind my viewfinder.

Looking at my pictures posted on Flickr over time I reckon that my pictures have improved over the last 18 months or so.

I think it's mostly the volume of pictures, combined with the ease of finding out what settings a particular picture has been taken with that have enabled me to learn quicker what works and what doesn't (at least in my eyes)

I think, however, I may be ready to dip my toe back in the analogue pool.

There's never been any doubt that film is superior to digital in many (but not all) ways and I know loads of people that still shoot film: exclusively or in combination with digital.

A couple of recent conversations, however have made me curious.

One guy sat and took all sorts of ribbing at a recent Flickrmeet. It's his camera at the top of the the page. He sat and smiled all the while and quietly countered every argument we gave him for giving up film. Seeing some of his pictures I can see why. I don't always have an instant affinity with the subject matter or composition but the smoothness of the tones is clear to see.

In another exchange, my previous blog entry was countered with this. So, if I'm trying to improve my photography in general does that mean that trying film again isn't such a stupid sounding idea?

I got thinking.

I've been a musician for far longer than I've been a photographer and I started with acoustic instruments...got rid of them all...replaced them with digital instruments (keyboards, MIDI Wind controller, synthesiser boxes, software etc) because they were easier to get a good result with. What do I use now? Proper guitars, my lovely wooden cello, a beautiful maple recorder, a real Kemble piano and a hand-crafted mandolin. Where are the synthesisers? Up on the shelf. Where's the keyboard? Borrowed and un-missed.

The immediacy of digital instruments helped my music making in lots of ways but the acoustic versions are more satisfying to me at the moment.

Will I go back to digital instruments? Probably when I have a project that suits the digital versions better.

I think it comes down to realising that maybe analogue and digital technologies are different but complementary.

So - will I switch back to film?

Switch...? Probably not.

However, I have a friend with an unused Nikon film camera which will fit my some of my Nikon lenses perfectly. He'll not mind if I borrow it for a bit. His wife will be delighted to stop it cluttering up their house.

There doesn't seem to be any harm in maybe buying a couple of rolls of Ilford B&W film and asking some of my film-loving buddies for advice on getting it developed.

Could I have a film and a digi body coexist in my camera bag?

I think I'm coming round to the idea that maybe I could.

In the meantime, I made an impulse purchase of my favourite sort of lens - fast and prime. In this case it's wide and will suit a film camera just as well as a digital one.

I'm fighting against throwing myself headlong down yet another slippery slope...but I can feel myself edging towards a little exploration.