As I limber my shooting with the M6 I am getting faster on the draw and telling my brain to take a hike…

Canon Elph for digital (remember to disable the flash!) or Olympus XA or Rollei 35 for film.

Steve, I’m thinking about your comment that you oftentimes miss the moment with your M6. I miss the moment too with my Elph and Pentax K100D. You should consider adding another camera to your collection. Either a Rollei 35 or an Olympus XA. These are both small cameras which can be pre-set. Unlike digital cameras, they can be left on and wait for the moment. Just keep your thumb on the shutter release (or pinky finger if you hold the camera upside down.) When the moment arrives, point the camera in the general direction and shoot. You have a wide angle lens, so you’ll get extraneous things in the photo. But since you run your own darkroom, this is not a problem.

Regarding digital cameras, I’ve found that I use my Elph about 4X as often as the far-superior Pentax. It is just so handy, there aren’t any good excuses not to take it with me.

Regarding film cameras again, and especially B&W, one thing I’ve noticed is missing about digital is tonal range. Most of my digital photos are taken in JPG format, and there just aren’t many midtones. With a good B&W chemical print, one doesn’t have to give anything up, except convenience.

Chuck: Definitely not anything to do with the Leica. It’s merely a lack of practice shooting quickly. I see something but fumble with the camera too much before pushing the shutter release. I am caught in a cycle of perfection. I want to be certain the focus is tack sharp, composition is exactly right. By then the moment has passed.

When I was shooting intensely with the Leica I was always pre-focusing and often would pick the camera up and push the release without worrying if the exposure or focus or composition were perfect. And the results were much better.

I’ll get back to it but it takes time for me to release some of the photographic guidelines that get into my head.

With the right subjects black and white can have power. Color can point the mind in different directions and is (for em) sometimes difficult to gauge.

David: Film vs. digital is a big question and I don’t believe there is a simple answer. Each of us who uses a camera will experience both digitally. For me film remains an important part of my creative process. Digital occupies another. Some of it is emotional and some technical. I just need to sort out which is which.

I posted a thread on the RangeFinder Forum almost a year ago on this topic and received a tremendous reply. If you are turning the film vs. digital question over in your head it might be worth a look:

The Empty Mind — film vs. digital.

Landscapes are more my speed.

Witewater: Thank you. I’m glad you commented. It’s the comments that often help me understand what I’m thinking.

The more I look at the picture of Essa on the path the clearer I see things with her.

On to more happy topics. As a long time photographer, and occasional dark room junkie, I would like your opinion on film vs. digital. I’ve bit the bullet and bought a decent digicam (Canon A590IS) but find myself clinging to my old Contax and Yashica film cameras. The quality of film, and the old Zeiss lenses, just can’t be replicated by digital. I know for commercial work digital is much faster, and it’s sure a lot easier to carry on the bike/scooter. Still, I think we’ve lost something by forsaking film. What do you think, Steve?

DaveT.

Well, that’s my thoughts at least. I’m just a motorcycle rider.

By the way, our cat will be 20 next month. I know exactly what you’re talking about.