No, I’ve seen more unnatural smiles!

Digital certainly has many advantages over film and I take advantage of them. But there are still some special places that for me film is the answer.

I think there are a lot of people who have a background with cameras and film that wish the world was a bit different and they could still leave a roll of film at the drugstore to be processed. I always loved the anticipation as a kid waiting for that little yellow Kodak film bag. Even at the 1 hour photomat, same excitement.

I used to tell people that an MP3 was in my future somewhere when my strength and balance diminished but I still had the presence of mind to manage the locking front end. I really enjoyed riding the MP3.

Peter,

My friends and I did the same thing with an old Keystone 8mm camera. Our setup was shooting pool and having all the balls go in on the break. Tedious work moving things and shooting the single frames.

All the film sources in town have gone away for black and white, same thing for paper and chemicals. I do all my shopping online now — either B&H Photo in New York, or FreeStyle Photo in California. Film and materials is still plentiful. And I believe film is cheaper in the long run because you aren’t replacing the camera nearly as often and generally don’t fall into the upgrade loop of camera, printer, software, computer, etc. which is really expensive.

Film isn’t dead yet for me. I suspect that I’ll continue as long as I can stumble down to the darkroom.

Man, you get a real workout winding up the Grafanola to listen to Red Foley!

Yes, routine checkin with my rheumatologist. So far so good. Medication isn’t frying my liver, still works, and I still can move.

The why continue question weighs heavily at times especially in the face of mountains of work already accomplished. The answer for each of us is different. A few nights ago I was listening to a podcast by Brooks Jensen, editor of Lenswork magazine, and he was talking about what to do with all the photos we collect over a lifetime and what’s going to happen to them when we die. His words hit me pretty hard — basically he was saying “give it all away” lest it all end up at the dump or at a garage sale after death. Unless you are one of the most elite photographers in the world, or have a six figure budget to endow a university archive to take your pictures, your heirs are going to struggle with the stuff. At least if you give photos to people who like them there is a chance the work will live on.

I’ve been thinking a lot about it.

My first 35mm camera was a Pentax. Loved it. I can still remember how it smelled. Not sure I could focus one now. The rangefinder in a Leica is indifferent to my vision but the old SLR viewfinders are a challenge.

Repairs on the Leica are getting more expensive than ever but there still are a handful of people working because there are so many collectors still wanting things serviced.

Wish you luck on your new photographic adventures Bryce!