A Day in the Life

[BradleyK]

Some days are so strange and/or so amusing they just have to be shared. So, following are a few memorable moments from my day on Vancouver Island (began at 8:40 am PDT when I disembarked from the ferry):

1). Butchart's Gardens: While reloading an A12 back I somehow attracted the interest of a group of Chinese tourists who decided that what I was doing was somehow interesting or unusual. So, four or five of them photographed me (with digital "phones") loading E100G into the backs. Better still: several of these folks were shooting short videos! Not sure whether the interest was the Hasselblad, the idea of a film back or film itself! Ok, then.

2) Downtown Victoria: Walking about with the Leica, just shooting "urban stuff" (interesting building facades, people, etc.) I crossed paths with another individual doing the same. Noticing the M6, she asked what I was shooting (E100G) and mentioned that thought she "was one of the few still shooting slides" (call me a bit more than surprised). Better still: She said: "So you like blue and not green?" Obviously a Velvia shooter. The kicker, though? This woman - and I am guessing here - was maybe in her late 20s/early 30s! Lesson: Never assume that the analogue/digital divide is clearly demarcated and generational.

3). Sidney, BC: Walking about, shooting the crabbers, when I was approached by a senior, who noticed my bag, tripod and the Nikons (F3HP and F6) hanging around my neck. We chatted for a good 20 minutes about photography, places to shoot on the Island, etc. (always up for some guidance since I am a mainlander). This fellow, probably 75 years of age, shoots both digital and analogue, preferring the latter to the former (he shoots with an F6 and a D3s). Lesson: as above.

 

[John_Nikon_F]

Did you give the guy in Sidney the link to APUG? He'd probably like it here... Re: the woman, there are quite a few younger people who shoot analog here in the Seattle area... Anyway, sounds like you had a good day, even though it was a little strange at times.

-J

 

[TheToadMen]

Thank you for sharing. "Never assume the obvious" seems to apply here also.

I walked around a whole day in Paris this week with an "odd" Hasselblad SWC camera, but no one stepped put to me.
I noticed quite a lot of cameras, but all digital unfortunately.

 

[fotch]

Was that Sidney by the Sea? Just curious. My wife and visited there several years ago, and loved it.

 

[gone]

At any outdoor event where I live, I'm the only person with a film camera. Every time. In fact, when I'm out and about, I never see anyone w/ a film camera. Granted, New Smyrna Beach, Fl is not a photography city, but it wasn't much different when we lived in New Mexico, which is known for photography. The last time someone mentioned my camera, I heard them telling a companion "Anyone who would shoot film in this day and age.....".

You're fortunate to be bumping into others that still shoot film. Film shooters are usually a friendly breed, like Border Collies or Cocker Spaniels. DSLR shooters tend to be unfriendly and suspicious, like Dobermans or Chihuahuas. I'm a friendly Southerner, but have learned to avoid the "pro" soccer mom photographers who always have one hand clutching their lens with a death grip to ward off imaginary thieves, and are about as friendly as a banker when you close your account.

The last time I thought I spotted a film shooter, the camera turned out to be an Epson digital rangefinder. There should be film photographer groups who go out spotting, like the birders do. "Oh, look Willabella, there's a Scruffy Balding Hippie w/ an AE-1! And over here, I do believe it's a Tweed Hatted Pipe Smoker toting a Mamiya 645! Or is that an Old Ex-Newspaper Photographer with a TLR? Quick, take a picture of them with your phone".

 

[snapguy]

tourists

I live a few minutes away from the city of Palm Springs, CA. Until just recently the city had a 28-foot high statute of Marilyn Monroe with her skirt flying high. It attracted many tourists. I photographed MM many times with various analog cameras but did not meet anyone else with anything but a digital. Several spoke with great fondness about their old film cameras they cut their photograph teeth on. The Canon AE-1 seemed to be leading the pack.

 

[BradleyK]

Was that Sidney by the Sea? Just curious. My wife and visited there several years ago, and loved it.

One and the same, Fotch. Probably one of the friendliest places I have ever visited. Which may have something to do with the pace of life there...30kph (20mph) speed limits...lol). I would challenge anyone to walk more than a few meters without having someone say hello to them or, more often than not, engage them in conversation. It has become something of a habit, every time I land at Swartz Bay (rather than Departure Bay, up the Island), to stop in for coffee, grab a camera, and spend a bit of time walking along the waterfront.

John: I told the fellow about APUG, the Kodachrome Project (he shot the film faithfully until Velvia came along), and the Leica Users Forum (he was dismissive here - I won't repeat his comments re "too many Leica owners" - for reasons of starting a fire storm). Oddly enough, for a fellow obviously tech savvy, he claimed not to have too much interest in sitting in front of a computer -go figure.

 

[CatLABS]

I remember hearing stories of a professor who came back from the Guangzhu photo festival, where he was invited to show his latest project.
The recurring motif was that as westerners, there is a cultural gap which we often cannot explain with common language with out a deeper understanding, and that he was amazed at the many subtle differences. He tried to explain that many photographers print full frame just so that the 2 v nothces of the hasselblad back are visible, as that signifies a sense luxury, among many other things he found curious.

 

[Black Dog]

Thanks for posting that Bradley....and for the classic ITAH moment!