Is it embarassing to shoot film?

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BradS

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I guess all those people who do direct positives onto paper aren't doing "photography" :getlost:. Shooting film shouldn't embarrass you, but having that kind of attitude should.

Les, if you can get past the "sneering crap" (an unfortunately accurate label), you'll really enjoy APUG. Just try to avoid all of the "film vs. digital" threads.

I'd go farther and suggest that we all leave all of the digital baggage at the door when we enter this place. APUG is about doing photography with "traditional" materials and methods. It is the one place that is uniquely and explicitly NOT about digital.

We're not passing judgment one way or the other....just saying that digital methods and materials have no place here. That much should be clear and needs to be respected.

(and I think Ken stated the situation very well. Thanks Ken).
 
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Worker 11811

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Don't think I belong here. I figured there would be people enjoying photography. I shoot film. I shoot digital. Instead I read this kind of sneering crap, all the while remembering Neil Liefer and his 9fps 250 exposure backs.

We are now eighteen, going on nineteen, pages into this discussion. All of the regulars who wanted to make comments to this thread have done so by now and I would imagine that the majority of them would say that the topic sentence has been addressed. Many members, myself included, often add a little humorous sarcasm to their subsequent answers as evidenced by the smilies which litter their posts. :smile:p:whistling::wink::laugh::D)

Bottom line: It's all just good natured banter.

Do I think people should really blow up their digicams? Of course... not! :wink: :wink: :wink:
But when some wise a$$ makes a comment like, "Where do you put in the flint?" he's going to get a wise a$$ reply from me. (Flint and steel... Triple-f black powder... It's all a muzzle loading reference. :D )

Personally, I am just fine with digital cameras. I use them too but I SPECIALIZE in traditional photography. I even scan and digitally edit my negatives.

Notice, in my last few comments, I have pointed out that there are more and more people who shoot with digital cameras who don't know the first thing about photography. This is the crux of this discussion. It is the dumbing-down of photography and society, in general that we are all talking about and making jokes about.

Les, just by the fact that you are here and contributing, it is pretty clear that you are far above the level of most photographers, be they digital or traditional. I really would like to hear what you know about ALL forms of photography and I hope you stay around long enough to share some things.

Please don't get bent out of shape. We joke around with our friends the most. :smile:
 

moose10101

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Do I think people should really blow up their digicams? Of course... not! :wink: :wink: :wink:
But when some wise a$$ makes a comment like, "Where do you put in the flint?" he's going to get a wise a$$ reply from me. (Flint and steel... Triple-f black powder... It's all a muzzle loading reference. :D )

I would have taken it as a compliment. Not many people know how to use a muzzleloader.
 

MattKing

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pbromaghin

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Instead I read this kind of sneering crap, all the while remembering Neil Liefer and his 9fps 250 exposure backs.

Neil Leifer shot sports action where a 10th of a second makes the difference between the cover of Sports Illustrated and the trash bin. He used the tools and methods appropriate and necessary for his subject. He shot lots of film hoping that he caught the right image.

Those who are being sneered at are the ones that shoot lots of storage space hoping that their camera caught the right image.
 
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BetterSense

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I have a percussion .54 cal Renegade as well, what a coincidence. I would like to get a flintlock someday, or make one.
 

Worker 11811

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If it's a sidelock you MIGHT be able to get a flintlock to retrofit the caplock with but that depends on where the touch hole is. If the nipple is on the barrel, you would be better off to get another rifle. Then, again, "Gear Acquisition Syndrome" also affects firearms collectors just as much as it does camera collectors. Never hurts to have another rifle in the cabinet! :wink:

Muzzle loader is to rifle as film is to photography. :D
 
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polyglot

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Don't think I belong here. I figured there would be people enjoying photography. I shoot film. I shoot digital. Instead I read this kind of sneering crap, all the while remembering Neil Liefer and his 9fps 250 exposure backs.

Hear, hear. I find the ignore-list to be highly valuable since there is a strong negative correlation between those whingeing about digital and those providing useful information.
 

Roger Cole

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In answer to the OP, no.

Oddly enough, it's the young and artistic types that seem really fascinated and complimentary. I got a lot of comments on my Yashica Mat walking around New Orleans, all of them good - same, pretty much (along with some strange looks) shooting with the 4x5 Linhof in a cemetary there.

No one has asked me where the flint goes but honestly, if someone did, I'd probably say "up your ### right beside my foot!" or the like. I don't make snide comments about other people's possessions and don't appreciate them about mine. I too shoot digital sometimes. For me (note, for me) digital is for recording events more and film more for art, though at times the two overlap. I've been known to see something worth ink jetting in my digital prints, and I've been known to combine art and travel records.
 

Les Berkley

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I really don't get scornful remarks about film cameras from people on the street. Some recognize them and smile; others may ask what they are. I do get the "Can you still get film for that?" question, but it's never mean-spirited.
 
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I really don't get scornful remarks about film cameras from people on the street. Some recognize them and smile; others may ask what they are. I do get the "Can you still get film for that?" question, but it's never mean-spirited.

The snide remarks I've gotten are almost always framed as self-serving (never self-effacing) jokes. If I can't politely ignore them because the comedian persists, I usually gently fall back on the approximate megapixel density of the scanned sheet of film in the camera, followed up by how much I paid for the camera. That usually quiets things down.

But I do seem to notice that the larger the camera on the tripod, the fewer negative remarks I hear. When it's the Calumet C1 8x10 on top of the wooden Zone VI Heavy Duty tripod with the ground glass at my eye level, the whole contraption towers almost seven feet over everyone's heads. I honestly think people are afraid to make fun of it.

Or can't figure out what it is.

Overheard in whispers behind me from under the darkcloth with the 8x10 while set up on the north rim of the canyon at Palouse Falls in central Washington state:

Her: "What IS that thing?"
Him: "That's a camera... I think."
Her: "What's he doing with it?"
Him: "He's taking a picture... I think."
Her: "Why doesn't he just use his phone?"

:tongue:

True story...

Welcome to APUG, Les.

Ken
 

moose10101

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I really don't get scornful remarks about film cameras from people on the street. Some recognize them and smile; others may ask what they are. I do get the "Can you still get film for that?" question, but it's never mean-spirited.

I've never gotten one either, and I've used film cameras at events attended by over 100,000 people carrying thousands of digital SLR's and countless P&S cameras. Maybe my hearing loss is working in my favor. :smile:
 

Paul Goutiere

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I was so embarrassed when my Mom unexpectedly came into my bedroom when I had my camera in my hand and a copy of "Camera and Darkroom" open beside me.

She just looked down and closed the door.

The next day there was a book on my pillow, you know, one of those books about how to take better pictures.

I couldn't look Mom in the eyes for weeks after that. But Mom understood.
 

Diapositivo

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Last Sunday I was taking pictures of a certain monument with my Minolta SrT and an entire bag of photographic gear. No need to say there were many other persons in the vicinity taking pictures with their digi-snaps.

A person with a digital camera approached me and asked me if I would take a picture of him and his woman, which I willingly did.

I think amongst the many present I was "the chosen one" precisely because I was using film and carrying weights with me. That must mean something :smile:
 
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There are some days when I feel a little embarrassed, but really more self-conscious. Last Saturday, for example, I had two 35mm cameras, each with about 3 frames of film remaining so I stopped by a local park to finish each roll. I felt quite self-conscious walking around with two cameras dangling around my neck plus a light meter.

Dave
 

KenS

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Guns... lol... real men use longbows :smile:

HORSEFEATHERS!

REAL men use a slingshot and the 'natural" ammunition that they can (usually) find right under their feet. :wink:

Ken
 

KarnyDoc

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I've been out shooting film nearly every day for the last few weeks. The more I shoot the more confident I feel, both in respect to my own photography and in respect to digital vs. film.

On two different occasions I came across professional photographers who were on the job who didn't know the first thing about things like shutter speed and aperture. One was an older guy who noticed my camera and made the standard, "I didn't know you could still get film..." comment. We were talking about photographing sunsets and I mentioned that I sometimes shoot "one stop over." I had to explain to him what apertures and stops were.

Another guy who was shooting yearbook portraits by the shore. I was shooting Adox CMS-20 at the time. It was getting close to sunset and I was quickly running out of light. I wanted to shoot a picture of this lighthouse on the shore and he was shooing his client/model with the lighthouse as the backdrop. I politely and quietly waited for him to finish his set then I asked for permission to shoot. I said, "I'm shooting ASA 20 film, here, and I've only got about 10 more minutes of light. Do you mind if I grab a shot, real quick?" The guy was absolutely clueless. If he wasn't on the job with a client, I would have explained it to him but I simply grabbed my shot, thanked him and walked back to my car.

...snipped...

So, as time goes on, not only do I feel less self conscious about using film, I feel quite GOOD about it! Sometimes I even feel a little sorry for the digi-snappers.

Pros who have NO clue about shutter speed and aperture? "Professional" they're not, regardless of whether they're being paid.

Dieter Zakas
 
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