- Joined
- Oct 7, 2015
- Messages
- 19
- Format
- 35mm
Having found this forum, I feel like I'm not alone. It's a great feeling.
My name is Michael, and my love of photographer began the summer of 1984 (I was 16, I think) when I worked a summer job as a foot messenger in NYC to save enough money for a 35mm SLR and a few lenses. That camera (Cannon A1) at the time, was my best friend and accompanied me everywhere I went.
Sometime around 1992, after finishing college, I worked as an apprentice for an established wedding photographer. That work enabled me to save enough money for a medium format camera and a used Nikon F4. In 1995, I began to shoot weddings on my own to supplement my income, and I like to believe I was proficient enough to have a decent stream of clients. I didn't shoot hundreds or thousands of weddings, but I did about 12 a year between 1995-2002.
Around the turn of the century, as we all know, the digital revolution began and I found my own business compromised by a myriad of photographers that almost seemed to pop up over night. It almost seemed like everyone with a few grand to a blow purchased a digital camera and magically proclaimed themselves a 'photographer'
As time passed, things got worse. The megapixel mania took hold and I found myself in competition against an army of fledgling photographers who, armed with a dSLR they barely understood and a copy of photoshop, offered $500 weddings, promising their clients thousands of images.
I resisted the temptations of digital for a long time. But eventually I caved in, and to stay competitive switched to shooting digital. I hated it. Although digital did offer some benefits, I felt in many ways it detached me from my photography. Even so, I continued shooting about a dozen gigs a year.
In 2010 I sort of got burned out and hung up my hat. I packed away a lot of my gear and, over the next several years, seldom picked up a camera. Fast forward to 2015, I had just finished a move and while unpacking discovered my pair of Nikon F4s, which, to my surprise, still functioned flawlessly all these years later. When I held that camera, it felt like a reconnection with a long lost best friend. Since I had no desire whatsoever to again work professionally, and instead preferred the slow more methodical world of analog, I sold or gave away every piece of digital gear I owned. Friends and family--most of whom had never held an analog camera--chuckled at me. They can't, and never will, understand.
Now, I am waiting for the first five rolls of film to return from the lab. I find the anticipation of waiting for the results far more intriguing than getting the instant gratification results of seeing my results on a LCD screen on the camera.
So I am thrilled to have found this forum, and pleased that in my love of analog I am not alone. Look forward to talking with and sharing results with other analog photographers.
Thank you for this forum!
My name is Michael, and my love of photographer began the summer of 1984 (I was 16, I think) when I worked a summer job as a foot messenger in NYC to save enough money for a 35mm SLR and a few lenses. That camera (Cannon A1) at the time, was my best friend and accompanied me everywhere I went.
Sometime around 1992, after finishing college, I worked as an apprentice for an established wedding photographer. That work enabled me to save enough money for a medium format camera and a used Nikon F4. In 1995, I began to shoot weddings on my own to supplement my income, and I like to believe I was proficient enough to have a decent stream of clients. I didn't shoot hundreds or thousands of weddings, but I did about 12 a year between 1995-2002.
Around the turn of the century, as we all know, the digital revolution began and I found my own business compromised by a myriad of photographers that almost seemed to pop up over night. It almost seemed like everyone with a few grand to a blow purchased a digital camera and magically proclaimed themselves a 'photographer'
As time passed, things got worse. The megapixel mania took hold and I found myself in competition against an army of fledgling photographers who, armed with a dSLR they barely understood and a copy of photoshop, offered $500 weddings, promising their clients thousands of images.
I resisted the temptations of digital for a long time. But eventually I caved in, and to stay competitive switched to shooting digital. I hated it. Although digital did offer some benefits, I felt in many ways it detached me from my photography. Even so, I continued shooting about a dozen gigs a year.
In 2010 I sort of got burned out and hung up my hat. I packed away a lot of my gear and, over the next several years, seldom picked up a camera. Fast forward to 2015, I had just finished a move and while unpacking discovered my pair of Nikon F4s, which, to my surprise, still functioned flawlessly all these years later. When I held that camera, it felt like a reconnection with a long lost best friend. Since I had no desire whatsoever to again work professionally, and instead preferred the slow more methodical world of analog, I sold or gave away every piece of digital gear I owned. Friends and family--most of whom had never held an analog camera--chuckled at me. They can't, and never will, understand.
Now, I am waiting for the first five rolls of film to return from the lab. I find the anticipation of waiting for the results far more intriguing than getting the instant gratification results of seeing my results on a LCD screen on the camera.
So I am thrilled to have found this forum, and pleased that in my love of analog I am not alone. Look forward to talking with and sharing results with other analog photographers.
Thank you for this forum!