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Nathan67

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I'm an IT guy; having developed computer software systems for going on 30 years.

I'm a film and digital shooter, and I am one of the minority because I will not jab one or the other, nor will I say one is better then the other. Both require talent, technical acumen, camera workflow, darkroom skills (yes both do), and both can take a lot of time, patience, both can cause a frustration, anger, and satisfaction too.

I shoot 90% film, 10% digital.

Film and digital are both fantastic ways for one to express themselves artistically. Both can be used to make awesome pictures or craaap pictures.

Film shooters are not "better" then digital shooters, and the reverse is true too.

I really wish this us-versus-them polarity would cease because as long as one is polarized, then disrespect, irrationality, and close mindedness will color their thoughts.

A pattern I have found is that film bigots believe outright lies about digital, and digital bigots believe outright lies about film.

Both film snobs and digital snobs are closed minded fools.....

Now that is the most sensible thing i have read on any forum on the old film vs digital debate.

Well said that man!

FWIW I work full time as a studio photographer in a small village in Norway, 95% of my work is digital, but I love film and use it as often as I can...
For personal work and even family stuff I prefer film, it gets me away from the computer and into my dark sanctuary full of smelly chemicals... :smile:
Plus I enjoy using old cameras, great pulling out a camera from the thirties or fifites at a wedding.. guaranteed a smile!
 

SilverGlow

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Thanks Nathan...I love film...but at the end of the day, it's not about the medium but the picture. ;-)
 

Q.G.

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IS this a film vs digital thread?

I thought all it was about is what sort of people use film, if there is any one sort of people in particular.
Myself, i don't think there is.

So in the end of the day, it is neither about the medium, nor about the picture, but - as the thread title says - who we are.
Try not to get confused.
 
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We are a mix of people. If I go through my friends that are film photographers (also):

Product Marketing Specialist, Account Manager, Software Engineer, Artist / Instructor, Portraitist, Teacher, Technical Writer, Admin Assistant, Student, Military, Pilot.

No trends here. Just a bunch of very smart individuals that are not afraid to think for themselves. :smile:

- Thomas
 

SilverGlow

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IS this a film vs digital thread?

I thought all it was about is what sort of people use film, if there is any one sort of people in particular.
Myself, i don't think there is.

So in the end of the day, it is neither about the medium, nor about the picture, but - as the thread title says - who we are.
Try not to get confused.

I think you are confused.

Threads evolve. People mentioned film. They mentioned digital. They mentioned a lot of things.

I responded to those prior posts.

You get so upset at the mention of the word "digital".

Try to get over it, try not to be so controlling and xenophobic.
 

Q.G.

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Upset, because someone mentions digital?

This hasn't been a thread in which anyone got upset, or treated this as a digital vs analog matter, until some "i'm the biggest snob, because i think you are all snobs" snob thought i was.

Like i said before: do try not to get confused.
 

SilverGlow

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Upset, because someone mentions digital?

This hasn't been a thread in which anyone got upset, or treated this as a digital vs analog matter, until some "i'm the biggest snob, because i think you are all snobs" snob thought i was.

Like i said before: do try not to get confused.

QG, it's all in your head....your words are not well received, so drop it.

Like I said before, don't be so controlling.
 

TheFlyingCamera

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Returning to the original question...

I'm an IT guy by day. Like most of us who have that dual personality, I do film-based photography, alternative processes and use antique cameras as an antidote to the digital, virtual world I work in every day. I use these chemical-based, manual processes to have something that truly reflects the direct involvement of the hand of the artist, allows for serendipitous accident. I relish the possibility of wabi-sabi in photography (a japanese term for the beauty of imperfection).
 

naugastyle

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In my view it isn't limited to IT "guys", but to extremely logical Type A people. Lawyers, engineers, etc.

I'm in the other tribe, although not SO deeply. I'm not an artist, my job has always been design (first graphic, then web, now fashion), but design almost always involves computers and a desk and isn't all that glamorous. But I've always been into handcrafted things--used to make my own clothes and was obsessed with throwing pottery, until I no longer had time for either hobby. Played several instruments as well, always liked to draw. I am quite logical but not analytical, absolutely not technical at all. I estimate many of my exposures and more often than not, print based on gut feelings.

A dear friend of mine is a lawyer, not a photographer but very much into other handicrafts, and quite good at each one she tries. My theory is that the reason people like her are overrepresented in this stuff are that they like to figure things out. I like to learn but I don't really have a craving for an "aha!" moment. I believe she does, and so do many of Type A folks that are into figuring out photography. And unlike certain arts like painting, there are many aspects to photography (or dollmaking or crochet and other crafts my friend is into) that CAN be broken down logically and figured out.

Plus these forums tend to be dominated by white English speaking males and really, who wants to be around that demographic all the time?

Not sure I agree with that broad generalization.... ;-)

Just because you and I don't fit into that mold doesn't mean it's not true. It's not the ONLY demographic on APUG but I'm quite certain it's the dominant one.
 
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lxdude

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Thanks Nathan...I love film...but at the end of the day, it's not about the medium but the picture. ;-)

At the end of the day, it's not about the medium but the ISO. :wink::tongue::D

OK, or the tripod.:rolleyes:
 
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I think another film shooter category would be old souls. Not even olds people. Old souls. I am a high school freshman and I have been shooting film for a few years now. I write with fountain pens, type with a typewriter, listen to records, use a rotary phone....it's just the way I like things.

Luddite!

I like you already. As soon as you're 21 then we can go hang out at a bar, drink beer, and chat up all the luddite women.
 

Toffle

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Luddite!

I like you already. As soon as you're 21 then we can go hang out at a bar, drink beer, and chat up all the luddite women.

There's Luddite women??? Holy crap!!! I can't wait till I tell the rest of the guys. :D
 

dr5chrome

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..ignorance is bliss. Convincing the confused is a tough thing.



IS this a film vs digital thread?

I thought all it was about is what sort of people use film, if there is any one sort of people in particular.
Myself, i don't think there is.

So in the end of the day, it is neither about the medium, nor about the picture, but - as the thread title says - who we are.
Try not to get confused.
 

nolanr66

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I guess there are many and varied folks out there shooting film. I like dinosaurs a lot so that is probably why I shoot film. My favorite dinosaur is the Elitechromeasaurus.
 

SilverGlow

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At the end of the day, it's not about the medium but the ISO. :wink::tongue::D

OK, or the tripod.:rolleyes:

I stand corrected! ;-)
 

alxsav

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Feb 22, 2005
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Well, I believe that I belong to the IT tribe. I sold my dslr a few days ago and continue to shoot my various 35mm and MF cameras...:D
 

cfclark

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The funny thing is that I was an IT guy for 15 years until my doctor told me that the stress was going to kill me. ( worked on mission critical healthcare systems) So I chucked it all and became an art photographer.

This one struck me funny because I work in healthcare IT. :D At the moment I enjoy it and it's lucrative, but I don't know how much longer I'll want to do it.

I've always had a fascination with making old tools function as they were intended, even if they're ostensibly obsolete. Fountain pens are another hobby of mine, and I take to work and use every day several pens that are 50-60 years old. Many of my colleagues don't understand that, and they wouldn't understand using a film camera, either.

I have a DSLR that will do nearly anything I need and will take "pretty pictures" nearly every time I click the shutter, without me putting much thought into the process. I've gone back to analog to deliberately make myself think about the process and to work with the restrictions of the medium (10 shots on a roll of 120 with my 6x7, I have to wait for the results, etc.).

OK, that may say more about "why I do this" than "who we are", but I'm an IT person also.
 

Q.G.

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I've gone back to analog to deliberately make myself think about the process and to work with the restrictions of the medium (10 shots on a roll of 120 with my 6x7, I have to wait for the results, etc.).

Having to wait for the result isn't a restriction.
We don't guess at things, and then wait how our guesses turn out. No matter what you do (photography, IT, whatever), when you know what you are doing, you know what the result will be.
:wink:
 

Steve Roberts

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I use IT a lot in my job, though I freely admit to knowing/understanding very little about digital matters, having ended up here by default when my previous post within the organisation ceased to exist. I'm quite indifferent to what I do, and find myself cynical about most aspects of IT, seeing it largely as a self-serving industry that sucks people in with its flashy equipment and slick programmes, knowing that once they are on board they're prisoners for life, committed to upgrading hardware and software forever after on a regular basis. I hate that. My upbringing in a city that was still recovering from the war with parents who had lived through it instilled in me a sense of looking after things, repairing them when they went wrong and making them last a long time. That applied to everything, and so I kept my last car for over 12 years, have the same record turntable that I was given as an 18th birthday present 32 years ago, will always buy secondhand quality tools in preference to cheap, imported new ones, etc..
Thus, I still use the Pentax KX that I bought in 1986 and getting into an expensive loop of buying into the digital domain doesn't interest me one jot.

I originally found APUG and continue to use it because I have the facilities to do so at work. Though I have an ancient computer at home, I don't have the Internet facilities there to participate in APUG, so if I didn't work in IT, I wouldn't be one of the 39,000.

Steve
 

accozzaglia

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I don't know where I am. Not in any tribe, really. I have my feet in several places. I have strong ties to IT folk, ties to art folk, and am often around engineering folks, social science folks, and an even balance of scholars and professionals (though I prefer scholars for good company). When needed, I can use my IT-fu, graphic art-fu, and other-fu, and I know almost nobody whose lack of tethering resembles this. I am clan-less. It's not necessarily an idyllic place to be, because it can (and does) get lonely.

But by the same token, being everywhere sort of helps me see life's big picture a little easier. Still doesn't make it less isolated, though.
 
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