anotherview Loc: California

Good photographers take worthy pictures virtually whatever the gear used. They know composition, the exposure, triangle, and the importance of subject.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

I recall an old saying somewhere along the line that goes like this: “Yeah, instant gratification is okay, it just takes too long.” That’s what I like most about digital tech, almost instantaneous feedback. No worries about the take-up spool, no mailers or drop-offs, no waiting two weeks to discard your fluffs. Plus, I get to decide what the finished product looks like. There is no way you can do in the darkroom what you can with a good app like PS or some such. With some learning and practice, the shooter is pretty much in complete control.

Ariel

It is still nothing but snap shots on various levels with more sophisticated apparatu

geodowns Loc: Yale, Michigan

Actually I am below you, so the higher you are the better for me. I'm not a Pro, but I think I'm pretty good after 55 years of clicking. Meaby we should grade ourselves by shutter cound from day one. I try to be funny but that's like a picture, not everyone like it and not everyone wont dislike it. I let everybody else show off then I'll show my to the one not showing off. So don't worry, your good.!

geodowns Loc: Yale, Michigan

Another quick though. Pros, if they have time, should join a photo club where the newby are learning. And not say they are pro but just go along quietly helping out. Kinda like a missionary of photography.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

Regarding grading ourselves by shutter count, or by years shooting: “I’ve been doing this for 55 years. Okay, is that 55 years experience or one year’s experience 55 times.” Seems to me to be a UUUGE diff.😎😎😎

Ariel

what is meant by Pros ?

Burtzy Loc: Bronx N.Y. & Simi Valley, CA

Though I too have always loved the darkroom process, I gave mine up a few years back. I have caved to the simplicity of digital (in part because of the scarcity of darkroom materials available). The room that was my darkroom had been a soundproof one I built in the garage for my son to practice his drumming while in high school. For a decade it was my soundproof darkroom. When my wife would call me to dinner, I couldn't hear her. Today, the plumbing removed, it is again a drum practice room (now for my grandson) and a place to keep my tons of photography equipment.

Spirit Vision Photography Loc: Behind a Camera.

Rat Patrol 👍. Where are you finding those?

geodowns Loc: Yale, Michigan

In my opinion. A pro would be someone that can make money taking photos. Or as become famous with is works that stands out from the rest. Than theres the guy that no one knows at sporting events or say a TV studio or any studio or where ever a "PRO" is needed. Another word he knows is stuff, don't have to look it up and a good one becomes invisible.

Photocraig

I am the same vintage. I held on to my film for until 2014. It was the transition to the Computer Processing from the (toxic) chemical processing that brought me to Digital. To paraphrase, Nostalgia is 20/20.

Tell me:

Just how sweet did YOUR Darkroom smell?
How much film and processing $$'s were wasted vs. the Digital Trash Can.
Contact Sheets, test prints, more test prints, archival washing, all in odiforous semi darkness and solitude.
How much could you correct in a Jpeg Scan from film?
Is there ANYTHING that you learned in your film days that is irrelevant now?
Faming?
Composition?
Exposure?
Depth of Field?
Selective Focus?
Materials choice seems like White Balance and film "post" to me.
Dodging, burning, vignetting, cropping, straightening?

Digital is faster, cleaner and while Definitely NOT cheaper, it is more efficient. You probably never used the auto features on your later film cameras, and I don't either on mine or my DSLR. But i loved Aperture and Shutter priority ("Convenience" not auto, right?) on my film cameras for landscapes and Sports, and they work the same on my DSLR.

If you're good enough to fly an FTn, you can photograph with anything produced today. And you've got a ton of legacy glass to see it all through. AND Auto focus, Juuuuussstttt in case those old Pilot eyes aren't quite up to seeing a Messerschmitt (y'a know the one that Foke was driving) at 10 miles bright and sunny.

Resistance is for losers. Join the fun. Just because it is easier now doesn't make it trivial.
C

alx Loc: NJ

Another lifetime ago, maybe two, when I did photography full time, my ex-wife and I use to shoot a number of airshows each year. God, I miss those days absorbed in the pictures and feeling creative. We'd hit the ramp with 2 Nikon F2s, 3 FEs, motordrives and lenses plus for all and bags of film. To control costs, the film had all been spooled down from 100 foot rolls of refrigerated professional Ektachrome, ASA 64 and 160 or later Fujichrome 100. The extra bodies allowed us to switch between film speeds and set higher ASA's when we wanted or needed to push depending on circumstances. If it was a 2 day show, we'd often cover both always hoping for an even better day.

The days after the show meant a lot of processing - we took full advantage of the motordrives. I always did my own processing to control costs and the process itself. I had 2 constant temperature water baths and would tape the film tanks to process submerged to maintain as much consistency as possible. After mounting and comparing, if we wanted prints I would either shoot internegatives (parallax focused on pull processed Vericolor Professional) or contact print negative masks on B+W for Cibachrome prints.

It was a lot of time, money and work to control everything. The learning curve, especially in terms of developing and perfecting the pull processed internegative and Cibachrome masking techniques, was steep.

Now in this later lifetime with a career of accounting system programming in between, I missed the feel of my old Nikons. As retirement approaches I just took delivery of a D850 last week. The learning curve is steep. Yes, I'm sure I will miss some of the old processing, but as I think back writing this maybe not so much. Rather than carry 3 bodies to switch ISO speeds, I can just dial in whatever I need for the lighting conditions OR creative film grain control. Not to mention white balance, something that used to mean a whole other set of film.

I still have my old Nikons (I don't abandon old friends). And that brings with it a good selection of lenses, manual focus, but that adds a level of thought and patience to augment the new AF pair I picked up with the camera. A 45mm Nikkor GN is beautifully light, compact and razor sharp on the D850.

I'm looking forward to coming home and rediscovering my roots. It's a good day.

geodowns Loc: Yale, Michigan

I like this post. You would not know a Messerschitt got you until it was too late. This is all good stuff. And the old stuff, I guess someone had to check once in a while to see if your still alive in dark room

James Slick Loc: Pittsburgh,PA

I still shoot film (135 & 120) for the very sake of it, The extra "work" of fully manual focus, exposure and processing IS the point. Same as when making a piece of furniture using hand tools. The tactile feel of "actually doing it". That said, I'm not going back for most work in wood or images. Having dealt with the expenses and inconvenience of 8mm movie film, I was absolutely thrilled when videotape camcorders became available! The beat goes on. With Digital photography (and Digital Video) I can do MORE with less consumable cost. Yayyyyy! And while I love cutting, drilling and sanding wood as a recreation, I'm NOT giving up my circ saw, cordless drill or nail gun if I'm framing a garage or an addition! Use the best tool available for the job! New isn't always better....But sometimes it is!

Dennis833 Loc: Australia

Digital photographers and still real photographers. It's just the way us older guys see it. We have all these memories of the equipment we owned and way we had to photograph in the past.