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Ancient Film Guy Trying to Learn Digital
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Apr 17, 2019 07:01:46   #
MikeMck Loc: Southern Maryland on the Bay
 
Welcome!

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Apr 17, 2019 07:23:26   #
Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.
 
burkphoto wrote:
Welcome to UHH!

I've been a very serious photographer and sometime pro since 1969. The best thing that ever happened to me was living through the transition from film to digital in a pro photo lab (where I had nine different roles in 33 years). I had a foundation in photography, and found all the analogies to film in the digital world. It accelerated everything!

Because of that, I can honestly say digital capture is far more useful to me than film capture ever was. I even like the look of it better. I especially like working with images on the computer, as compared to working with them in my old darkroom. With bits and bytes, I can get to the results I want faster, more accurately, and without pollution or wasting any money on atoms that have to be discarded due to mistakes.

The evolution of computers and software is very rapid. That's why the major software companies are all going to the subscription model, which I support fully. I have the Adobe Photography Bundle and Microsoft Office 365 on my systems. It truly is a joy to be 100% up to date on all those apps. Software is all online, now, available from application stores. CD? DVD? Forget about those! Everything is on the Internet.

I generally buy a new computer every five to seven years. I primarily use Mac OS (I run Windows 10 on my Mac when needed). I'm able to use 2012 and 2013 computers with the very latest operating systems. When that becomes impossible, I'll start planning to buy a new or more recent, gently used computer. I recently retired my 2010 Mac Mini to the living room for use as a media center. It replaced a DVD recorder/player, since it was the last Mini to have an optical drive in it.

I hear you about reading manuals... I spent many years writing what most of my customers considered good ones. They are necessary evils. However, if you can watch videos on YouTube, you can find suitable sources for most of what you need to know.

Dig in... it is worth it! I know learning sometimes feels like scratching your way through a brick wall with a pocket knife, but on the other side of the wall is this HUGE toy store of things to keep you busy and useful and having fun for life!
Welcome to UHH! br br I've been a very serious ph... (show quote)



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Apr 17, 2019 07:23:44   #
Cecil Webb
 
I am a life long Pro Photog, now retired almost 20 years & I for one do not miss the darkroom, wet process one bit. Coming home smelling of Fixer, manipulating printing the best way still has it's limits before it starts to look fake. We were among the first to use digital in the late 80's, there is so much more that can be done in digital post processing than the wet process. Would never go back, don't miss it at all...!

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Apr 17, 2019 07:40:32   #
rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona
 
Welcome to UHH. I've found that digital and film are very similar in the manner of f-stop, ISO, and shutter speed. Now, where they differ is in what one meters. Spot meter for the highlights and place them in the Zone you wish. However, it takes a bit of testing to determine your camera's ability to handle the additional exposure. Blowing highlights is the major sin one wants to avoid. That's it in a nutshell. But, much like film, this requires testing.
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-page?upnum=1628

--Bob
Maineiac LRK wrote:
I've been a serious amateur film photographer in all formats, mainly medium format, but also some 35mm and 4x5 view camera for fifty years and have tens of thousands of negs and transparencies in both B&W and color. Switched to digital a few years ago--shoot with Fuji X-Pro 1 and my camera phone. Have Epson V-700 scanner for digitizing film negs and transparencies. Epson 3800 Printer, NEC monitor with Spyder Pro 4 calibrator.

Software: Photoshop 7, Elements 9, Lightroom 4, Corel PhotoPro Ultimate, Corel Aftershot Pro.

Trying to learn the new language of digital in order to be able to use the software intuitively and effectively, and develop a workflow that works for me.

I really miss the hands-on darkroom work, devising chemical formulas, etc. Am making slow progress in digital color printing (B&W from scanned negs is going well). Problem: I find digital post-processing boring as hell, despite my general computer saavyness. So my learning curve is long because I just am not motivated to plow through the books and instruction manuals for the time it takes to really "get it." And I really resist Adobe's to force us to use the annual subscription to cloud-based software. For me, it would be a colossal waste of money, given the number of prints I do. So I'm stuck with the software above which resides on my computer.

I like the Corel PhotoPro pretty well, but Aftershot Pro (which in some ways I like better than Lightroom) doesn't recognize images scanned on my Epson V700 scanner. Corel says there's no cure for it--it's just a feature of their algorithms, not a bug that can be fixed.

So, encouragement, suggestions, kick-in-the-ass--whatever is welcome.
I've been a serious amateur film photographer in a... (show quote)

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Apr 17, 2019 08:02:32   #
machia Loc: NJ
 
Started in photography in 1972. SRT-101. Shot professionally over the years and for fun. I found Canon to be the easiest digital camera to learn. Great array of lenses too. Fabulous glass.

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Apr 17, 2019 08:41:26   #
photophly Loc: Old Bridge NJ
 
Welcome to the Hog

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Apr 17, 2019 10:04:51   #
Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas
 
Welcome to the Hog, enjoy.

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Apr 17, 2019 14:58:16   #
jack schade Loc: La Pine Oregon
 
Welcome to the forum.

Jack

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Apr 17, 2019 18:17:53   #
PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place
 
Welcome to UHH LRK, glad you joined us. I also started out in film a long time ago. Unlike you I enjoy fooling with my images in Lightroom 6, beats the old smell of the chemicals and the hassle I had to go thru to set up my dark room at night in the kitchen.
Have fun, learn and enjoy the forum.

Don

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Apr 18, 2019 02:34:30   #
Vince68 Loc: Wappingers Falls, NY
 
Welcome to UHH. Search youtube for tutorials on the software you have. There are quite a few tutorials on Youtube from various people. Anthony Morganti, Julieanne Kost, Jim Nix are a few, as well as others. You can watch the videos and follow along.

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Apr 18, 2019 17:26:09   #
jpgto Loc: North East Tennessee
 
Welcome, have fun, enjoy

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May 3, 2019 09:34:43   #
DickC Loc: NE Washington state
 
Belated Welcome to the forum!!! I'm a 6x7 guy, have two Pentax 6X7s, still love film!!

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