Grnway Loc: Manchester, NH

Hi obeone,
Very cool that you have the film gear and processing ability. You're spot-on with just constantly shooting with digital.

Here's a simple solution, and this is something that was suggested in a photography blog: Tape a piece of paper over the display, go out and concentrate on composition and minimal shots, as we all did in film days, and see what you have when you get home. No chimping.

Impressionist

I use film at least once a month to keep me thinking of the elements that go into a photograph.

No one can take or make the photographs you want better then you. The inspiration and execution remains yours. While the tools for making technically correct photographs are now almost fool proof, they have also made them boring. Be glad you care enough to go back to film. When you pick up your Canon you will feel better.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

You are probably not alone in your feelings. I have a smart phone and I am sometimes amazed at the images it captures. BUT, you need to find areas where the phone cannot venture. ie. long exposures to capture a brook, ocean around a pier, set your camera up above a really busy street at night and take that slow exposure of cars moving against a still street buildings. Get a flash that can be separated from your camera and experiment with using bounce flash techniques. I could mention more but now is the time to reinvent yourself into a hobby that you get a kick out of. Will all of your pictures come out, NO, but that's part of learning. Remember friend, when you are done learning, your dead.

Jcmarino

I think we all go through this once in a while. While cell phone photos are nice and fun to play with apps available, its a separate art form. Me, I think its just a phase. Processing aside, its still tough to "get it right in camera" even with digital. Get out there and shoot everyday, a challenge in itself. Shoot all B&W one day, all natural light, all speedlight, high speed sync, kids on the street, homeless, dogs, flowers, sunrise, sunsets, rain. The challenges are endless. Doesnt matter if its film or digital, what you lost is gumption, so go get it back!

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

There is no accounting for individual preferences. Some like film, others like button fly jeans. I don't care for either one.

I'm excited when I have a ton of images to process. That is part of the enjoyment for me.

Zazzy1 Loc: Northern Ca.

I went hiking with 2 friends the other day. it was a gorgeous day. I brought my Canon 70D one friend brought and used her point and shoot my other friend used her iPhone. Many of my photos turned out great my 2 friends only had a few turn out.

photosarah Loc: East Sussex, UK

I lost the thrill at the end of last year. I was already beginning to feel that I was tired of having to keep up with the latest gear (I don't mean buying it, just understanding where photography is going), learning more and more about Elements/Lightroom etc. which I found I needed to do to keep up with the competition standard at our local photography club and it was all taking up enormous amounts of time in order to gain minor improvements. Then a woman in the club produced a wonderful photo which won all the prizes going until, as Print Leader (in charge of all print comps in the club), I entered it into the East & West Sussex County-wide competition (22 clubs), whereupon she admitted that she had "cheated, and stolen a part of it off the internet" (her words). Composite photos are allowed in comps, as long as it is all your own work, but this wasn't. She said it was an "inadvertent error", which was about the only true thing she said, as she had not read the rules until after the photo was submitted to the County comp., and she was clearly afraid she would be caught out. However, it is plainly morally indefensible to steal someone else's work and pass it off as your own. Doesn't matter what the rules say, you just don't do that, it is NOT an "inadvertent error". But she made life very unpleasant in the club, because I withdrew our "winning entry". I didn't gossip about it, but when people asked why, I told them and she went round saying I was maligning her for an "inadvertent error". I decided that that was the final straw, photography wasn't fun any more. So come December, I sold my 5D Mk11, and all my 6 "L" lenses, tripods, bags and accessories and all I have left now is my Sony a6000, which I hardly ever take anywhere. And to tell you the truth, I feel much happier just able to look at wonderful scenes without feeling "I must take a photo of that". I still read UHH every day and vote in the competition, and am interested to see what you all are doing. But I have taken up face painting instead. I've had some training, I love being creative in a different format and I love the look on children's faces when they see what I have painted for them. It is very satisfying and far less stress.

Jim Bob

I can understand your frustration, especially since I come from a film background. I have thus far avoided your condition by taking a few steps. For example, I disabled the automatic image review function (back in film days you had to wait until you received the developed product); I purchased Corel Paintshop Pro instead of going to Photoshop (who wants to spend the rest of his/her life learning features you will never use); I pre-adjust certain camera settings and store them as custom picture styles (or controls) that can be easily called up (you can easily miss that once in a life time shot by fiddling with dials, controls and menus); I usually shoot JPEG which significantly reduces post-processing time without major image quality sacrifice (at least to my eyes after experimenting with and comparing to RAW/NEF); I ignore significant portions of information that passes for advice on this and other photo sites, especially from those posters who are clearly biased ("Never use a UV filter", "Always shoot RAW", "Only use lenses from the camera manufacturers" etc.). These (and other) steps help me concentrate on why I love photography now and why I loved it when I used film, even before auto focus film cameras were developed and no one worried or even knew about software, firmware updates and apertures were manually set by turning the ring on the lens. There was something reassuring about hearing it click into one of the detented notches. I am glad I learned how to use a darkroom back then. I would give nothing for those experiences. But I must tell you, the convenience and almost limitless potential of digital has made me realize that I would never want to go back. I love my vinyl record collection, but when the CD is mastered right, it blows those old black pieces of plastic out of the water. Good luck in your quest to find fulfillment in whatever pursuit you choose.

P.S. I also find some relief in calling idiots idiots.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Good luck!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Good idea. Aside fro eating up battery power, I find it distracting.

ssscomp

I have posted this before but why not shoot film with your 5D Mark III?

By that I mean when you shoot allow yourself two rolls of film, 36 shots each. Take 36 maximum black-and-white shots and 36 maximum color shots. No chimping allowed, turn off The back display and look at them when you get home. Pretend it was film:set one iso for each "roll" and leave it. Just use aperture and shutter speed as you would with a constant ISO (or ASA) roll of film. Shoot JPEG's and make only dodge and burn the adjustments like you would with basic film. See how your prints come out and you may put some of the fun back in. Worked for me.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

The Thrill is Gone*

I understand what you are saying and feeling, been there, done that as they say. But by now I still have all the equipment for film photography and printing but I rarely even think of using it, except for shooting Black & White film ( 35mm or 4x5" ). I know how to use my equipment well enough that I am nearly past the GAS stage and now concentrate on composition and trying to create art. I think I am now a much better digital photographer than I ever was years ago with all the magic of wet photography. The "chemistry" was fun partly because I am a science guy (biology & chemistry). The only thing I really miss about silver based photography is seeing the B&W print develop in a tray before me under safe-light lighting. I also miss making real silver B&W prints, though I am thinking of having professional commercial digital to silver prints done for a few new favorites. So for me it is all about learning to see better in the composition sense. The equipment is only what it is, tools. The procedure is not the object or end game (any more).

Force yourself to try doing something photographic that is new to you. Take a class or two. Try to duplicate a lighting or other effect you like in a photo by one of the masters. Note, I'll waste my time shooting peppers and yet never get a true "Weston".

*It is sad too that B.B. King is gone.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

The competitiveness at many photo clubs can be a toxic influence on the pleasure of taking photographs. I do enjoy the experience of being immersed in taking photographs, but it is hard not to have the thought of whether one's photo might win or not corrupt the enjoyment.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Because for many folks this just doesn't work. (myself included)

Pretending and actually not having the ability are two different things (to many folks myself included)

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

I feel exactly the opposite way! My Dad was a professional and I grew up with cameras and photography, the smell of developers and fixers and the sound of running water.
Not sure how old I was when Dad allowed me to use one of his cameras. With it I got a crash-course on aperture and exposure; Dad already had chosen the DIN number: 21 if I remember correctly, may have been 24.
I was so proud of those 12 photos I took, although 10 of them were so blurred you'd only recognize the people if you'd been there and known where everyone was located!

I've owned a number of different cameras: Agfa Silette, Ricoh (can't remember model), then Olympus digitals: D-600L, C-4000 Zoom, E-500, E-5 and now the OM-D E-M1. Every new camera brought it's challenges, with every new camera there was more to learn. With the E-M1 I wonder if I will ever get to know everything I can do with that little black box....

But after all these different cameras, the thrill of seeing a picture on the computer monitor, printed and used for a greeting card, used on a scrapbook page, etc., is still there!
I feel no competition from cell-phones, nor from professional photographers who wander around with their expensive equipment. The photos they take are not mine, let them be happy with theirs. The photos I take are completely mine, and I can sit back with one and think thoughts like:
Should be a bit brighter, wish I could have gone a bit closer, good think the kid didn't see me, next time lean against something instead of just stand there when pushing the shutter release.... etc.
I enjoy both my photography and PP. Because of physical limitations, I don't go out much in winter, so my favourite subjects now are the birds at the feeder.
Yes, the thrill is still there for me. And I hope it will be for a very long time to come!