I have been in photography in some way, shape or form since 1976 when my uncle taught me how to develop and print my first roll of film. I was in 7th grade at the time. Analog photography was the way of my schooling and profession up until the late 90's and early 2000. By 2001 my studio switched to digital capture and by 2003 we were 100% digital with our photography. Ten years have passed since I shot a roll or a sheet of film but in 2013 I have committed myself to analog photography once again, not in my commercial work but in my fine art work.
To shoot digital or analog is certainly a personal choice for all of those involved in photography today. What was my motivation to go old school again, back to my photographic roots? Personally, I have found over the last ten years that it became easier to be lazier with my photography. I can fix that in Photoshop was the mantra of choice instead of spending the time on set, lighting and composing for the capture. I have fallen in love all over again with the meticulous study through the viewfinder in composing the image. Film forces me to slow down and study the scene in all it's elements of creation. Composition, lighting, depth of field all have to be thought out prior to capture. Ultimately, are my images better than those I captured and created digitally? No. Do I believe that I see with a renewed sense of discipline for the craft of photography? Absolutely.
This statement is not a judgement for those who find personal enrichment and satisfaction creating images through digital capture and processing. It is my personal journey and rediscovery of what photography means to me as an artist. I am early in my exploration of this new/old process and I look forward to both the successes and the failures that will come with this visual journey.
So as 2013 unfolds in my photographic journal, revisit the blog to see, explore and comment on my visual journey.
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