Shooting Film

I love my SLR.

I love the click of the mirror moving out of the way, the sound of the shutter and the film advancing. I love the way the lens focuses. I like the feel of the camera; it makes me feel like I know what I’m doing, even when I don’t. I’ve always found the settings a bit of a mystery, but my photography class is making their uses clear and I like the control they offer (er, the promise of control they offer – I’d have to know what I was doing to gain any control from them!) So the question poses itself – why don’t I shoot more with the SLR and less with the digital point and shoot?

There are some obvious reasons for choosing the Digital Elph.  It fits in my pocket, and I get the instant gratification of seeing the picture.  I don’t have to worry about how many pictures I take, or about getting them developed and printed.  And if they don’t come out perfect I’m not stuck with them.  But the biggest reason for me to stick with digital has been that I can’t get the pictures up on Flickr.  Yes, Flickr.  That’s what’s been holding me back.  I know you can get a CD made, but I’ve always been a bit suspcious of the quality, so I’ve avoided it.  Well, the light has shined on me.  It seems that all I need to do is to get a negative scanner.  And they’re relatively cheap.  Genius!  Now all I’m wondering is – why did it take me so long to figure this out??  I already own a great camera.  Why not use it?

So I think I might have to go pick up a few more rolls of film.  And maybe a 50mm f/1.8 lens.  And we’ll see where that takes me.