Back To Analog

I have somewhat of a collection of old cameras. My oldest is probably 70 to 80 years old. Many of these use 120 roll film which is not as hard to purchase as it is to get developed. At least locally. A good number of my collection use 35mm film which most except the youngest of us is familiar with. The good thing about 35mm is that although it has all but been taken over by digital it is still easily purchased and I can have it developed locally. In fact I still know a place that does it within one hour.

In my very first post I shared examples from my 1965 Zeiss Ikon Contessa LBE. It was built in Germany and I am not lying when I say you can feel how well built this camera is. Today however I am going to travel to Japan (metaphorically) and share some photos shot with my 1979 Minolta XG-SE.

Though not so much like the older German camera the newer Minolta has a good sturdy feel in my hands. The controls are logically placed and most important they all work. All I needed to do was replace two batteries and load the film and I was ready to go. Here are some photos I shot with this camera.

Rhododendron from our front yard

Pears on our Pear Tree

"Barn" shed in My Sister's Yard

Forklift in Warehouse

All of these were shot at 45mm using Fujifilm 400 ISO film. The same film that I used in my first experiment. One thing I noticed is that in my opinion these are not as sharp as the Zeiss. I don't know if it is the lens, the camera settings or the operator (me). Though technically the shots came out okay there is just something not right. 

Aside from the quality there is something I took notice to when shooting this roll of film. I seem to put a lot more thought into each frame than I do when shooting digital. I am not saying the results are better. I guess what I am saying is that when each frame costs money I and going to be more careful. This is not intentional either. It just kind of happens.

As fun as these experiments are (or maybe nostalgic?) I have really come to appreciate digital photography. Ten or so years ago I would never have said this. Digital is forgiving. When I frame a shot it is easy and practically free to take several shots just to make sure I get it right. I can easily bracket my shots to make sure the exposure is correct. It's just easier.

On the other hand learning photography with film taught me to be careful and put a lot of thought into each frame. For the most part what I shot is what I got. There was no Photoshop or any similar editing tools. There  was no "digital darkroom". If you get a chance take a careful look at the style of photography from the 70's or 80's or even earlier and compare it to modern photography. There really is a difference. This not necessarily bad thing either.

As I wrap this up I would like to ask for your opinions. Do you think digital has improved photography or do you long for the good old days of film? Do you shoot both?

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...