> The medium makes no difference, it is the images that count. NOBODY can
> convince me that 35mm film can deliver results on par with a good digital
> camera these days. Medium format, maybe, but only if you have access to the
> highest quality scanning. I will admit to dabbling in 6x9 now and again, but
> I do not delude myself--the results from my M8 are superior most of the
> time, the film is just for fun.
Nathan, I do not disagree with you at all. Technically speaking, film
stinks. From an objective perspective, comparing all the facts and
figures, you are totally correct--digital is better in EVERY regard.
Well, almost every, but for the most part, it is.
As a rational being, I should be able to dispense with the film, move
on, and be happy as a lark.
Sadly, I'm not very rational.
Nor am I so evolved as a photographer that I can visualize and shoot
in-camera B&W photographs with digital which are overly satisfying.
Some people are. Honestly, most aren't--even those who think that they
have arrived. What people call good digital B&W looks like so much
garbage to me. Technically, the image may be "perfect", but the whole
look is off. The things that bother me about my own work I do tend to
see in others', so maybe I'm just being hypercritical.
I have my own mental battles. I'm a simpleton when it comes to
visualization. Once in a while I can nail it, but most of the time I
suck pretty bad at it. When presented with Color and B&W options
in-camera with digital, I end up compromising the shot so that I try
to make it work either way. This is nonsense, of course. You shoot
them totally differently if you want either one to be successful. I'm
not talking about exposure control. I'm talking about subject
selection, composition, lighting and framing. When shooting color, the
subject can be color wheras with B&W the subject is rarely color. Yet
with shooting B&W the subject can be the lighting and form whereas
with Color the subject is rarely lighting and form.
So, by shooting a monochrome film I force myself into a mode of
thinking and visualization where things click for me.
Furthermore, I tend to lean on technology a bit. I lean on the OM's
supurb viewfinder. I lean on the OM's amazing multispot metering. I
lean on the tactile controls which allow me to adjust by muscle-memory
without ever looking at any readouts.
So, yes, I'm pretty limited. I need B&W film to force me into a way of
thinking and shooting. Unlike the masses of photographers, I haven't
"arrived". I'm still pretty pathetic in this regard. So I use
technology to force my hand.
Whatever works for you is great for you, but it isn't so with me. I
need the crutches.
AG
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