Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“Once she stopped rushing through life, she was amazed how much more life she had time for.” ― Unknown
Once while I was traveling in Mexico with a well-known travel writer he told me, “I’ve never seen anybody shoot as many pictures as you.” I’m somewhat embarrassed, to admit that the advent of digital photography turned me first into a “shoot and scoot” photographer and then into a “spray and pray” shooter. But no more.
One of the interesting side effects that I’ve noticed about my recent interest in shooting film is that it has slowed down my photography. This method of working has, for some reason, transferred to when I’m shooting with a digital camera! Now I try to take time to not only smell the roses but to photograph them as well.
When shooting with a film-based SLR or rangefinder cameras I have to manually advance the film. My new (made in 1986) Contax 167MT has a built-in motor drive along with the optional P-5 battery pack that holds four AA batteries. But I still have to manually focus the lenses and sometimes take the time to use the built-in meter or even a handheld meter to determine exposure. Then and only then will I make an exposure. Whew! But there seems to me that there are some advantages to shooting slower:
Here are a Few Advantages
You’ll catch surprises lurking in the background of a photograph, such as people walking into your shot. This is especially true for car show photography, where just the tiniest bit of patience will produce photographs that have cleaner, better backgrounds.
Better composition: I think that taking even a few more micro seconds before clicking the shutter will produce better images—the first time—without having to resort to Photoshop cloning and retouching. As the late Leon Kennamer once told me long ago, “get it on the negative. This approach to your photography can result in fewer but better images.
Better Expressions in portraiture. As the cliché goes…”wait for it” then click the shutter.
I’ve been getting lots of question about my recent involvement with film photography even though not all of my experiences have been what you might call great. But it has been a learning, or as I told Mary, a re-learning experience that I think has and will continue to improve my photography no matter whether I’m shooting film or digital.
If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to treat Joe to a cup of Earl Grey tea ($3.50,) click here. And if you do, many thanks.