2013 has been an amazing year for my photography. I’ve shot
with and written blog posts about a dozen different cameras and almost as many
different kinds of film. I’ve been introduced to the world of 110 film format,
delved further into medium format with both 120 and 620 film and continued my
exploration of 35mm with new cameras as well as some new film stocks.
That’s the good news. While it has been exciting there is a
down side to all this too.
First of all I have found myself occasionally confused and
struggling with trying to figure out how to make these new cameras do what I
want them to do. There is something to be said for using the same camera for
years until it becomes an extension of yourself that you never have to really
think about because you (and it by extension) just automatically do what needs
to be done to capture the picture you want to capture. There is absolutely a learning curve
associated with each new camera or even film and all the experimenting is fun
but not really conducive to producing excellent photographs. Plus, you tend to
keep shooting the same compositions over and over for the sake of comparison.
For 2014 I want to get back to basics a bit. I want to
settle down and shoot just a couple cameras and focus on producing better
pictures. I also want to get my own scanner so I can take the “keepers” and
produce some high resolution scans for printing and make some prints. I used to
actually get prints and fill up photo albums but abandoned that when I became
infected with “digitalis.” I am not talking about the plant. I am talking about the disease that inflicts
those infatuated with digital photography and makes them believe that prints
are no longer relevant.
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