In the modern day, it is common to disregard old techniques of utilization and replace them with a more modernized invention. One of those inventions was the digital camera. The digital camera, allowing users the freedom to shoot an unlimited amount of photographs without having to worry about the financial costs of wasting film, or having to develop numerous slide of photographs, has deterred camera users away from the mechanical usage of film photography cameras. I personally care much about this topic since I am a professional and hobbyist photographer, in which I have experimented with both tools to experience both their costs and their benefits.
There is a continuous ongoing discussion as to whether film photography should even stay relevant in the modern world, given the new technology. There is a large following of people as advocates on either side, where one believe the nostalgia and hands-on approach that compliments film photography has been lost through unconscious snapshotting through a digital viewfinder. The digital argument is that it is a less expensive approach in the long run to switch to digital and be able to experiment with a variety of topics without having to worry about wasting film or money.
Fstoppers is a community of photographers, both amateur and professional, that is curated by a select few professional photographers who have excelled in the industry of their craft. They supply their audience with information as to the best gear, methods, and problem solving to photographic situations. In this article “You’re Making a Mistake if You’re Not Telling Your Friends to Start With Film,” it states that it would be easier to start as a film photographer since you can focus more on the form of a photograph, while the processing does the color work for you. Many people would disagree with their approach, considering the costs of paying for scans, processing, and the film itself, but there are others who take on a more neutral approach to the advantages and disadvantages of both sides.
The Darkroom, an award-winning film processing lab located in San Clemente, California, has listed the objective information concerning both mediums. In their article, “Film vs Digital,” it goes over how film can help novices in many ways given its advantages, with one being for example, “Film is more forgiving of minor focusing issues and exposure problems.” This may not be seen as a significant matter, but when digital lenses are often so delicate, a small drop can mess up the focus of the camera lens, leaving you to either resorting to manual mode, or not being able to see the photo is focus at all until it is on your LCD screen. Given that notion, a huge advantage comes to the digital aspect, when you are given unlimited use of storage, only limited by the amount of space given by your selected SD card. This offers the opportunity to take as many different angles of one subject, or being able to spend all day at a location in hopes of achieving success through your imagery, given that natural light changes about every 15 seconds, especially during sunset.
