On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 4:16 PM, Ken Norton<ken@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I've been in hog-heaven shooting Fujichromes again, but I discovered an old
> curse that has reared its ugly head again.
>
> The Gotcha of the Great!
>
> A good 'chrome, such as Velvia or Kodachrome is expensive to shoot. The
> per-shot cost is very high, and when combined with larger-formats, is
> difficult to justify. This was true before, and it's even more true today
> in the world overrun by digital.
>
> This is only one side of the equation, though. The reason to shoot Velvia
> or other high-quality 'chrome is for the quality of the images it results
> in. You know, for example, how well Velvia enhances colors during the
> "golden hours"--it takes what is beautiful and extends it into another
> dimension.
>
> But this comes at a price--not just monetory, but psychological. You end up
> not shooting pictures because you are constantly asking yourself: "Is this
> Velvia-worthy?" Because of this questioning, you end up NOT taking the
> picture because you know in your heart that the picture just isn't good
> enough to commit to a film of this quality. As a result, you miss many
> photographic opportunities through this "pre-edit" process.
>
> A massive advantage of digital over great film is that you are more likely
> to take pictures of things that you'd never commit a frame of expensive film
> to. Granted, nearly all of these pictures are "tossers", but once in a while
> one of these "also-ran" photographs is a winner.
>
> The key to survival in the film world is to be willing to waste photographs
> on experimental or secondary pictures. If you can't get beyond the "Gotcha
> of the Great", then it may pay to have a second camera loaded with low-cost
> film or even a digital camera. Save the expensive film for the "I'm making
> a statement with this photograph". This way, by using dual cameras you won't
> miss out on the low hanging fruit while you reach for the highest apple.
Ken,
It tickles me that you're having such a great experience rediscovering
the things you already knew, and in a fashion that gives exhilaration
to your photography. I am experiencing many of the same things as I
work with my remaining Kodachrome.
The notion of missing some opportunities through the pre-edit process
is dead on for me. And when I pick up the digital camera in some of
those instances, it's hard to get back to the film camera again right
away. Getting some balance is going to be my goal.
Joel W.
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