Has Digital Photography Changed How We Shoot?

AKA How My (Has yours?) Photography Has Changed Over the Years…

I used to be enthusiastic about this query lately: has my images actually modified since I first picked up a digital camera? I’m not going to bore you with the basic “I borrowed my mother’s Pentax and finished the roll of film” story (That’s the way it occurred, thanks mum). Suffice to say, I began with movie and now I’m capturing digital and right here we’re.

Q. What about you? Has your images modified? Drop your ideas within the feedback—I’d like to know.

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My Early Film Photography

As a child and into my teenagers, I’d use no matter movie I might get my arms on, normally begging Mum for a roll. Photography was gradual, deliberate. Each shot counted as a result of a roll of 24 frames might take me weeks to get via. Mum taught me to be thought of within the photographs I made—to not shoot with out function.

Exposure? I barely understood it. I’d level the digital camera at no matter caught my eye, ensure that the little needle was close to the center, and hope for the very best. Even although my photographs have been principally garbage, the method of capturing, ready, after which growing was magical.

Later, I upgraded to a Nikon F90X. The course of was quicker, however I used to be nonetheless deliberate. I’d go to the native store on Bridge Rd in Richmond, chatting with the photographer, smelling the chemical compounds, and seeing prints come to life. A roll of movie nonetheless took weeks, however each body mattered.

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Enter Digital: The Mavica Era

When I acquired my first “corporate job,” digital cameras existed however have been out of my attain. My boss, Heidi, was a photographer with two lovely Leicas. Occasionally, she’d take photographs at lunch, and I tagged alongside as soon as as her (hilariously mismatched) mannequin.

Eventually, we bought a Sony Mavica FD92 at work. A digital digital camera! But tiny photos, floppy disks, and really restricted dynamic vary made each shot a problem. Yet, I left a piece Christmas social gathering with 50 small, flawed however very a lot actual digital photos.

Floppy disks, tiny photos—but nonetheless a thrill.

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The Transition: Film to Serious Digital

As digital tech improved, I discovered myself taking extra photographs and experimenting extra. I upgraded to a used Canon A5 with a CF card. Suddenly, area was not a difficulty—even when 64MB break the bank on the time. I used to be snapping away on journeys, figuring out that many of the frames could be garbage, however the course of was liberating.

From there, I moved via a sequence of Canon cameras: 30D, 50D, 5D, 5D Mark II, then Mark III. Each improve introduced extra flexibility, extra frames, and extra experimentation. Eventually, I settled into the Sony ecosystem with an a7R III. It’s nonetheless my important digital camera as we speak—sharp, dependable, and able to shoot.

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How My Photography Has Changed

Looking again, I realise that having extra frames, cheaper storage, and instantaneous suggestions modified how I shoot. I turned much less deliberate. The price of movie and restricted pictures used to drive me to decelerate, to suppose, to plan. Digital gave me freedom—however with it, slightly recklessness.

The love for images continues to be there, however the course of has shifted. Now, it’s “give me more frames!” as a substitute of “make every frame count.” And perhaps that’s not a nasty factor—it’s simply totally different.

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What About You?

Has your images developed the identical manner? Are you extra deliberate, or extra of a “snap everything” photographer? I’d love to listen to your ideas—drop a remark and let’s evaluate notes.