I love taking photographs and since 2004 I have had the opportunity to own a Kodak Easyshare camera. Now I know this camera is starting to get old, but it has done a great job at capturing the important images within my families life. Prior to this, I used a Minolta 35mm camera that was a hand-me-down from my mother (A very nice hand-me-down).
Prior to 2004 my 35mm was wonderful and produced great pictures! I was however staring to have some problems with the shutter speed and getting some light seepage that was a bit frustrating. Around November 2003, J-Mom and I decided to get a new digital camera prior to the birth of Diva-J. We also were very excited about the idea of immediate gratification, seeing the pictures, being able to delete pictures immediately and re-shoot, etc.
The camera definitely lived up to its reputation, and as I said before I have been able to get some greast picture over the years.
Saying this though I return to the crux of the question I am posing today. Is digital photography helping or hindering our society?
I can say that I love the ability to tinker and fix and know what I am taking. But the quality of a 35mm is stellar….and there is still something to the anticipation of what you will get with this type of a camera and the roll of film that you are turning in. I can honestly say that I always love the wait that I have and the suspense of seeing what my eye and camera captured with my newer Canon 35mm camera that J-Mom and her parents got for me back in 2006.
Does digital picture taking cheapen the moment? I think not. Now, I will put a caveat on that in saying that I do think that it has become so easy to make an image something that it is not…making the perfect image when the original is far from it. This makes me think of the whole concept of airbrushing pictures for magazines and how reality really isn’t reality.
I am not saying that I am a purist as some are…. I do not shun digital technology. By the contrary, I find myself using my digital camera more than my 35mm…but the sad thing…I barely print off the pictures I take. I do keep them on the computer, but I fail to print them as I would with my 35mm pictures. This is one of the things I miss with digital photography…you are not forced to get pictures you have to throw out or cringe at. Instead you can pick and choose the best ones, you get to digitally enhance those that you do want making the perfect moment even better…. and you get to save money because you are only printing the pictures you want.
One final thing that comes to mind is the fact that recently Polaroid released information that they would no longer be making Polaroid Instamatic cameras…this too is a creature of a bygone age. I mean I always loved having to shake the heck out of those pictures to see what kind of image I (or whoever else was taking the photograph) had received…oh well…I guess the technology revolution continues.
So I now turn this over to you, please fill the Maniverse with your thoughts…
Good day from the Divadom….