I never thought I’d see a day in photography where I’d go a week without shooting any film. Let alone a month, six months, a year…
But the last time I had a roll of film developed was early in 2017.
I never thought I’d see a day in photography where I wouldn’t be regularly using an SLR, either film or digital…
But I haven’t used a DSLR consistently in over a year, and a 35mm SLR in nearly two.
I never thought I’d see a day in photography where I wouldn’t have to spend ages trying to find a LightRoom preset or filter that made my digital photos as pleasing as the film ones…
But I gave up using LightRoom almost a year ago and have loved using first Hipstamatic, then Snapseed (with a typical 13 second processing time for b/w shots) ever since.
I never thought I’d see a day in photography where I wouldn’t need to carefully document the equipment used for each photograph made…
But for the whole of 2018 I’ve simply had a folder on my Mac’s HD for each month, and saved all photographs made that month inside it, regardless of the camera, film or processing used.
I never thought I’d see a day in photography where I wouldn’t be on eBay virtually every day, hunting out the next potentially perfect camera or lens…
But I haven’t bought a camera on eBay since July, and only five all year. In 2017 I bought 17 cameras and 47 lenses. I have no urge to now. I have everything I need.
All of these steps of evolution in my photography journey show that whilst the reason for travelling may remain much the same (I love wandering the countryside and exploring ancient churches hunting for beauty, capturing it, and sharing it with others), the vehicles I’ve hopped aboard along the way have changed with my requirements and needs (camera type, format, cost, size, convenience).
I’m still travelling along, but leaner, more simply, and more happily than ever.
What’s happened in your own photography journey that you never thought you’d see?
Please let us know in the comments below (and don’t forget to tick the “Notify me of new comments via email” box to follow the conversation).
Thanks for looking. Please share this post with others you feel will enjoy it too. If you’re interested, this is what I’m into right now.
35hunter 
This almost seems like an AA confession….My name is….and it has been 6 months since my last photo.
I struggle sometimes with my interests, but for now photography wins out. 🙂
Thanks for your thoughts Peggy. It was meant more the other way around, expressing my surprise at how I’ve evolved from phases that at the time felt like they were the best option. And perhaps were. I wonder what a rewrite of this post would look like a year from now?
None of it is about giving up photography, that remains a strong passion. It’s just about how the hobby has evolved, as my needs and preferences have evolved, the more I’ve learned about what the options are.
How has your photography evolved in the last year or two?
I think I have grown less fond of getting new equipment and more into the actual images. More, looking for the smaller details or contrast. I look at other photographer’s images more rather than being isolated.
Yes I think we can only try so many cameras and lenses before we realise how similar so many of them are!
Interesting what you say about looking at other people’s images. It’s helped me realise that a couple of years ago I would look at another photographer’s image and immediately look for details about which camera/lens/film etc was used. Thinking,
I suppose, that if I had the same, I could get similar results.
These days I’m really only interested in the final image, regardless of equipment. Again we realise in time that the photographer is far more important than the gear used.
My two activities that occupy most of my recreational time is canoe paddling and photography. For paddling I’ve been contemplating a change in canoe clubs for some time. I’ve been with my original crew for 5 years now and while I like most of my fellow paddlers it is a small club so I’m feeling the pangs to join one that’s larger.
Regarding photography I recently took an inventory of my collection and some 50+ items were bought in 2017 and maybe half that number in 2018. I’m slowly developing the urge to not purchase more cameras, lenses and various accessories. I still browse shopping sites but don’t have the urge to buy something that catches my eye. I’m also beginning to use one system exclusively, Nikon, just because of personal preference. This development has made me start to sell off the cameras I do not want.
Looking forward to 2019 with a new venue for paddling and more space on my camera shelf and more money in my pocket.
Dion, thanks for your input here.
Do you think you have all the cameras you need now? Which do you intend to keep?
Your camera and canoe combo sounds similar to me with cameras and bikes. Except for the clubs part, I’m strictly solo!
I’m partial to the Nikon F2, F4 and F100. I like autofocus, am content to have one all mechanical manual focus body, their heft feels good to me, and I’ve had some great image captures despite my weak skills. Of course I own an assortment of Canons, Minoltas, Olympus, Pentax, etc … I’ve begun the process of selling those cameras after my buying and testing free for all.
I just bought 15 rolls of black and white film in 120 format, something I never thought I would ever do! I used to shy away from black and white, shooting it very rarely, as I struggled to see in monochrome. However, after my month of film, I understand it more now, and it’s given me the urge to use it more.
Another thing is that over the past year I’ve become committed to the idea of being a flower photographer. I always felt as though I should broaden my horizons and shoot more of other things e.g. street photography, but I feel most comfortable out in nature, and have decided to embrace that, instead of trying to force myself into that dress that wasn’t made for me.
Funnily enough, when I mentioned my recent b&w film purchases on twitter, I was asked if I was going to switch to photographing other subjects that suited b&w more (compared to flowers)… well, I actually think flowers and monochrome go extremely well together, and I will be spending 2019 proving this to anyone out there who has doubts! 🙂
I love b/w, as you know. Took me a while to get into though.
I cheated somewhat in learning to see in b/w, essentially by shooting my Nion Coolpix on high contrast mono mode so I could see the end result on screen. I made around 1000 photos a month for seven months, using nothing else. Helped me hugely.
I think with flowers, many people assume the highlight is the colours. Which of course can be beautiful, but a close up of a flower’s petals draped in dew, for example, can be breathtaking in b/w.
So I agree with you that b/w and nature go very well together!