I had the wonderful opportunity to watch an empowering movie a couple of nights ago - "Kodachrome" - about a father who has lost touch with his son and wants to reconnect with him as well as get some Kodachrome film developed; for the lab is the last lab standing that processes Kodachrome film; and it is about to close - lots of closures in this film.
I grew up and lived in the film era, where you had to be really present and focused on every aspect of the photographic image you were capturing, together with technical aspects of your camera so you could capture just the right image. Kodachrome slide film, as was true of other slide films, was very exacting - there was very little latitude for poor exposure; you'd just end up with a bad image that really couldn't be corrected with Photoshop because there wasn't such a thing.
There was a wonderful aspect to my time in film. Even though you became experienced at exposure and framing your shot, there was that wonderful anticipation when you picked your slides up at the lab to peruse your creations and also enjoy some surprises.
I love digital and I feel my film background actually has helped me to be a better photographer. Yet, I feel if there's one thing I could say about creating more vibrant and full textured images, it's to be present and conscious; really focus in on what you're trying to capture and ask why. What happens is that each image is truly a moment in time which captures that full memory of when it was taken and in a beautiful way!
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