My Last Digital Images Before I Drive Across the USA

lightenup (60)in #photography • 6 years ago

I am ditching my digital and going 100% analog. Why might you ask? I have been uninspired by digital for a long time; why I haven't switched over is fear. The fear of something new. The fear of not being able to see what the hell I'm shooting after the take.

But here's the deal...those in the analog know, know that analog is king for some many reasons. It's not only a feel thing when you look at an image, it's like a deeper love. When you have that connection with someone special, you just fucking know and it feels so fucking good.

These images are uninspiring. Taken on the fly this morning. Digital is rushed. Digital crushes the spirit. Sure there's detail and it's sharp. But there's something special when you shoot film, it's about choosing your color palate and making decisions based the images lurking in the back of your mind. Digital doesn't give you that latitude, it's just "what you see is what you get."

I walked around downtown LA this morning hoping to grab some worthy images. But the truth is, I was just shooting and not thinking about it. Digital makes art lazy. "I'll fix it later in Photoshop" is the attitude. Lazy uninspiring images is the result when I shoot digital. Don't get me wrong, there are some mother fuckers that rock the digital world; I ain't one of those hard working fools who take digital to a whole other level. I want to make art, and that world in my heart is film.

I am about to embark on a 10 day trip across country and I'm going to shoot 6 rolls of film: a box of Kodak Portra 400 and one roll of Portra 160. I want consistency because I'm hoping it will be epic. Who the hell knows if I have it in my after looking at the images in between these lines.

I'll be armed with a Mamiya 645 with a 45mm, 80mm and 150mm. I plan on stopping to grab shots when my eye catches something. Six rolls at about 15 shots a roll...that's what I plan.

Re-visit me in a few weeks when the project is complete. And give me some fucking crypto to support the effort! Film, developing and scanning ain't cheap. $25 a roll to scan and process. $7 a roll.