I just realised it's my 1st anniversary with the DS this weekend. So rather than that flippant comment on digital camera use I gave a few days ago, I might make some considered comments. :)
Up until last year, I had been using digital for work regularly but hadn't felt the need to buy one myself (except for the cute Optio, which isn't really for serious stuff). But a "career move" meant some large amount of dollars came my way, so naturally the first bit of retail therapy was to buy the DS. I had wanted a D, but they seemed to be in short supply, and the shop matched the best price I had seen online.
Not a moment too soon, either. This past year has seen the quality of film processing plummet, and the number of processors go the same direction. Favourite films have either disappeared or been harder to buy. I know I am going to miss Agfa Portrait, Royal Gold, and even the crusty Konica 3200.
The advantages of digital do not need repeating here. Of course the economy of digital is undeniable - the DS has well and truly paid for itself in up front costs, and the unaccounted tedious time in scanning and spotting. But that is minor. One important facet that hasn't been talked about that much is digital has made me love photography much more in general, no matter what the medium. In fact it has made me appreciate film even more.
In Lou Reed's interview, he remarks that photography is as much of a collaboration as music is, for him. His printer and the people who recommend cameras and lenses to him are his collaborators. That may be. But for me, digital has meant that if I choose, I can have a much more direct relationship with the final image than film could ever allow. I am not reliant on the chemists in Leverkusen or Rochester, or the lab techs in North Sydney. If the end result is sludge, then that is my poor exposure or photoshop technique. It ironically made me appreciate what a good lab tech can do. And more importantly, what a good image really is or can be.
So whether I have the DS in one hand, beer in another, or I haul out the tripod and hoist the 6x7 with the 300mm onto the head, sitting in near darkness on a cliff face, taking a photo has a depth of satisfaction that I don't think I truly had experienced before. Why? Because the possibilities are even more endless than they were a year ago. For that, I thank you, DS.
D -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.iinet.net.au/~derbyc
