Hi Just to get my two cents in.
I shoot both digital and film, digital camera since May of 2005, digital film scanning since the advent of the 1st Minolta Dimage Scan. Digital saved my interest in photography. It allowed me to share my images with friends and with those whom I admire. Shooting with either digital or film, especially with my lack of technical discipline, really hasn't been much different, although RAW, does have some advantages and safeguards over even the most flexible film. Working on the final print, is really where one or the other method comes into play. There is nothing more magical- and I've done this off and on since I was a child, than seeing an image appear in a developer tray. For me that is the raison d'etre for darkroom. Also there is some pleasure in knowing that with one's hands and other self devised tools, one literally blindly paints an image on blank paper with light. But working with RAW, working in PhotoShop, having some knowledge of graphics, and applying the same is also a very satisfying creative experience. And please note that I treat my neg/RAW image the same as I would in a darkroom, getting the best possible image on the screen and trying to get the best image from my inkjet - akin to the various chemical functions one uses in the darkroom. There is nothing more boring and fatiguing than the final steps of washing one's prints and the final cleaning of the darkroom after an all night session of printing. Am I ever glad I don't have to ever have to do that again. But My head is filled with bumps from falling into a catatonic stupor while waiting for a film to scan. As for the telegraph lines or the tree that mars an otherwise perfect print, well it can and has been eradicated in both the traditional and digital always by craftspeople with way more talent than me. A friend says that digital allows him to capture the moment. He shoots 300 + odd images at a family event. I shoot concerts using about 2 to 3 rolls of film and more recently with digital, and it seems I still average about 90 odd frames. The only advantage is that I don't have to change b&w to colour when I'm using digital. For me there seems little difference other than film still allows me a little more flexibility in extremely adverse conditions - and note that I've never been a chrome shooter. herb
