analogue
A musings Production
Why Analogue in 2019? It seems like a backwards step, right? A step into film when camera manufacturers are making products so technically perfect that getting a keeper is easier than ever! And that is the point, I originally moved away from film in 2005 because digital was easier and more convenient... but is it too much so? I felt at the end of 2018 that it was all getting too easy, that whatever skills I have were being eroded to a point where trying wasn't all that necessary.... basically I felt less like a photographer and more like a camera operator, this didn't sit well with me. Now don't get me wrong here I'm not criticising digital photography, I still own 3 myself, but the ones I own are old and create a 'look', in some cases 10 years old, in technology terms you'd be calling them grandpa by now. In January 2019 I put down my Sony A7ii and never used it again, I bought some film cameras (who knew it was addictive?), bought some film and am loving the transition. Nearly a year on I feel like my skills are sharper, film is a different mindset... Different in the way that you look harder at a shot to decide if it's worth it, because film costs money, unlike digital in which a scattergun approach can be employed and the laws of averages says you'll get something from it, with film I have 36 shots on 35mm and between 8 and 12 depending on Medium Format size. Another by-product is slowing down, you can't 'chimp' (the process of continually looking at the back screen to see if you've produced something worthwhile) so the feeling is more aimed at the process rather than the outcome and this in itself is a very 'zen' and meditative process, a process that is also much more accepting that digital, an acceptance of flaws, scratches, dust ... life isn't perfect, why should a photograph be? The perfect imperfections are what I needed to embrace and I feel I have, and will continue to do so. In this book you will find a selection of images from this year, I hope you enjoy them and to see more please visit my website at www.redstagphotography.com