This is a #GringoWithAGreenBag Foto Friday “Film” edition ladies and gents! Ahhhh yes, the nostalgia I get when I remember the days of shooting 35mm Kodak ELITE Chrome 100 with my sexy silver Nikon N50…the beauty and eye-popping color of slide film…waiting anxiously for several days while the lab processed the images…having an entire album of physical prints from every trip or special occasion…and paying $300 for image developing after shooting 35+ rolls on a 2-week vacation (in addition to purchasing the film itself)! That was the turning point right there folks. I would soon enter the “Digital Age” with the purchase of a Nikon D70 and film would inevitably become an honored and beloved art form of the past. (The N50 has since been retired and is now living a life of luxury on my closet shelf.) But while it was in it’s prime, my N50 camera was an international stud! It served as my portal to the world of travel photography, helped to open my eyes to countless unfamiliarities and was the most loyal travel companion one could ever ask for. (Sniff, sniff.) That baby earned it’s badge as my #1 deputy ambassador in the field, with flying colors.
(Me and my N50 at Iguazu Falls, Brazil)
The difference between film and digital is more about economics than image quality (some actually prefer the quality of film). Those of us on a budget had to be economical with our shutter releases. It forced us to get the shot right with a lot less takes, something that nurtured patience and critical attention to composition and detail…qualities that are imperative to any photographer. The economics of digital photography don’t dictate the # of shots people take. The days of thinking about “.20¢ per click” are long gone. The tradeoff is having to spend an incredible # of hours in front of a computer to edit and process our digital images. If you adhere to the ideal of “time is money”, then digital is not really saving you much. But is sure does make our lives easier (especially to a generation of fiends for instant gratification). The irony of it all is that the only way my old film shots ever get viewed nowadays is in digital form (having spent countless hours with a scanner and a dust brush). I’m just glad I can still easily share them with the modern world without having to carry around a bunch of old portfolio binders and coffee-stained albums with the title “Damian’s European Adventures”. I’m also very grateful to have learned the art of photography in the age of film. Though it often depleted my perennially slim wallet at the time, it really helped to make me the best photographer that I can be, and for that I say “Long Live Film”!
Here’s a few images that I dug out from the archives, shot on film and scanned to digital. I hope you have enjoyed this Gringo With A Green Bag “turn back the clock” moment. 🙂
(Oahu, Hawaii)
(Sevilla, Spain)
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
(Puerto Nuevo, Mexico)
(Sevilla, Spain)
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
(California, U.S.A.)
Gringo With A Green Bag 