I'm an "old-school" photographer,refer to myself as a "reformed" photojournalist. Film was my medium, with experience as an internationally published shooter. I hope to be able to contribute to this forum constructively.

Welcome Doc and congratulations for being the first new member to post in this new forum! Your prize is in the mail!

Just curious, do you (or did you ) even do your own film processing at home (for your personal stuff apart from work). In other words, did you ever have your own at-home darkroom?

From the age of 13 I was processing my own. First in a closet with a Kodak tank and the kitchen sink. By age 16 a part of our garage was dedicated to a darkroom. A 5'x12' area built to be a darkroom. Made a sink with concrete, running water and a "Versatile" enlarger. Did B&W and Ektachrome processing. Would get Tri-X, Pan-X and Ektachrome in 100' rolls, did all in that room.

Do you shoot film still? There are 4 people on my block I know of that do (not me though).

Nahhh.

My days as a photojournalist are over. I can't justify the expense of replacing all the film gear to come into the 21st century.

And my cynical side sees "modern" photojournalism as a possible cheat.

"Is it talent, or a truckload of kick-ass software."

AP and UPI have been scammed by just that issue. It has consequences my personal moral paradigm has real problems with.

I was thinking more along the lines of fun, not a gig. Keep shooting the celluloid, or worst case, I'm sure you can get a body for your existing lenses. That's what I've done. I still get that old school feeling without worrying about chemicals going bad (been down that road).

The Nikon Df body is still out of (cost) range for me. I'll get one or two eventually but I've segue'd into I.T. support for local businesses as an income gig.

Friends are still in the trade, but they're scrambling for their living. Every man and his dog has a camera (sorta) on them in the form of a cell 'phone. So pros have become "excess to requirement" in a lot of cases. Can't replace training and experience but it seems that is secondary to the plethora of images from cell 'phone cameras at events. And we need not get into the "Social Media" phenom.

I'm talking about doing it for the personal enjoyment. Last Wednesday I went down to the Marina. The last external tank for the space shuttle came in by barge from Louisiana. I just wanted to photograph it because it will never happen again. No plans to sell the photographs, just for me.

When the wife and I went to Tent Rocks Monument yesterday, we saw about an equal number of people shooting with smart phones versus actually cameras. I was doing both. I had my 6D in tow and was taking pictures abut every 10 feet! But then every once in a while, I'd pull out the Cell Phone and snap a few with that just so I could text them to friends and family. But no way could I get the same quality of photograph with a cell phone as I did with my DSLR. A tiny microscopic sensor with a 1/4 diameter piece of glass isn't going to produce the same quality of photograph as a full frame sensor with Canon L series optics. Not that iPhone photos are bad - they are good for what they are, but just not the same thing.

Most peeps use their 'phones to make images to put out onto social media. Not many care about "photography" as either craft or artform. It's all "selfies" or pix of what they've had for lunch. feh.



I'm glad there are those who would find enjoyment in the process but for me, 'the thrill is gone.' It was certainly fascinating but always a means to an end: produce a quality image, for an income.