Does anyone still use a 35mm film camera?

[onthebottom]

Hey OTB;

That is a start. Concentrate on the quality, the composition and all the stuff that makes a good photo. That is the important thing. But, you have to admit that, without the effort of looking at your work and to see what works and doesn't work for you, no number of shots will give you what you want in an image. Once you get to a sufficient degree of proficiency, you will settle only for quality over quantity. What will be the use of taking all those shots when you can enjoy your son playing soccer instead of taking all those photos and then having to spend time to review all of them for a good shot?

This is spot on.

What I've noticed is that as I work with the photos after I've taken them I see what I like and I what I don't, then the next time out I'm more selective about what I shoot and how I compose it. I take a lot of sports pics of kids - like all obnoxious parents - and there quantity helps me because the action is so fast (soccer / basketball) and lighting so challenging that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

I've recently upgraded cameras (D3s) and the predictive matrix focusing really rocks for sports - the focus tracks a player and predicts where the player will be when the shutter releases.... I took a picture of my son playing indoor soccer and he's in the air, heading the ball and you can read the UPC code on the ball....... tack sharp - that's good focusing by the camera and good optics from the lens.... and I must say not bad composition.

I've yet to fully make the move from recording archives of my life to what I'd call art.... but I'm starting the journey....

In the end you're right, the technology is less important, like all technology it's just a tool.

OTB

 

[onthebottom]

Why not? You want to look at your prints from time to time, don't you? What is the use of taking puictures if you don't print them, at least the good ones? Photography without prints is lame and useless, like sex with your hand when you have a willing partner to do it with. I have also found that prints are of much higher quality than the images that you see on even the best of computer screens.

I make photo albums out of mine from Apple - professionally printed hard bound books.... I have one for every summer vacation we've taken at my mothers house for a decade (one book per year) she loves them. I also make movies out of them and burn them to DVDs (for example my son's soccer team party - made a movie of team photos)..... and yes, I print them out and hang them on the wall....

OTB

 

[shakenbake]

I make photo albums out of mine from Apple - professionally printed hard bound books.... I have one for every summer vacation we've taken at my mothers house for a decade (one book per year) she loves them. I also make movies out of them and burn them to DVDs (for example my son's soccer team party - made a movie of team photos)..... and yes, I print them out and hang them on the wall....

OTB

The best of all worlds, then. But, a still image that is printed offers the best resolution and viewing pleasure for that special image, no? I assume that the Apple hard bound books have high resolution.

 

[Rockslinger]

I have also found that prints are of much higher quality than the images that you see on even the best of computer screens.

That is an insteresting statement (see quote above). Does anybody else besides OTB have any views on the best way to view digital photos?

I often come home after a day of shooting with around 100 digital photos and I almost never do prints.

 

[alexmst]

That is an insteresting statement (see quote above). Does anybody else besides OTB have any views on the best way to view digital photos?

I often come home after a day of shooting with around 100 digital photos and I almost never do prints.

When I do a nude shoot I might shoot over 1,000 digital images. Transfer to computer is first step, then I spend an hour or so flipping through then and jotting down the ones I like best, say 50 images. I then create a seperate file and transfer those 50 to the new file. Another day when my eyes are fresh I look at the new file of 50 and refine it further. Select only the best, and the rest I move back to the first file. So now the second file has about 20 images in it. I then use photoshop to fine tune the 20 images, a colour adjustment here, crop there, etc. Once that is done I send the 20 prints to a pro lab (the three another poster mentioned above are all good) and ask for proofs. When I get the proofs (say 4x6 prints, though they can be any size) I look at how the pic looks on paper. Perhaps I adjust more,and some pics don't look their best on paper. The best ones I order enlargements of - maybe 5 to 10 prints as 8x10" prints to put in albums, or 1 or 2 for 16x20 or 20x30 display prints to hang on a wall framed.

I might go the hardbound book route, but the quality isn't as good as prints on photo paper. Still, for a vacation memory book, those professionally printed hardbound books are nice. Many pro labs offer these. A nice high quality album made of rich Corinthian leather (LOL - leather anyway) from a high end store is a nice resting place for 8x10 prints.

 

[shakenbake]

That is an insteresting statement (see quote above). Does anybody else besides OTB have any views on the best way to view digital photos?

I often come home after a day of shooting with around 100 digital photos and I almost never do prints.

Let me clarify one thing. I believe that I mentioned only the best images would be selected for printing and/or editing. It makes no sense to print all of them. That is what I do with my digital images, and also my film images. You can ask for film development only and for a CD with scanned images from the negatives. A lot of the good places will give you an index print, as does Downtown Camera, as well as possibly Silvano et al (I haven't been to Silvano in ages, John was still alive then). Noting new here, as any one who was serious about their images before digital cameras would develop the film and then, after looking at the either the negatives through a Lupe or on a contact sheet would print only their best shots.

 

[shakenbake]

When I do a nude shoot I might shoot over 1,000 digital images. Transfer to computer is first step, then I spend an hour or so flipping through then and jotting down the ones I like best, say 50 images. I then create a seperate file and transfer those 50 to the new file. Another day when my eyes are fresh I look at the new file of 50 and refine it further. Select only the best, and the rest I move back to the first file. So now the second file has about 20 images in it. I then use photoshop to fine tune the 20 images, a colour adjustment here, crop there, etc. Once that is done I send the 20 prints to a pro lab (the three another poster mentioned above are all good) and ask for proofs. When I get the proofs (say 4x6 prints, though they can be any size) I look at how the pic looks on paper. Perhaps I adjust more,and some pics don't look their best on paper. The best ones I order enlargements of - maybe 5 to 10 prints as 8x10" prints to put in albums, or 1 or 2 for 16x20 or 20x30 display prints to hang on a wall framed.

I might go the hardbound book route, but the quality isn't as good as prints on photo paper. Still, for a vacation memory book, those professionally printed hardbound books are nice. Many pro labs offer these. A nice high quality album made of rich Corinthian leather (LOL - leather anyway) from a high end store is a nice resting place for 8x10 prints.

You appear to do things the professional way.

 

[Dewalt]

Alexmst: get Adobe Bridge.

 

[Medman52]

I might go the hardbound book route, but the quality isn't as good as prints on photo paper. Still, for a vacation memory book, those professionally printed hardbound books are nice. Many pro labs offer these. A nice high quality album made of rich Corinthian leather (LOL - leather anyway) from a high end store is a nice resting place for 8x10 prints.

Look at Blurb.Com. They've never let me down.

 

[alexmst]

Look at Blurb.Com. They've never let me down.

Just checked out the site. Looks nice in that one can buy copies of other people's photo hobby books. I'm just browsing through now...check out this book:

http://www.blurb.com/books/1168595

 

[Medman52]

Just checked out the site. Looks nice in that one can buy copies of other people's photo hobby books. I'm just browsing through now...check out this book:

http://www.blurb.com/books/1168595

Nice...(except all the photos look the same)

I've made some very nice books through them of my travels, and photography projects.
It's a great way to share your photos, you can add type, and add design elements. Very easy to use their free software and templates and easy to upload your completed designs to them.

 

[Medman52]

In the end you're right, the technology is less important, like all technology it's just a tool.

OTB

It's NOT the gun but the gunner!

 

[Rockslinger]

Some of you guys are real hardcore photographers (that's a compliment BTW). I just shoot and store. Most of the time I simply leave the images on the memory card because I am too lazy or busy to download the stuff. Faster to just insert another memory card (3 for $24 at Wal-Mart) and start shooting again.

 

[Rockslinger]

It's NOT the gun but the gunner!

I wouldn't mind having a Nikon D300 or D3 for a gun. Insert smilie here.

 

[Medman52]

I wouldn't mind having a Nikon D300 or D3 for a gun. Insert smilie here.

D3...one of the BEST Nikons I've ever owned..and I've owned Fm, Fe, F2, F2A, F3, F5, F90X, F100, D1X, D2X,D2H, D70, D200, and D3 (Especially LOVE the 2 card slots as extra insurance, and one of the sweetest shutter release sounds ever in a camera) but...it's HEAVY especially with a 70-200 and Sb900.

 

[Medman52]

Faster to just insert another memory card (3 for $24 at Wal-Mart) and start shooting again.

My 1st Flash card was a Sandisk 256MB for $480 I now use Sandisk 8Gb for $49

 

[Rockslinger]

D3...one of the BEST Nikons I've ever owned..and I've owned Fm, Fe, F2, F2A, F3, F5, F90X, F100, D1X, D2X, D70, D200, and D3 (Especially LOVE the 2 card slots, extra insurance)

OMG you own more cameras than Tiger Woods has girlfriends! I feel so inadequate with my little P&S.

BTW: How long can I store the images on my memory cards? I'm treating the memory card as the 21st century equivalent of the 20th century film negatives.

 

[blackrock13]

It's NOT the gun but the gunner!

At least you and OTB get it. Others, not so much.

 

[Medman52]

BTW: How long can I store the images on my memory cards? I'm treating the memory card as the 21st century equivalent of the 20th century film negatives.

Well, technically forever.(never tried it in practice) .that is what Ipods use..flash memory.
I've known more than one photographer who has washed their cards with their pants and after they were dry they downloaded the images.
My cardreader is also a burner so I use my cards as a portable "hard drive" to take data to other computers.
But for the price of external hard drives now you could get a 1TB drive and just dump your "raw" files to it.

 

[Medman52]

At least you and OTB get it. Others, not so much.

I bet a GOOD photog with a simple "point and shoot" could out shoot a BAD photog with 2 D3's and 6 lenses. Easily!