Originally posted by tvdtvdtvd I'm intrigued by this comment. Do you regret that you shot slide over negative? Or do you regret that you weren't born later and grew up
with digital for the get go with no time spent in the analogue years? Or do you simply regret that you didn't discover Fuji Laser prints
sooner? I don't know a lot about the history of Fuji Laser prints but I suspect they are a much more recent development than slide film
and thus wonder what other options did you have, way back when slide did appear to be the best option but now in retrospect you
consider otherwise.
Happy to oblige. Yeah, I guess there is some measure of regret in this, that I decided to shoot slide film rather than negative film. At the time, it seemed reasonable since I liked the breathtaking size and brilliance of the projected image. But over the years, I tired of the sheer effort of setting up the projector and screen, darkening the room, etc. Also, the other people in my life, who would have been my audience (beyond myself), no longer fancied analogue slideshows either.
As a result of my "fateful" decision, my old slides - some of them, for instance, covering my only family holiday in England - have sat largely untouched in their boxes for years (decades?). Digitalizing them has never seemed a compelling-enough option, as the time and money that I would have to spend on any serious solution, and the results I could expect, just don't match with my digital-age quality standards.
Had I gone with negative film, I could still get some decent looking prints today and in the future.
The slight regret does not amount to a grudge, though. To begin with, the film years of my photographic journey, frankly, didn't produce all that many images that I would consider really accomplished today. At the same time, I have also come to view growing up with film, and only then moving on to digital, as something of a valuable asset. In the sense that shooting film has taught me a lot about careful framing, nailing exposure, and a host of other things (both technical and image-wise) that have likely made me a better photographer.
Unlike some, however, I have little nostalgia for film, and little desire to return to it. If anything, digital has liberated me and my photography. Whether it has made people at large more appreciative of accomplished photography is another matter. (Phew, this has been a pretty deep walk down Memory Lane. Feels almost like a confession.
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