The Days Before Cameras Went Digital

This is week eight of 100 Word Wednesday, and here is the photo and my response. 🙂 If you’d like to participate, click the link! 😉

I think a bit and I do barely remember
When a photograph’s life first originated
On a thing called thirty-five millimeter,
And that seemingly forever one hour we waited

After handing over the prized roll of film to a clerk
Just to find out if any of the photos at all
Came out acceptable or if we wasted the energy we exerted.
Ah, the days before cameras went digital…

Now we get results right after the shutter’s click.
The days of film seem to be long past.
Technology has progressed tick by tick,
But alas, the precious memories are to last.

42 thoughts on “The Days Before Cameras Went Digital

  1. Great poem! Hat’s off to old film photographers. Those of us that have grown up shooting digital have no idea what it must have been like for them. With today’s technology, we may be able to produce better images, but film photography is where the true talent is at. I could say I’ve gotten pretty good at shooting manual, but that’s only because I can see what the photo looks like as soon as I click the shutter. There’s no such thing as being careless in this digital age. We no longer put a lot of thought into getting the exposure right the first time. I’d honestly be scared to shoot film, because realistically I’m not familiar enough with the camera’s settings to get the exposure right the first time!

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks! 🙂
      Yes, definitely! My mom took a bunch of photos on 35mm (hence the “we” mentioned at one point there XD ) but I wasn’t really allowed to take many because they didn’t want to waste film. And they were right; with the results I often get from the digital camera, there would have been a lot of wasted film. 😂
      Yes, exactly! 🙂 I must admit I haven’t gotten the manual focus down yet; I’m finally getting a grasp on exposure, but only for the same reason you stated. I’m usually thinking about the angle and subject of the photo and forget about the rest until I start shooting. (Oops? 😂)
      I would be scared to shoot film too! I don’t even know of a place to get it developed anymore; all of the places I knew of closed down years ago. (Though my dad said that it’s possible to develop it myself, but… then I would have a second chance to wreck it. 😂)
      I’m with you there! The camera I use always overexposes everything if taken with the flash, so I have to turn it down. But if there is enough light, it’s fine. So when moving between objects, I have to constantly change it. I remember times when I forgot to change it and it underexposed nearly half of the photos, or overexposed half. Oops.

      Liked by 2 people

  2. Yes, I know what you mean! If I’m just “taking pictures” I generally just shoot auto. But anytime I have I’m taking a “serious shot” (Where I’m not bouncing around between different subjects and locations. Like landscapes, or something I’m photographing with a tripod) I generally use manual because I can get so much more control over how the photo will turn out. It was really confusing at first, and I had trouble understanding it enough to take photos that were better than if I were shooting auto.
    Recently I developed a method that I think really helps me set up the exposure.
    1. First, I set the ISO very low. Just because the higher the ISO the more “grainy” your photos will be. So to avoid that I set it low to start off with.
    2. I then set the aperture. A low aperture (where the lens is opened very wide) makes gives a shallow depth of field (creating a blurrier background and foreground, with the subject in focus. A high aperture (where the lens is mostly closed) makes everything more sharp. I determine what look I’m going for and pick an appropriate aperture.
    3. Next is the shutter speed. I’ll pick a fast speed if my subject (or me) is moving, and a slow one if we’re both stationary.
    4. Then I’ll take a “test” photo. It’s pretty much always too dark, or too bright.
    5. If it’s too dark the first thing I’ll sacrifice is the ISO. Without going super high like 1500 ISO+, I’ll set it to a higher setting. If that alone doesn’t work, I’ll open my aperture wider, or choose a slower shutter speed (both let more light in). Whichever one I’d rather sacrifice, I do. Or sometimes I compromise and adjust both.
    6. If it’s too bright, that’s usually good because I can just choose a faster shutter speed, hence a theoretically sharper image. If I’m doing a slow-shutter photo, like when photographing a stream or waterfall, I’ll opt to go with a higher more narrow aperture.

    This process usually works for me in getting what I want. I think as the digital cameras get better and allow for better control the process gets easier and easier too.

    Wow, I just realized I wrote a lot! But I guess your comment was pretty long too. 😀

    Liked by 2 people

  3. I remember my mother driving through the one hour photo labs located in the parking lots of A&P or Kmart. It’s been years (over a decade!) since I’ve shot regularly with film, but I see it making a renaissance in the next chapter of my life 😉 Lovely story!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Oh, in the parking lot? The one we went to was inside a Walmart.
      I asked my mom about it last night – apparently, the “one hour” photo lab didn’t always finish in one hour; she said sometimes she had to go back to get them the next day. I didn’t remember that! 😂 (But in their defense, my mom probably brought a bunch of rolls of film at once, so the poor people were likely overloaded. 😂)
      Oh, that’s great! 😀 Good luck!
      Thanks! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

        • LOL, perhaps! 🙂 (I’m in my mid-twenties.) It’s also possible that Arkansas didn’t have many of them; or at least, the rural part we live in didn’t have many. XD I asked my dad and he didn’t remember those either. I also don’t think we had an A&P; we had a Kmart here many years ago, but it closed down.

          Liked by 1 person

            • Oh! Haha, I feel so young right now… XD By the way, you don’t look it from your photo; I thought you were about 30. 🙂

              That’s cool! 🙂 Walmart pretty much ruled around here. 😂 I don’t see many coffee shops, either. There’s not even a Starbucks here, believe it or not. XD

              I love all the people I “meet” though writing too! There are so many wonderful people on WordPress! 🙂

              Liked by 1 person

                • 🙂 ♥

                  Yeah, time does seem to fly when you’re having fun. 🙂 Seems like I was a teen not long ago. Now I’m supposed to be an adult. o_O

                  Aww. 🙂 ♥ I don’t have children; however, I have cats. Do they count? 😂 LOL.

                  Liked by 1 person

                  • Totally counts! I’m starting to feel like a real adult now, but really a child at heart! As far as pets are concerned, they were the only *children* I planned on having…until I married my husband 😉 Oh how things can change 😉

                    Liked by 1 person

                    • 😀 ♥

                      That’s exactly where my mind is right now. pets are the only “children” I want too. Haha, the idea of a child growing inside me has a sci-fi horror movie element to it for me. 😂 That’s true, things can change; but as for now, I don’t have a husband (or even boyfriend for that matter) so it’s not something I have to seriously consider yet. I’m quite content with my cats for now. 😻

                      Liked by 1 person

              • {btw: living in the city home to Starbucks, there are so many you can’t walk a mile without coming across a few in your path in the city and especially suburbs!! It’s highly overrated– local establishments are where it’s at}

                Liked by 1 person

                • Oh wow! 🙂 That’s good to know. I’ve only been to a Starbucks once when we were out of town. I had no idea what to get, so I ended up with just decaf coffee so I wouldn’t hold up the line. XD

                  😀 There is one local cafe I spotted a while ago that I’d love to try. They also have pastries. I’m trying to talk my mom into stopping by one day. 😍

                  Liked by 1 person

                  • Yay! I’ve become a caffeine addict since having children, and prefer an Americano — espresso shot(s) with water (watered down American style?). I don’t order them from Starbucks (too bitter) but from local coffeehouses — there are so many to choose from around here as coffee is kind in the grey-skied city. Mmmmmm…… ❤

                    Liked by 1 person

  4. Pingback: Wind-Up Week 8: 100 Word Wednesday – Bikurgurl

  5. This is great–the last time I had film developed, the pictures came out with images “reversed”. My proof was that the bumper sticker on my fridge that says, “PRAISE GOD NOW”–looked like it was written in Russian, or something. The management acted like real butt-heads about it, so they no longer have my business 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I hate to say I remember the old Brownie cameras. You held it at about your belt buckle and looked through this little viewfinder at the top corner of the camera. And hopefully you remembered to advance the film or you’d have a double exposure…(picture ruined!) Ah, those were days long passed…

    Steve

    Liked by 1 person

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