And that was Film for Me

We see people - old hands who shot film or new kids who were born in the digital age and absorbed the vibe of old photos - hankering to make film more than it was, more than it is. There are all kinds of scientific differences (some people read it as "superiority") between Film and Digital:

• Film is low volume (12, 24 or 36 shots per roll) - so you think more before you shoot, making each shot more worthy
• Film is more expensive, so again, you don't machine gun (people forget those bulk rolls strapped to the pro SLRs).
• Film colour is all mixed in and "organic" unlike the cold, antiseptic nature of the initial clean RGB digital image.
• Film grain is prettier than digital noise (yeah, they forget ASA 400 Fuji Neopan pushed in Fujidol to ASA 1600 with golfballs of grain)
• Film emphasised shallower Depth of Field and bokeh because 35mm film is Full Frame (don't forget the Hassies, Mamiyas, Zenza Bronicas, Rolleiflex TLR). Digital is so pedestrian at sensor sizes one quarter or smaller in area than 24x36mm
• Film asymptotes (rolls off, in daily parlance) over exposed highlights in a gentler fashion than the brutality of Digital level 255 (full white)
• Black and White Film and Halide Paper have that deep, tonal black that Digital Screen Media (which projects white) doesn't have.
• The Darkroom smell of D-76, Acetic Acid and Sodium Thiosulphate has that soak through the fabric scent that Digital will never have.
• Film was shot with leather covered, fashion strapped, all metal cameras with shutters that go ka chunk louder than that pansy sound that the Sony A7 that some people are horrified about.
• You sight Film through real glass, unlike the TV looking electronic viewfinder.
• You have to be real good guestimating how the result will look like - none of that wimpy chimping every few seconds of shooting.
• Real film photographers take an Ansel Zone V with their hand rather than rely on that 49 segment matrix TTL exposure meter that Digital demands.
• You choose the type of film for indoor or outdoor, none of this Digital Automatic White Balance thing.
• You actually scrawled on the back of the print, rather than rely on the ubiquitous EXIF metadata in the image file.

So, clearing out stuff from my room, notably, old books, I came across this bookmark. I made it so long ago.1978 in fact. My scrawl on the back said Fuji ASA 400. It would have been (if memory serves me right) my Minoltat XE-1 SLR with 135mm f/3.5 lens. Maybe.

Yes, I know it's blurry. And that was film for me.

The Growing Pains of Google+

Preamble

Google+ is one of the youngest social networks around. Because it is sponsored by Google, this social network is growing faster than any other social network. It's not Number 2 after Facebook - and Facebook has been around for quite a while longer.

I enjoy Google+ because I'm interested in photography and evolving my appreciation, my taste and my skill.

I generally like Google+ but some people have mixed experiences. Here are some tips to help you enjoy yourself there.

Incoming Traffic

1. Create three circles. Name them Favourites, Approved, Pending.

2. Limit how many Favourites you have. If you have about 20 real true friends in real life, well, that's these.

3. Limit how many Approved you take in. If you feel they will overwhelm, limit these to 2x what you have in Favourites

4. Put the rest into Pending.

5. Set the volume of each circle contributing to the Home Stream.

• Favs should be More. 
• Approved should be Fewer 
• Pending should not Show in the Home Stream

6. Do not add people just because they add you

7. Set Community posts to zero volume so that they do not invade your Home Stream.

Tweak points 2, 3 and 5 for your Home Stream

8. If the Home Stream continues to be overwhelmed and you are missing really favourite persons, do not visit the Home Stream. Only visit the Favourites, Approved or Pending directly.

Outgoing Traffic

1. If you have not established yourself and gathered people you like, join a Community and post there. After sometime, you will spot people you like and vice versa so engage with them. If you like each other you will have circled each other.

2. At the same time, establish you own identity, not the Community's by posting your own flavour of posts directly from yourself, not into the Community. If you feel that once in a while you want to share into the Community, post directly first, and then reshare into the Community. Donot only post into the Community because Community posts do not automatically appear in the public.

3. Post to Public to encounter new people. Participate in Themes to meet birds of a feather. On the other hand, if you have had too many encounters with strangers you don't like, create an Outgoing Circle to post out to.

Points People Ponder

A.  Do not gauge a person's worth by the number of followers. That is not a measure of worth

B. Do not gauge a photo's worth by the number of plusses. That is not a measure of worth.

C. If people like you or people like your photo - it just means someone does.  Be happy. Don't compare 10 against 10000 plusses or followers.

D. Why do you have thousands of people circle you but only a handful engage with comments or plusses? I don’t know. It could be that these thousands think this is Facebook – they want you to follow them so they follow you. This isn’t Facebook. Anyone can follow anyone – you don’t need permission. It could be that some brands or companies think following you is an SEO technique. Whatever. I don’t bother about them. It could be that you have been exposed in a Shared Circle or some Recommendations website – so people who want to fill their Home Stream and see the world go past have circled you.  Maybe some of them want to propose marriage or flash their bits at you. Don’t let it bug you.

E. Why does so and so have thousands and millions of followers but their published content is meh? That’s life. Same reason why certain restaurants or tourist sites get lots of hits. Does popularity equal refined taste? Do you bother to track them in real life? Really?

F. Why isn’t everyone you encounter or engage with on Google+ not your type? Huh? Does that happen in real life?

Take It Slow, Let It Flow

Way too often, people want to start from zero experience in photography to doing Peter Hurley headshots, Zack Arias studio lighting or do become a McNally. There are some talented people who are born like that, for the rest of us, take your time, practise, learn, rinse, repeat.

Let It Flow