The transition from film to digital was in its infancy while I was in j-school. Our photography prof had the first digital camera I had ever seen, and it was amazing in its own rights. As students, we were equally amazed to see how this new technology worked; how our prof could take our photo, then show it to us instantaneously on the computer screen.
What is equally amazing is that I started journalism school less than a decade ago, and in that short time-span, digital cameras have completely revolutionized the world of photography. While I worked at the Taber Times, we started to make the transition to digital photos, and now newspapers rely almost completely on this format. Naysayers have been silenced as digital SLRs have improved in quality while decreasing in price. At first, digital cameras were severely limited in their capabilities... They simply couldn't take some of the photos possible with film, such as time-lapse or fast-action sports shots.
But in these few short years, they have come so far.
Throughout my time in journalism, I used almost exclusively my trusty ol' steel-bodied Pentax K1000 SLR. With it, I could do wonders. It was fully manual, which often meant much experimentation and much wasted film. But I loved the challenge. I remember spending hours in Calgary on top of the hill off of Memorial Drive, freezing on a cold night, but loving the experiment. I would set up my camera on a tripod, screw a plunger into the shutter release, and play with the magic of time-lapse photography, capturing images of the lights of downtown burned into the film, or the headlights of cars leaving trails as they drove by.
At the Taber Times, photography became a job, and along with that, it became a chore. I still enjoyed getting unique shots, but too often I had to go out in the evening or on a weekend to photograph some lame event in which I was not interested. It ruined photography for me. When I'd go home at Christmas, I was no longer interested in taking photos of family and scenery at the farm. I just wanted a break.
And so when I left journalism, I left photography along with it. I put it on a shelf, and thought that perhaps someday, when I was ready, I would pick it up again as a hobby.
Last summer, as I prepared for my West Coast Trail adventure, I knew the time had come. I certainly didn't want to go to this gorgeous destination without a camera. However, I didn't want to lug around my heavy old K1000 either.
And so it was time for me to venture into the world of digital photography. I knew I'd love to have a digital SLR, but that would have defeated the purpose... I needed something lighter. On the other hand, I didn't want to settle on a tiny little camera with low megapixels and severe limitations. I did my research, and ended up buying a Canon PowerShot A620 with 7.1 megapixels and a 2 gig card.
I got some beautiful pics of the WCT with my camera... so much so that people think the ones I've blown up and mounted on my walls are professional prints or paintings. I've been really happy with the quality, and slowly I'm discovering some of its capabilities. It may not be quite an SLR, but I'm amazed nonetheless at what it can do. Tonight I got playing around with its time-lapse features in order to photograph my tealight patio lanterns. I realized that I can do much of the same stuff with this little camera that I could with my old SLR. This first photo is just outside my condo door, pointing at the garage, with a 10-second shutter speed. The squiggly lines on either side are streetlights in the distance.
I thought it looked kinda cool, so I got playing, taking photos of other streetlights to see what kind of art I could come up with.
Some of the streaks of light look like dotted dashes. Obviously, this is a bit of a limitation of my digital camera that wouldn't occur with a film SLR. However, I am still impressed by the technology, and I love that photographic "experimentation" has become so affordable.
Perhaps it's a little sad to lose the romance of the magical darkroom, but I'm excited by the possibilities of digital photography, and I'm glad to have my hobby back in a more cost-efficient and convenient form.
