[Don Schaeffer]

[matthew]

Don, I really like the elements in this one and the exposure in the sky.

[DJ1234]

I love the sky!

Just curious, do you shoot with an DSLR or an FSLR?

[Don Schaeffer]

Thanks DJ

FSLR. That's all I can afford.

[DJ1234]

you seem to do well with it

[matthew]

I was re-reading an interview with Steven Shore, and this section made me think of what you're doing, Don.

I'm going to give you a long-winded answer. I guess I see how photographers work as influenced by, among other factors, the cost of their processes. In the 1970s, when I started using 8x10 color, it cost me more than $15 every time I took a picture (film, processing, and a contact print). Simple economy lead me to only take one exposure of a subject. I knew I couldn't economize by only taking pictures that I knew would be good – that would simply lead to boring, safe images. But, I could decide what I really wanted to photograph and how I wanted to structure the picture. This was a powerful learning experience. I began to learn what I really wanted. Digital is the opposite of 8x10. I see digital as a two-sided phenomenon. The fact that pictures are free can lead to greater spontaneity. As I watch people photograph (with film), I often see a hesitation, an inhibition, in their process. I don't see this as much with digital. There seems to be a greater freedom and lack of restraint. This is analogous to how word processing affects writing: one can put thoughts down in writing, even tangential thoughts, with a minimum of inner censorship, knowing that the piece can be edited later. The other side of this lack of restraint is greater indiscriminancy. Here's a tautology: as one considers one's pictures less, one produces fewer truly considered pictures.

The full interview is here: http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/2007/09/....html#more

[Toad]

Very cool composition and light/dark dichotomy.

[Irma]

Very interesting interview Matt....

This is what happens to me and telling the true I don't like it.

I start taking pictures without any consideration of light, composition, caring my setup... then I go to the computer and check the light, go again and move my lights and take more pictures, back in the computer for the second time check my setup and see there is a spot in the fabric, go back and clean my setup, again in the computer I see that one of the elements in my compo would look better if I turn it a bit to the left... by this time I had taken already 30 pictures or more and still I don't have the good one.

[Irma]

Sorry Don.... I forgot to write my comment about your picture...

I like your picture very much. You worked your composition very nice. I like a lot the detail of the sign...

...and How it has been with you Don, now that you take pictures with film. Do you think a bit more on your pictures? Do you consider more your elements in the picture, light and all before you take "The picture"? Do you think taking pictures with film is a good practice for learning?

[Toad]

Don:

HOw are you converting your photos to digital if you don't scan them?

[Zig]

Rivetting stuff!
I too am as fascinated by where this thread's going as much as by the shot( I like the treatment and also echo Toad's question, Don).
I do feel that someone moving from slr to digi is benefitted if they carry across the good stuff they already know: awareness of how light works...and certainly treating each exposure as a potential palette of excellence(well, my view anyway).

[Don Schaeffer]

i still use my digicam for most days. The SLR is just occassional. I just love the feel of it. I bring the film to a store that puts the images on disk for me. I tried one place and the resolution isnt that high--im going to try another place. I'm not sure theres much difference between digital and film because this is film only in the first step. The advantages of film are lost once you scan the images. The chemical darkroom is where you can really milk film. I'm not going that way.

[Wedding Shooter]

Don - I love the contrast you are getting with the film. Just out of curiosity - did you do some cloning on the shot?

[Don Schaeffer]

"I will not reveal my deepest secrets" (Houdini)

[NT73]

I think Don has removed something ugly by using home-made clouds, but if not it appears as a fog rolling in.

[Don Schaeffer]

mooohaaaahaaaaa...i vanish before your eyes.