Analog photography

Why do I carry and extra kilo and don’t see my photos for a couple of months?

Pack or not? Add an extra kilogram to an already heavy backpack? Is it really worth it? Those questions niggled at the back of my mind when I was preparing for this travel. For analog photography I use Nikon FM2. It’s a big and heavy brick and has a difficult shape to fit in the backpack. But the feeling when you grab it, when you analyze if a particular frame is worth a shot, and most importantly the happiness (or sometimes disappointment) after developing a film is absolutely irreplaceable. There are so many reasons why analog photography is better than digital. But! It doesn’t mean I despise digital cameras! When we travel we use two cameras, as we can’t be writing our blog without posting photos from our current locations. So, Renato takes many photos with the digital one and I look for interesting frames for my Nikon.

What do I value my analog camera for? I could enumerate various reasons, but I know that everybody, who hasn’t tried analog photography won’t understand. Oh, that feeling when you found a good frame, caught the right light and moment! And knowing that you have one, maybe two chances to take a nice photo. Maybe it will sound weird, but when I have my camera in hand I look at the world differently. I pay more attention to details, colors, faces. I look out for a good light, interesting gesture, look. I think about what I see and I take a picture only when I’m sure it’s worth it. During our current trip through Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, in two months I use 1-2 films per months usually, so I take maybe 50 photos per month. Digital photos? We must have thousands of them, as we take them all the time, knowing that one or ten more won’t cost anything and we can simple delete them.
Moreover, is there anything better than a printed photo, a piece of paper kept somewhere in a cabinet, the memories that you can recall at any time. Because, you must admit, do you really print your digital photos and browse them after years on your computers?

Curious about my photos? Me too! You will have to wait until I come back to Poland and have this wonderful surprise to see them for the first time.

Magda

Battambang

Jebel Hafeet – Al Ain