I don't pretend to be a professional, or even, to be a good photographer. I just know I enjoy it; the heft of the camera, seeing the world through the finder, dividing it up, composing it how I want it, stealing a moment in time and keeping it for myself. But most of all, I love getting the film back from processing and pawing though the prints, or, slapping them down onto the light table, seeing what worked, what didn't, and what surprises you. It was magic for me as a kid, and it still is now. It's part of what keeps me coming back, and part of what keeps me from really taking digital seriously. Don't misunderstand. I'm not some sort of Luddite who would rather we hadn't progressed beyond wet plates and tin-types. I know that digital has its place, that it isn't going away, and that it's even getting to the point where it's as good as film, but I can never shake the feeling I get every time I squint at the LCD on the back of a camera, that I'm cheating.
And so, in spite of the cries about the death of film that come ringing in from the digital frontier, when it comes to things besides snap-shots, I will continue to use film, if only because it's the only bit of magic that I really have left in this mundane little world. It's what makes this
And so, heedless of my nostalgia, progress marches on, leading us all to a cleaner, sleeker, more convenient world where I won't have ever have to wait for anything ever again, let alone mourn for something that I never missed until it was gone.