David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
10/30/24 12:34 p.m.
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The medium we used to photograph our Miata back in the day? Film. It was either that or draw a picture.

We’d cover our assignment, drop off the film, and then return to the drug store an hour later, presenting our 50-off coupon at the register. It was simply part of our daily drill.

And t…

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CrustyRedXpress
CrustyRedXpress Dork
10/30/24 12:46 p.m.

Worth it. It adds another layer of craftsmanship. 

As AI becomes more common I'd rather spend my money and attention on something that I know had more time/thought/skill spent on it. 

Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
10/30/24 12:59 p.m.

Sometimes I forget how much fun it is to shoot with film until I pick up the camera again.

Then it's like, "oh yeah, that's why I spend all my money on this."

confuZion3
confuZion3 UltraDork
10/30/24 1:09 p.m.

I love film photography. I had to take an art class in college, which was... wow... how long ago?

OK, let's just say they had digital photography back then, and it was already well-developed.

I took photography! Black and white film photography, to be exact, and I had to chemistry the E36 M3 out of that film to develop it into something I could then shoot at some paper, and then.... more chemistry. It wasn't art, it was science! Every shot was carefully-planned, and so more pictures looked good than not. It was very fun, and I learned stuff that helps me take better pictures even today.

Great idea for an article. Thanks for doing something cool like that. Do you have more pictures you can post here?

theruleslawyer
theruleslawyer Reader
10/30/24 1:18 p.m.

I always liked doing the darkroom work for photography. Back in '98 digital cameras were pretty terrible. I got my first one around that time and the pics were barely tolerable to print a 3x5. Storage and editing were a huge PITA. Remember those compact flash cards with an actual hard drive inside?

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
10/30/24 4:16 p.m.

In reply to confuZion3 :

Yeah, the film work has been fun, and you can find more of my film photos in the full article, this forum thread about my film photography adventures, this forum thread for the photographers in the mix, and my personal Instagram

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