I've just about had it with my digital camera! It's one of those Canon point-and-shoot deals and it is the fussiest lump of metal I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with! Partial shade? It has a nervous breakdown! It has a macro setting, but if I have to get at least five feet away from the subject (and can't telephoto back in for my composition because it still won't focus), then it's not really a close-up is it? Grrrrrrrrrrr!

So, it's going to sit in time-out and will be relegated to only doing snapshots, since it gets really pissy with me when I try to control any settings.

And, no, I'm not going to upgrade the digital. Not until the technology catches up with the price, thanks. For me, it's ridiculous to spend $1,000 for a "decent" digital rig only to have the next year's model come out with a much better print resolution for the same price (or lower). I can always have my negs and slides scanned someplace with the latest equipment...but I already went through the "pay a few thousand dollars only to have it be obsolete next week" bit with Wintel boxes.

So it's back to film for me. It's amazing how trying to deal with the $500 digital makes me feel like such a failure, but when I get my prints back from my $20 Holga I feel like a photographer again!

Besides, I get so much more satisfaction over a slide or print I get back from the lab where I've really nailed the composition and exposure (and development when I develop my B/W film at home), that I just don't get when I run a digital photo through a few Photoshop filters.

Working on film makes me really think about the shot I'm setting up. What do I want to say? How do I want the finished slide/print to look? Instead of relying on Photoshop to "fix" my shots, film forces me to do most of the cropping and balancing before I press the shutter. And that's a Good Thing!

For those of you who love your digital cameras...Good for You! Have fun with them and remember you can never have too many memory cards (or charged batteries).

Me? I'm gonna see if B&H Photo has any film specials on this week...