I like to travel. And with my camera in hand, I’m ready to document the places I visit.
“I wish it was something I could do more of, but I’m lazy about it,” my friend said. “When I do remember to bring the camera along, I’m still reluctant to pull it out for pictures. What pictures I do take, I wait too long to get developed, and then I never pick them up. Every time I see my friends with pictures, though, I’m insanely jealous, and I promise to myself, ‘Next time.’”
I used to buy film by the case. I could take a road trip to the store and shoot three rolls of film — the buildings, the scenery, maybe even a few of the road.
OK, I’m not that bad. But, I made such frequent trips to have my film developed that the attendants knew me by name. In fact, I didn’t even have to wait in line when I went to pick up my film – they saw me coming and had it ready for me.
For a while, I kept my prints in photo albums. They were organized by trips. However, before long, I wasn’t as interested in the prints anymore. Instead, I wanted the digital images.
So, in addition to having my film developed, I was paying to have my pictures put on a compact disc. That, however, proved to be less than cost-effective.
Then one day, I made the switch — I went digital, and I haven’t looked back.
In reality, I don’t do anything drastically different now than I did when I only had a film camera. Except, perhaps, I’m a little more liberal when it comes to snapping pictures and sharing pictures is now quicker.
It’s good to know I’m not alone in this department.
“I take lots and lots of pictures of the same thing, but, I really only need one,” a fellow co-worker and fan of the digital camera said. “I would get my film developed and keep only one and throw the rest away. It was a lot of wasted paper, a lot of wasted film and a lot of wasted money.”
Now, the problem isn’t the cost of developing; it’s the space. More than a thousand pictures later, my computer’s hard drive is looking a little full.
