Olympic Coast Sunset Near Cape Alava, WA
(Nikon FM2, Fuji Velvia, March 1991)

There is something to be said about film and it’s hard to put it into words, so here’s a photo instead.

I’ve never shot a sunset with digital – even with a full frame 5D – that feels “right” putting up on my wall, but I’ve shot plenty with Velvia, like this one. It just sort of dances.

Here’s a great example of how long my workflow with film can be. I shot this slide on a backpacking trip with Stephanie in 1991 – our first trip together. I then had it developed, probably looked at a few times on the light table and said “neato” and then packed it in a box. Nineteen years later, I scanned it to take a look at the file quality, because I’m not finding so many shots from the digital years that I’m proud to hang on the wall.

The beauty of such a slow work flow is that I have boxes of slides taken with great film and lenses from 20-odd years that I can now scan and digitally develop, and/or turn into prints and I don’t have to buy any new camera equipment to do it.

Which means, maybe, I should spend more time with my Nikon FM3a, Leica M6, and Contax T3, to take some more new photos now, so I have something to do with the new generation of scanners that will be around in 2030.