Even a film holdout uses digital

My favorite part of Spring
Originally uploaded by Apocaplops

That's right, I'm a digital shooter too. I think there are plenty of areas where digital and its instant feedback are useful, for example, still life. You can check lighting, composition, focus, depth of field, all within a second and adjust. The more you play with it, the more likely you are to get good results on the first try. No more bracketing shots!

And for learning off-camera lighting, a la Strobist, digital cameras are a godsend. Pop off a few shots and check them to see if your flash is at the right angle and power, and you're good to go. Honestly, I'm lost trying to do bounce flash with a film camera - it's an insurmountable task for me. With digital, just pop a few shots to get it dialed in.

Some people think its lazy, learning via trial and error like this, and not making the attempt to learn the math behind lighting and focus. They may be right, I don't know, but in this era I think you would be insane to use film in many circumstances. I think the shot of Morel mushrooms I've posted here would have been quite difficult to get right on the first try with my big Mamiya camera, but using the instant feedback of digital, I dialed it in.

Now if I wanted to reshoot the shot with a film camera for a particular effect, all I have to do is get the settings from my digital, set my film camera up similarly, and bingo bango you have the shot. Years ago pros would use Polaroids to make sure their shots were coming out correctly exposed. That was expensive and slow. I still use Polaroids of course, but digital has to be king for shot proofing now.

Local Photo Show

Dirty Rollers
Originally uploaded by Apocaplops

You may know that there are a lot of great art galleries in Lansing, many of them centered in the Old Town neighborhood. Well, from now until June 30, the AE Gallery at 523 E. Grand River near old town is running a Lansing Photographers exhibit. Some great photographers are hanging their work there, including Doug Elbinger, Stan Simmons, Gabe Lopez, and many others including yours truly. I have five Polaroid pieces up, and I'm quite proud to be in my second show.

If you have the inkling of checking out what the local talent is up to, head over to AE Gallery, which is open between 11-7 Thursdays through Sundays. The first Sunday of every month is the Lansing Gallery walk, which would be a great time to check out the area. While you're there, don't miss your chance to eat at some local favorites, like Golden Harvest or Pablo's.