Feeling Lost and Overwhelmed

ThereSheGoes · Nov 8, 2011

I want to buy a digital SLR someday, but cannot afford it right now. I do have a 35mm SLR, but I can't really afford to buy and develop film anymore, either. I can't believe how expensive and hard-to-find it has become locally. I have a cheapie 10mp Canon Powershot, and that's all I can really work with right now. What I hate about it is that there isn't even a viewfinder, so I HAVE to use the preview screen. Bizarre. My husband bought it for me as a surprise about a year ago to replace my previous digital, so I didn't have any say in what I was getting. I feel really frustrated, because I won't be able to get anything better until tax refund time. There isn't a lot I can do in manual mode with this thing. Please tell me that I can improve my photography skills with this in the mean time?! If not, is there a place online that I can purchase decent quality film inexpensively in bulk? I don't trust eBay, since someone could have kept the film out in their garage or car for 10 months and ruined it, or it could be expired. HELP!

Trever1t · Nov 8, 2011

You can certainly practice and improve compositionally. You can take amazing photos with a point and shoot IF you think carefully about everything you DO have control over. Welcome to the forum.

ThereSheGoes · Nov 8, 2011

Trever1t said:
You can certainly practice and improve compositionally. You can take amazing photos with a point and shoot IF you think carefully about everything you DO have control over. Welcome to the forum.

Thanks! I really miss putting my left hand around that big lens, though, and being able to move it around. :lmao: Sorry... that sounds so dirty.

And no, I'm not a troll. I just have a special sense of humor.

dxqcanada · Nov 8, 2011

Sorry, can't help you with the film ... though you could try to look into developing your own B&W film.

Not all great images are captured solely because of manual control.

Take some images, and as Trever1t said ... work on composition.
I see many images here on the forum that may be technically advanced but poorly composed.

Post some images and we can help you advance your camera eye.

ThereSheGoes · Nov 8, 2011

dxqcanada said:
Sorry, can't help you with the film ... though you could try to look into developing your own B&W film.

Not all great images are captured solely because of manual control.

Take some images, and as Trever1t said ... work on composition.
I see many images here on the forum that may be technically advanced but poorly composed.

Post some images and we can help you advance your camera eye.

Thanks! I will. Should I start a new thread, or post some pics here?

WesternGuy · Nov 9, 2011

Welcome to the forum. B&H sell film -
Roll Film ,
but I am not sure if this is the sort of stuff you are looking for, or how much you would have to buy to make the shipping charges, if any, worth while. If you scroll through this, you will see that some of their film is available in 100' rolls. If you have your own dark room, then you can develop away.

As far as the P&S goes, I would agree with Trevor1t, you can make great images with just about any camera if you pay attention to the various aspects of composition. Don't forget that Henri Cartier-Bresson the French Photographer, considered by some to be the father of photojournalism, took most of his images with a P&S and B&W film. Personally, I know of a local pro photographer who carries a Canon P&S (digital mind you) with him where ever he goes - he doesn't do all his shooting with it, but he has captured some interesting images over the past few years. You don't need a fancy DSLR to make great pictures, if you think in terms of making pictures, compared to taking pictures, then composition becomes the main focus of your effort in capturing your images. As the old saying goes - Just Do It...

Cheers,

WesternGuy