Old School Like the Old Fool

August 28th, 2008 - the day I got my first Digital SLR. I lovingly opened my Canon XTi  box and held it in my hands. Getting the card & battery in, I immediately powered it up and starting putting it up to my eye. I pressed the shutter 403 times in that first 24-hour period. Did about ~250 shots the first night, at my in-law's house - and then another ~150 + ~50 at the park & diner respectively.

That was the first and last time I ever shot in automatic mode.

After returning home the night of the 29th, I proceeded to memorize the entire manual for the camera. I read it over and over again until the spine broke. Until I felt I understood every page in it. And after each section I would take the camera out, and test out what I had learned.

Since then I have only shot in manual mode. Controlling my aperture & shutter speed by myself. Choosing the correct ISO I thought was needed, and dialing-in any EV compensation required. I even spent the first 6 months using manual focus instead of automatic.

My goal was to act as if it was an old SLR that had no onboard computer making all my decisions for me. I had decided I wanted to experience what it was like to photograph back in the day. I even went so far as to turn off the automatic on-screen review. I will check my histogram now and again, but only after making major exposure changes. I aim to perfect my ability to make a proper exposure right off the bat.

While recently reading one of the many photography blogs I follow, the author posted a number of tips to make better pictures. Many of my habits were listed. The addition of one I hadn't thought of caught my attention:

Shooting 32 - 36 pictures, as if you were using a roll of film.

Now, I'll be the first to toot the digital-horn for memory cards in excess of 64GB allowing you to shoot to your hearts content. I don't know that I would ever really incorporate this into practice. However, this does echo advice given by many professionals. And that is to take your time. Don't shoot at random. Wait for that moment.

Shoot less, make more. That's how I would describe it. And it's something I will try to keep in mind during my next outing.