About a month ago, I blogged about starting to use film in my photography. I thought I’d reflect a little on how that’s been going for me.

Things have been really taking off for me on film. I’ve had a bunch of rolls of film developed and I like the results. Not the photos, but the results. Not all the pictures turned out, but that’s a little bit of the point. I bought a film camera to slow down and think more about what I’m doing. I can definitely see the difference in shots where I stopped to think about everything first.

Aperture. Focus. Shutter speed. Composition. Each one is critically important to take a great photo. I need much, much more practice before I can reliably nail every one every time.

I’m bringing the same contemplation I have on film back to my digital photography and it’s been helping me a lot. I enjoy digital photography more than I did before.

I’ve been getting up early to photograph the sunrise over Lake Ontario. It’s been wonderful – waking up at 4am and biking for an hour to see something no one else is seeing in quite the same way.

Admittedly, I’ve caught the gear-acquisition syndrome a bit. I’ve upgraded my digital camera and purchased a used Leica M6. (I have a very understanding wife.) My gadget budget for the rest of the year has been completely depleted, but I couldn’t be happier – learning something new with each photo I take.