yyt

When I was in the Newark Airport and it looked like I would be living there, I started to write what I had learned from the semester in which I didn’t use a digital camera.

I found that I was quite ready to go back to it as I liked the new wave Polaroid aspect, but for some reason it was now at arm’s length. I brought it up for the online daybook nothing more – so it wasn’t going to be Woody Point two with three series coming from it.

Having a point and shoot meant slow reaction times and a lot of blurs and I balanced that with the trade off between that and immediate gratification.

It breaking up here was probably the best thing that could happen – although the person at Dominion doesn’t think so. The Leiquinha was more than I could hope for and there is no digital camera like it.

I am surprised at this for I hate 35mm, cannot remember why I brought it. I had this idea that St. John’s while great for meandering isn’t New York so small quiet 35’s are not necessary as buildings don’t race away and people are more than used to me by now.

What happened was that I got back to what I think that I do but really don’t - wander with a camera and note take. The leiquinha allowed this – as would a decent digital SLR as does Ziquinho and Ubaldo. The leiquinha doesn’t seem such an appendage. The visual version of carrying a pen – albeit a Mont Blanc – rather than a palm pilot or a laptop.

While tripping all through the paths turned into streams or sliding through snow I realised how much I would have missed if I had the same working method as in Woody Point.

I had a freedom to keep going and not turn back. I didn’t have to think about hills, narrow spaces nor something happening before I could get the camera ready.

While smaller cameras would all work as was in evidence on the other side of the island where I used Ubirajara, I prefer Zequinho and Ubaldo as it doesn’t make a big deal out of making the snap, quiet no showiness, on to the next.

I don’t like the shape of digital SLR, they are too big with those long lenses it is not something you would happen to have on you.

The leiquinha stepped in at making the panoramas that I did with the digital point and shoot – or rather point and shite – quite well.

The leiquinha allowed for a different look for the photographs of people. Now they could be seen as snapsnots, less posed even though it is a Leica dwarf it is treated more like a point and shoot when it is seen by people. it could be that this becomes the camera of choice for photographing people it could be the rectangle is more suitable.

I also liked the idea of rushes like one used to have when making films. At the Rooms some newspaper photographer photographing the artist took a couple and then went over to him to show him what he was thinking of and to move a bit so that the light would be better.

This is probably in this situation but I prefer taking too much hoping that I got it for there are always little surprises and I would hate to think of the lost learning opportunity from looking at alternate images.

As I mentioned before, I liked the cooling off period – two of them actually – one when I finished the roll and waited for another one to be used so as to save on price of burning CD’s, the second waiting to pick them up from Dominion.

I liked seeing what I had done that day. While on the CD were jpg images it was nice to look at them and not worry about scratching a neg or ruining the file as it was on a CD, but knowing that there was film for reliable long term storage. It helped me remember the day.

I know why I brought Ubirajara the ability to get close. Only used him once that way. All the rest of the time I could have Zequinho.

Next time I am thinking of leaving Ubirajara – this is only the third time of extensive use since Britain and the work along the seacoast.

Contradicting myself I liked the step backwards and the relative slowness – ironically due to shutter lag and the screen, I used my digital point and shite like a ‘blad. It is just not the camera one has when wandering about, it didn’t stop me, I did not make a snap because I had the wrong camera. It is simply some are more of what I see myself as than others.

While I didn’t get close to even beginning to work on the grand schemes that I was planning I am more than happy of what came from it.

I realised that I am not the photographic imperialist that I thought that I was. I didn’t need to travel the Avalon looking for new material, I found it here in Pouch – am quite surprised as I thought that I had photographed just about everything in Pouch but evidently not. I was able to concentrate on the subtle, delegating the leiquinha to the grand scenes for the online daybook.

While colour is ok, having all that film left over from the summer of weddings allowed me to fool around much more than I usually would, I still like black and white and prefer it. it still could be the paper as here I was using Epson matte – the only thing available.

I still like negatives. While the CD allowed me to multitask when I was making prints, I still like the darkroom and if Ray will let me in it at night I’ll use it. I won’t waste daylight and my days in St John’s being in a darkroom.

While film is a hassle at airports, I may ship it ahead next time. Thought about leaving the unused rolls up here but am too cheap for that even though I don’t know when I’ll get the time to make snaps intensively with the show in July.

So in a couple of months - I hope – I’ll have to choose again. I want to see how I contradict myself then.