Untitled, a photo by PaulaRussell on Flickr.

I had a wonderful breakfast meeting with Donna. We went to the Apollo downtown which has a fantastic feel, I guess both the restaurant the the downtown shared a similar feel this morning. Donna and I started a project last year whereby we aimed to have an espresso based beverage from all possible Guelph based locations, which we would then follow up with a bit of a review. I think this blog might just be the forum to roll out those reviews, but that will come later. This morning, after talking about the slideshows Donna created from some of the images of Jenn and April's wedding, I noticed that both Donna and I had made images of our meeting. I used the iPhone while Donna pulled out a Kiev 60, I think, with its authoritative shutter snap and imposing size. This got us talking about how we make images. A while back, in an online forum of some local group, I got involved in a discussion that turned on film v. digital. At that time I shot exclusively film, why, because that is all I had. I tried a few dSLR cameras but the process just didn't feel settled. Donna gave me a 25 cent panorama camera, and a TLR Yashica Mat, and I shot primary with a repurposed SLR that I had once fished out of the Speed River. I used film because that is what I had, and I really enjoy the ritual of producing images in the darkroom. I didn't use film because I thought it was superior, or elitist, or somehow more relevant than digital, I used it because that is all I had and it was how I was comfortable making images. I contributed to the discussion by saying that I felt that while the image is public, the process is personal. Often this discussion isn't really about which approach is better, but more about which photographer is better, but in each case it skirts the only aspect worth considering, the image. I am stunned by the extent to which people are afraid or unwilling to address the image; critique it for its meaning, its context, its working elements, and its strengths and weaknesses. Who cares that you used film? Rather than broadcasting the process why not simply stand beside your work? The camera doesn't make the image, and the film doesn't birth the vision, so why not focus on that, the image and your vision? So on that note, we are going to roll out a critique series on this blog. We will start with our own images, and then perhaps we will branch out from there.

P