DISCONNECTING

In the modern age of doom scrolling, and constant binge streaming there are a few that are currently trying to get disconnected. Over the past few decades the internet has made living with constant ads and breaking sensitive news so normal. However, in today’s era, there are some that are trying to acquire a more Vintage or Retro lifestyle.

I have recently tried to apply or in my instance reapply this lifestyle as I am of the age where I recall actually living with these means in my life. I have applied this in two mediums. One being the reintroduction shooting film. Where I not only shoot in classic film stocks but also develop them myself in a homemade darkroom. The other medium is typewriting, where I have begun committing to making daily journal entries using a classic typewriter along with paper cutters stickers and ink stamps.

Typewriters talk back

So far I have been typing journal entries for a little over a month, while some entries try to be more prophetic most days I simply try and fill the page with whatever is on my mind that day. Even if its merely enjoying the weather.

Over the past month I have noticed a few things. One the slow deterioration of short form ephemeral slang. While I may not be hip enough to understand what “6-7” means these days, I will risk sounding like a jabbering old person when I say back in my day we had developed the short form text slangs of the still popular “lol” and “lmao”. As much as I am sad to say when I started my self serving journal entries I used several, But after a month I have noticed I am using them less and less each day.

Secondly, I have noticed that I am starting to develop the habit of looking for new words to use. Not necessarily longer words, just different words as to keep myself from using the same words over and over. I do find myself feeling like a I have successfully “adulted” and giving myself a mental pat on the back when I find a new word, even more so when I can use it correctly in a written sentence.

And Lastly, I have found the urge to write more and more over the past month. While not anything important or profound has come from it, and may never will, I have really enjoyed it.

What has helped push the urge to type more are the triggers to the senses that using an old fashion typewriter has. The haptic feedback when your fingers strike the keys. The sound the typewriter making as it stamps the ink on the page. The physicality of having physical type in front of me with every key stroke, and probably my favorite sound of all the beautiful sound of the bell as you reach the end of the line on the paper, the mechanism physically speaking back at you saying “you only have five characters left”. Only to be followed by the very satisfying clanky rip noise as you pull the lever to start a fresh new line on paper. All things I do not get even now typing this very blog post on my computer. Everything on this machine is made to be quiet, convenient but quiet.

Shooting film

As I have said earlier I have also been working with traditional film cameras and traditional film stocks. While I appreciate the many technical advances we have made to the modern camera; Superior auto focusing capabilities, advance white balancing, super fast shutter speeds, all great but I had found myself emotionally trying less and less as each new advancement that came with each new camera. I had made a switch from by beloved Nikon system that I had been using since 2006 with the Nikon D50 and stayed with up until the Nikon Z6 and Z7. I switched over to Canon following the first R6. The auto focus capabilities blew me away, and it served me well into the pandemic era of our time, when the world had to very become isolated. That era started on the path of birdwatching, and the R6 was fantastic at tracking the eyes of the birds. This helped me get into a new hobby I would have never dreamed of starting.

But at some point it became stale. I questioned if I had any skill at all, I felt as I could take any photo without worry, bring it into Lightroom and after a click of a preset the picture was perfect. Don’t get me wrong, its great for the working professional, I am sure these features saves loads of time. However for me, it became like a kid eating pizza for lunch everyday. Sounds great at first but after a while you are ready for a salad.

So I slowly started introducing actual physical film back into my life. To my wife’s dismay I have fallen into a the dreaded GEAR ACQUISITION SYNDROME or G.A.S. over the past few years searching for the “perfect film camera”. Not just with one format but with several, full frame, medium format, and now I have just introduced large format with my first 4x5 camera.

A lot of this sounds negative but, going back to film has not only slowed me back down in my shooting but has helped me appreciate the advances we made with modern cameras. I have been able to say to myself “ I don’t need the best of the best with honors”. I just need it to be good enough. And just about every camera out there these days are.

Again, there is the sensation you get with not only shooting the film, but feeling the slap of the mirror in the camera, the haptic feedback from winding the film advance lever, feeling invested in each shot taken, but also touching and feeling the physical film as you spool it into a paterson tank. Taking careful consideration to ensure YOU DON’T MESS THIS UP and accidentally expose the film into the light before you had the chance to develop it. Finally, the success you feel when a roll comes out perfect as you unspool it.

You can not get this when you are so connected, and today many companies are trying to recreate what film does naturally. While sometimes they gets close, it will never feel the same as holding the physical end product in your hands. So long as it remains digital it will only look forward to its fifteen minutes of fame, and even if it gets all the likes and hearts It  will never be the same as the “Real McCoy”.

So I challenge you, pick just one aspect of your daily life and get disconnected. Write someone an old fashion letter instead of an email. Print a picture and give it to someone.  Yes it is slow, but that is the point of this exercise, to slow down and appreciate.  “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller.