CAMERAS and PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography is a wonderful art I've dabbled in since I was twelve. It's another  trait I inherited from my father (the first being a voracious reader); most of the photos in our family albums are  courtesy of him. He was an avid photographer and would sometimes allow me to look through the viewer and click the button. In those days people used Nikons and Cannons mostly and get the photos developed by professionals in the darkrooms. There was of course the Polaroids, whose photos just slide out out the slot in front.

Daddy used a  Canon Canonet with a flash mounted on top; I think the film he used was usually enough for about 36 photographs and they always turned out clear, colourful and glossy. When he saw I had a genuine interest in photography, he let me use another model he had. It was small compared to the Canonet and its film was enough for 12 photos but a very camera still.

 It was a Boots 110 Teleflash and a very handy device; and I was really proud of my photographs after they were developed. But I still got to use the Canonet from time to time.

In 2002, I was given a little Canon as a birthday present; a Canon Prima BF-9S, with a built in flash, 32 mm lens, self timer and aiutomatic loading and rewind. I remember taking a lot of photographs at a friend's engagement and wedding with this camera and the photos turned out so great, I gave them all to her as a wedding gift.
In the present digital era, 'film' cameras are used less, at least among amateur photographers.Today's cameras double up as video cameras with zoom-in lens, plus the options of making it coloured, black and white, sepia, small, portait or landscape and merely hooking it to a printer... BAM! you get your photos... no, they are now called 'pics' in a heartbeat!
To me, photography's far more of an art using the 'film' cameras. True, developing them is work but work is fun when you are doing something you like very much. And the photographs made the subjects stand out and make them more realistic, while digital cameras while very handy and good and you get your pics fast, the wide selection of options has the tendency of making the subject cartoony at some point. I should know, I use my phone's camera to take pics these days (my Canon Prima sadly neglected for a very time)  and my computer's microsoft photo viewer does the editing should I decide to take it to a photo studio or cybercafe (I kid you not) to have them printed.
I want to believe there are still 'film' camera users out there who remember the time when photography was really an art. Today, it all so easy and... well digital.