Even though I don't really take pictures anymore I still see myself self as "into photography". I have the DSLR, the regular SLR, although my favourite was my (now broken) Cannon Elph 1000. It took some of the best pictures and was easy to carry. Some of the lack of passion for me is just not being willing to lug such a conspicuous piece of equipment around very often.
The other one is developing. The digital revolution with cameras is perfect for me since I'm cheap and love to take multiple pictures and test out different settings. But there is something missing and I think that developing the pictures myself was a big part of the connection I felt with photography in high school.
Yesterday I woke up and half day-dreamed, half remembered the calm environment of the darkroom. Only mountains of books can make me feel more tranquil.
The best parts/what I'm missing:
-experimenting and seeing the results
-slapping the wet test strips up on the black board and tracking the changes as the photo emerges
-the grain in the grain finder
-watching it appear (90s developer, 60s stop, 90s filter. Wash)
-making contact sheets of the negatives
-the eerie orange dark and ticking of enlarger timers
At least for now, my own darkroom is a bit unrealistic. I don't have a space of my own (or, let's face it, money). I hope I get to develop again.
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