As we're getting closer to the release of Apple's macOS High Sierra, some diehard Aperture users are wondering if the latest operating system will support their favorite photo management app. The answer appears to be yes.

As of beta version 6 of High Sierra, users are reporting good performance. The only nagging issue seems to be full screen mode. And one tester, Henrik Lorenzen, commented that he was able to fix that glitch with a clean install.

This is important not only for photographers who want to keep using Aperture full time, but also for those who have extensive Aperture archives and want to be able to tap them as needed (myself included). It's a relief knowing that I can plug my everyday laptop into the Drobo and open a library from 2014.

On a related front, the Mac Observer is reporting on other compatible pro apps stating that Final Cut Pro X 10.3.4, Motion 5.3.2, Compressor 4.3.2, Logic Pro X 10.3.1, and MainStage 3.3 (or later) all will be compatible with High Sierra. If you're running earlier versions of any of these apps, don't upgrade your OS until you get things sorted out.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

There are two factors that allow photographers to be more fluid in their equipment choices. The first is a thriving online marketplace that enables us to easily sell gear. And the second is that digital cameras have a longer shelf life now that their technology is stabilizing.

In my mind, these two factors give us the freedom to choose the gear that we really want instead of locking ourselves in to brands that are viewed as safe. To make this point, I'll tell you a story from yesterday.

I was working a commercial shoot for one of my favorite clients. They also hired a videographer whom I've worked with in the past, and who I like. Later in the shoot he noticed my Pentax KP with Pentax HD 20-40mm zoom and asked,

"When did you stop shooting Canon?"

"A while back," I answered. "I wanted something different."

"Well, don't invest too heavily in that system," he said. "All they care about these days is panorama devices."

"I like this camera, though." I said. "I really enjoy shooting with it."

For me, the KP works great. I have a large inventory of Pentax lenses from their SLR days that work great on the digital body. In fact, one of the key optics from yesterday's shoot was the Pentax-FA 35mm f/2.0 lens that I had bought on the used market for my ZX-5n. It's a wonderful prime that I use digitally as much as with film.

In objective terms, the KP has sensor-based image stabilization, 24MPs, a great metering system, DNG RAW files, compact weather-resistant body, articulated LCD with live view, WiFi, and a lens library that goes back to the early 1980s. It works great for me. In fact I love it.

I know that Pentax is having its financial challenges. Olympus did a few years ago as well, and it didn't faze me a bit. My favorite camera in the world is the PEN-F. That was in development during their roughest of times. It's true, I don't know if either Pentax or Olympus is going to be here next year. For that matter, I don't know if I'm going to be around either. That's not how I base my decisions. For now, I'm assuming yes on all fronts.

If all of this love changes for me, then I can sell the gear online, and make new decisions. Because the technology for digital cameras has stabilized, I can sell a body that is 3 or 4 years old and get a decent return on my investment. And lenses fare even better.

So I'm not locked in to either Olympus or Pentax. And I'm loving my photography these days because I'm shooting with cameras that I want to use, not ones that are viewed as "safe."

During yesterday's assignment, I used the Pentax HD 20-40mm zoom, Pentax-FA 35mm f/2.0, Pentax-DA 70mm f/2.4, and the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, got great images and had a blast.

(BTW: I processed them in Capture One Pro, not Lightroom. Again, I don't care. I like C1.)

As an independent businessman, one of my mantras is: "do not make fear-based decisions." If I don't want to shoot with Canon, it doesn't matter how safe that company is. I want tools that excite me and energize my photography. And that's how I'm going to make my purchasing decisions.

More Articles About the Pentax KP

Pentax KP Review - Part One - Top Deck - An overview of the Mode dial, Function dial, and other controls on the top panel of the camera.

Pentax KP Review - Part Two - The Back Panel - An overview of back panel controls and the menu system for the Pentax KP.

Pentax KP Review - Part Three - Image Quality - A hands-on look at how the camera performs with Pentax Limited Edition optics.

Pentax KP Review - The Final Verdict (Did I make a mistake switching from Canon to Pentax?)

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #598, August 22, 2017. Today's theme is "Tales from the Solar Eclipse" I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

Like so many photographers in the U.S., I had been preparing for weeks to ensure my readiness for the August 21 Solar Eclipse of 2017. And judging by the images I saw on Instagram and throughout social media, many were happy with their results. So I thought that I'd dedicate this show to my preparations, and the event itself. After all, we get to do it all again in 7 years!

Tales from the Solar Eclipse

Here's how I prepared for the big event, the equipment I used, and how it all turned out.

Using Cascable 3 "kas-ka-ball" to Photograph the Solar Eclipse

I connected my Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II to my iPhone and used Cascable to control the camera during the eclipse. This was the safest way to view the event.

• Turn on your camera and enable WiFi Then launch the Cascable app on your iPhone. It will automatically find your camera's WiFi connection.
• In Cascable, turn on the Histogram, Zebra Stripes (Pro), and Grid. Tap on the green Histogram icon on the bottom toolbar. (When you're in live view mode the histogram appears on the screen above the image.
• Go to Camera Settings (green camera back icon) and set the Exposure Mode to P, White Balance to Auto, and Drive Mode to Single.
• View the scene on the iPhone. Check the image, look for zebra stripes, and most importantly, study the live histogram.
• Tap on the Exposure Compensation icon and adjust the exposure using the histogram and the live view of the scene. The live histogram makes this process very easy.
• When everything looks good, take the picture.

If you haven't used Zebra Stripes before, keep in mind that many scenes have some spectral highlights. So you're not necessarily trying to eliminate the stripes all together.

The Olympus O.I. app doesn't have the live histogram (free) nor the zebra stripes (Pro) capability.

Cascable is available to get started with for free from the iOS App Store. Cascable's Pro features come with a free trial when subscribing from $2 per month, or can also be unlocked with a one-time $29.99 purchase.

We have a tile on all the pages of The Digital Story that takes you directly to the TDS landing page on the Cascable site.

A Look at Our First The Nimble Classroom

It was all systems go last Saturday for our first The Nimble Classroom focusing on Capture One Pro Catalog Management. Here's how it went.

Here are the upcoming sessions.

• September 9, Expert Editing, Capture One Pro
• September 23, Luminar Pro Techniques
• October 7, Photos 3 for macOS SOLD OUT
• November 4, Photos 3 for macOS

You can learn more about them and sign up for your favorites by visiting The Nimble Classroom online.

Updates and Such

Big thanks to all of our Patreon members!

We still have one spot open for the Autumn in Wine Country Photography Workshop this coming Oct. 26, 27, and 28.

B&H and Amazon tiles on www.thedigitalstory. If you click on them first, you're helping to support this podcast. And speaking of supporting this show, and big thanks to our Patreon Inner Circle members.

And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

Texas-based Red River Paper recently announced a new fine art paper, Palo Duro Etching. The new paper is a 100 percent cotton rag paper and is free of optical brightener additives. The paper is designed to offer warm white tones, deep blacks and a subtle texture to accurately recreate traditional darkroom fine art prints.

See you next week!

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Cascable - Cascable is the best tool available for working with your camera in the field.

Red River Paper - Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

The Nimbleosity Report

Do you want to keep up with the best content from The Digital Story and The Nimble Photographer? Sign up for The Nimbleosity Report, and receive highlights twice-a-month in a single page newsletter. Be a part of our community!

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

There are a variety of adjustments that you can apply to your images when you import them into Capture One Pro. These could be as simple as adding a contrast boost for studio images captured under flat light, or as fun as converting color images to black and white.

In addition to the visual adjustments you can make while the photos are importing into your catalog, you can add metadata as well, such as your copyright, contact info, and descriptions. I walk you through the steps in this video.

Keep in mind that any adjustments that you apply on import can be further tweaked, or removed, while editing in Capture One Pro. C1 is totally non-destructive. What is nice about this technique is that you can save yourself post processing time on images that have been captured under similar lighting conditions.

Master Capture One Pro

Want more? Consider our upcoming C1 Expert Editing Nimble Class on September 9. Class is limited to 6, and you can participate from the comfort of your home.

And don't forget about my Capture One Pro 10 Essential Training that will quickly get you up to speed with this pro level imaging application.

Then drill down into mastering the editing tools with Capture One Pro 10: Retouching and get supremely organized with Advanced Capture One Pro: Catalog Management.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

The September release of Aurora HDR 2018 goes beyond adding a Windows version to the family. Macphun has created a cross-platform ecosystem for your fine art images.

Two things make this work so well for photographers. First, the files created with either version - Mac or Windows - will be compatible on the other platform. Second, the product key can be shared with both versions. So it's very easy to integrate Aurora HDR 2018 into a mixed platform environment.

Other highlights include:

• Lens Correction Tool - The new Lens correction filter easily fixes all kinds of lens distortion, from barrel to pincushion, to chromatic aberration and vignetting.
• New User Interface - Redesigned from scratch, the modern and responsive user interface brings a powerful, yet joyful experience to HDR photo editing.
• Speed Improvements - Up to 4x improvement in RAW image processing, and up to 200% faster merging and masking performance means that Aurora HDR 2018 is dramatically faster than the last version.
• Total HDR editing experience with the most complete set of tools available. Fast, powerful RAW processing engine.
• Tone-mapping algorithm to achieve both realistic and dramatic HDR images.
• Over 70 presets that give photos an amazing HDR look in just one click.
• Luminosity masking that automatically makes advanced selections within HDR images based on the Zone System.
• Unique layer system that supports blend modes, custom textures and using original exposures as source images.
• Image Radiance, brushes, masks, lighting, vignettes and much more help users achieve their artistic vision.
• Highly versatile batch processing.
• Works as a standalone app, or a plug-in to Photoshop and Lightroom.

Aurora HDR 2018 will be availabe for pre-order on September 12, and released on September 28. You can be notified when preordering begins, which you might want to consider because of the discounts.

Current users of Aurora HDR may upgrade at a special pre-order price of $49, while new users can purchase Aurora HDR 2018 at a special pre-order price of $89. A collection of bonuses will also be included with every purchase. Mixed-computer households can share the same product key for Mac and PC that can be activated on 5 devices.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

When you buy the budget kit for the DJI Spark, you don't get anything by way of accessories. But after a few weeks of use, it's clear that you might want to pony up a few more dollars to protect your existing investment. Here are three things that I highly recommend.

Protect the Lens and Gimbal

I'm fascinated with the robotic eye known as the gimbal with camera lens. It's exposed, however, during transport, and I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the situation. I don't like to baby my gear, but I do like to protect it.

My friend, Mike Boening, turned me on to the Bestmaple Camera Front 3D Sensor System Screen Cover for DJI SPARK for $9.99. I've seen a few other brands for even cheaper, but the Bestmaple is the one that I've personally tested.

It fits snugly over the gimbal and IR sensor, and it protects both components. All you have to do is remember to take it off before flight.

Nimble Case for Your Spark and Gimbal

I think of the Spark as a second camera, so I carry it in my everyday bag. But to save space, I wanted a case for it that was as svelt as possible, yet protected the aircraft. I learned about the PolarPro Soft Case for $24.99 and ordered it directly from PolarPro.

They did a great job of handing the purchase, and a few days later I had the molded soft case that fit perfectly in my camera bag, yet protected the Spark. It even has room for an extra battery and the charger.

The PolarPro case is well designed, and it's the perfect solution for nimble pilots.

Yes, You Do Need an Extra Battery

I got by just fine with the single battery that came with the Spark, at least for the first few weeks. But as I became more comfortable flying, I want longer sessions in the air. Fortunately, the official DJI Spark Intelligent Battery is an affordable $49. Having a second fuel cell has extended the usefulness of the aircraft. And it fits perfectly in the PolarPro case.

Total investment for all three of these accessories is less than $100. And for me, they have been worth every penny.

More About the DJI Spark

DJI Spark: The Nimble Drone.

New DJI Spark Firmware.

Exporting a Single Frame from Video

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #597, August 15, 2017. Today's theme is "I've Got Shotgun!" I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

In my mind, road trips are a two-person activity. One needs to focus on driving, while the other serves as navigator. And with the current mapping technology, sudden route changes to avoid traffic jams are a great benefit if you have someone to monitor the situation. These days, that person would be me. And the side benefit to acting as navigator is that you also enjoy tremendous photography opportunities. And we're going to explore those on today's show.

I've Got Shotgun!

For those of you unfamiliar with "riding shotgun," the term was coined durning stagecoach days when the person seated to the right of the driver was assigned the task of protecting the entire crew, with shotgun in hand, as they traversed the trails of the west.

When I was a teenager, we didn't have to worry much about bandits pulling us over in Southern California, but riding shotgun was definitely the preferred seat because you weren't stuck in the back of the car.

Today, I'm still seated on the right side, but now with an iPhone in hand navigating the complicated California freeway system as we travel up and down the state. My skills as a navigator have earned me that position. And the side benefits of the job are unlimited photo opportunities. If you too can take advantage of this situation, here are a few things to help you maximize your opportunity.

• Prepare your camera kit for front seat travel. Keep the bag small and gear accessible. Remove any protection filters from lenses that you might use. Be sure that the flash is off.
• Keep the windows clean. If shooting through the windshield, then position the camera as close to the glass as possible, and be aware of possible reflections in the scene. Roll down the side window when possible (but this depends greatly on the views of others along for the ride.) Your polarizer can come in handy as well.
• Experiment with techniques that you normally don't have time for. Test art filters, monochrome, film emulations, and more.
• Be ready for sunrise and twilight.
• Use motion to your advantage. Practice the "near and far" rule for shooting out the side window.

My last tip is not to judge while you're shooting. You'll have plenty of time later to evaluate what works, and what doesn't. The magic of shotgun photography is to let go so you can capture that wildly unique shot that you never anticipated, but dearly love.

How to Test Your Solar Eclipse Glasses

Time Magazine published a helpful article about fake solar eclipse glasses with some advice that I want to pass along to you.

It's not enough today to just look for the ISO certification, as many vendors have started printing glasses with ISO certifications -- even if the glasses do not meet industry standards, experts warned, so your best bet is to only buy from trusted vendors.

You need to wear the glasses during the partial solar eclipse, when the sun is partly blocked by the moon, but can take them off for the brief totality phase, in which the sun's light is entirely blocked for up to 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

The solar eclipse is coming to North America on Monday, August 21, 2017.

Using Cascable 3 "kas-ka-ball" as a Remote Control for Your Camera

This week I want to cover how I set up my Olympus PEN-F for remote control with my iPhone. Here are the steps.

• Turn on your camera and enable WiFi Then launch the Cascable app on your iPhone. It will automatically find your camera's WiFi connection.
• In Cascable, turn on the Histogram, Zebra Stripes (Pro), and Grid. Tap on the green Histogram icon on the bottom toolbar. (When you're in live view mode the histogram appears on the screen above the image.
• Go to Camera Settings (green camera back icon) and set the Exposure Mode to P, White Balance to Auto, and Drive Mode to Single.
• View the scene on the iPhone. Check the image, look for zebra stripes, and most importantly, study the live histogram.
• Tap on the Exposure Compensation icon and adjust the exposure using the histogram and the live view of the scene. The live histogram makes this process very easy.
• When everything looks good, take the picture.

If you haven't used Zebra Stripes before, keep in mind that many scenes have some spectral highlights. So you're not necessarily trying to eliminate the stripes all together.

The Olympus O.I. app doesn't have the live histogram (free) nor the zebra stripes (Pro) capability.

Cascable is available to get started with for free from the iOS App Store. Cascable's Pro features come with a free trial when subscribing from $2 per month, or can also be unlocked with a one-time $29.99 purchase.

We have a tile on all the pages of The Digital Story that takes you directly to the TDS landing page on the Cascable site.

New Subjects Added to The Nimble Classroom

I've trying to figure out a way to bring more personalized training to photographer without them having to travel. It's one thing to get on a plane to photograph wine country or the French Quarter, but not quite as alluring to sit in a classroom for two days.

As a result, I've designed a new approach called, The Nimble Classroom. And now there are four courses for the Summer Session of The Nimble Classroom.

• August 19, Catalog Management, Capture One Pro
• September 9, Expert Editing, Capture One Pro
• September 23, Luminar Pro Techniques
• October 7, Photos 3 for macOS

You can learn more about them and sign up for your favorites by visiting The Nimble Classroom online.

Updates and Such

Big thanks to all of our Patreon members!

We still have one spot open for the Autumn in Wine Country Photography Workshop this coming Oct. 26, 27, and 28.

B&H and Amazon tiles on www.thedigitalstory. If you click on them first, you're helping to support this podcast. And speaking of supporting this show, and big thanks to our Patreon Inner Circle members.

And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

Texas-based Red River Paper recently announced a new fine art paper, Palo Duro Etching. The new paper is a 100 percent cotton rag paper and is free of optical brightener additives. The paper is designed to offer warm white tones, deep blacks and a subtle texture to accurately recreate traditional darkroom fine art prints.

See you next week!

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Cascable - Cascable is the best tool available for working with your camera in the field.

Red River Paper - Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

The Nimbleosity Report

Do you want to keep up with the best content from The Digital Story and The Nimble Photographer? Sign up for The Nimbleosity Report, and receive highlights twice-a-month in a single page newsletter. Be a part of our community!

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

Much of the video I capture these days is either from the iPhone or my DJI Spark. In both cases, the content is managed in Photos for macOS. To be honest, it's just more convenient than the other options.

One of the wonderful aspects of HD and 4K movies is the ability to pull a single frame from the footage and use it as a standalone photograph. The quality is quite good, especially for web publishing. And it's easy to do in Photos. Here's a short video on the technique.

Essentially, all you have to do is scrub to the frame you want, then click on the gear icon in the controller. Choose "Export Frame to Pictures" from the popup menu. Photos will send a high quality Tiff file to your Pictures folder.

Exporting a single frame from video captured with the DJI Spark. Photo by Derrick Story.

At that point, you can bring the image back into Photos, convert it to a Jpeg with Preview, or make a print. Its file name will be the actual frame number from the video, so you might want to change that. And I recommend bringing the image back into Photos where you can add some metadata and keep it with the original movie.

Exporting a single frame from video is a great option to have as we continue to capture movies with our portable devices. And it's really easy to do in Photos for macOS.

Mastering Photos for macOS

I added a new Nimble Class on Mastering Photos for macOS to my ongoing Nimble Classroom Series. The first session sold out, but seats are available for the November 4th class.

You can also explore the world of modern photography with my The Apple Photos Book for Photographers that features insightful text and beautiful illustrations.

And if you'd like to cozy up to a training video at the same time, watch my latest lynda title, Photos for macOS Essential Training

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

This is The Digital Story Podcast #596, August 8, 2017. Today's theme is "It All Starts with the Bag." I'm Derrick Story.

Opening Monologue

When we're in the great outdoors, open space is a thing of beauty. But in our daily lives, it's a rare commodity. Counter tops, desks, closets, and garages tend to be filled to the brim. This tends to hold true for our suitcases, and yes, our camera bags as well. And before you know it, we're lugging around extra pounds that we just don't need. But there is a simple solution, and that's the topic for today's show.

It All Starts with the Bag

A few months ago, I grabbed my work bag on the way out the door and thought to myself, "Man, that's pretty heavy." When I got to work, I emptied its entire contents on my work table and stood there in disbelief. "I'm carrying all of that around with me?" I thought.

There were too many cameras, too many lenses, extra cables, batteries, card readers, chargers, and more. Looking inside my bag, you would think that I was heading off across the Atlantic, not cross town to my office.

Why was I carrying all of that? Was it left over from my days as a wedding photographer where we needed to have backups for our backups? Maybe. But it was time to slim down. So here's what I did.

• It all starts with a smaller bag.
• You only need one of each, except batteries.
• Tablets and small laptops are just fine for home.
• Leave room for temporary items, such as lunch, paperwork, etc. so you don't end up carrying two bags.
• Create an organized storage system so you can quickly interchange bag items for different situations.

Innovations such as the Olympus PEN-F and DJI Spark have made all of this much easier. Try your own gear diet and see how you feel.

Advice for Eclipse Newbies

The Atlantic published a helpful article titled, Advice for Eclipse Newbies where they provide some helpful tips for the August 21 event.

"Be sure to bring the appropriate viewing glasses, a pair of glasses for each member of the group. They are pretty cheap and sharing can be problematic in the moment. Just as totality nears, it gets very exciting. Bring additional batteries and cards for the cameras, and a tripod really helps a lot."

Also, B&H Photo has put together an Solar Eclipse Resources Page with links to gear and articles for the big event.

Introducing Cascable 3 "kas-ka-ball" - The Professional WiFi Camera Remote

Unlock the potential of your compatible Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, or Sony WiFi-enabled camera with Cascable. Built for professional and amateur photographers alike, Cascable is the best tool available for working with your camera in the field.

• Full control of your camera's exposure settings right at your fingertips. (Free)
• Shutter Robot automation tool for Self Timer (Free), Bulb Timer, Intervalometer, and Exposure Bracketing (Upgrade).
• Work smart in low-light conditions with an app-wide night theme. (Upgrade)
• Put your shutter right on your wrist with the included Apple Watch app. Makes group shots a breeze! (Free)
• Download full-resolution images to your iOS device straight from your camera one at a time or in batches. You can download RAW, Jpeg, or RAW+Jpeg. (Upgrade)
• Using an neutral density filter? the built-in calculator performs exposure calculations in a snap. Start with initial shutter speed, then set the filter density, and Cascable will then display the recommended shutter speed to those variables. (Free)
• Want Sharp Stars (instead of trails)? The Sharp Stars calculator determines the longest shutter speed you can use at night. Set the focal length and sensor size, then read the maximum shutter speed you can use for sharp stars. (Free)

Cascable is available to get started with for free from the iOS App Store. Cascable's Pro features come with a free trial when subscribing from $2 per month, or can also be unlocked with a one-time $29.99 purchase.

We have a tile on all the pages of The Digital Story that takes you directly to the TDS landing page on the Cascable site.

New Subjects Added to The Nimble Classroom

I've trying to figure out a way to bring more personalized training to photographer without them having to travel. It's one thing to get on a plane to photograph wine country or the French Quarter, but not quite as alluring to sit in a classroom for two days.

As a result, I've designed a new approach called, The Nimble Classroom. And now there are four courses for the Summer Session of The Nimble Classroom.

• August 19, Catalog Management, Capture One Pro
• September 9, Expert Editing, Capture One Pro
• September 23, Luminar Pro Techniques
• October 7, Photos 3 for macOS

You can learn more about them and sign up for your favorites by visiting The Nimble Classroom online.

Updates and Such

Big thanks to all of our Patreon members!

We still have one spot open for the Autumn in Wine Country Photography Workshop this coming Oct. 26, 27, and 28.

B&H and Amazon tiles on www.thedigitalstory. If you click on them first, you're helping to support this podcast. And speaking of supporting this show, and big thanks to our Patreon Inner Circle members.

And finally, be sure to visit our friends at Red River Paper for all of your inkjet supply needs.

Texas-based Red River Paper recently announced a new fine art paper, Palo Duro Etching. The new paper is a 100 percent cotton rag paper and is free of optical brightener additives. The paper is designed to offer warm white tones, deep blacks and a subtle texture to accurately recreate traditional darkroom fine art prints.

See you next week!

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Cascable - Cascable is the best tool available for working with your camera in the field.

Red River Paper - Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

The Nimbleosity Report

Do you want to keep up with the best content from The Digital Story and The Nimble Photographer? Sign up for The Nimbleosity Report, and receive highlights twice-a-month in a single page newsletter. Be a part of our community!

Want to Comment on this Post?

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.

During our 2016 SF Street Photography Workshop, I brought a roller bag full of analog cameras for participants to experiment with during the event. I had all different types, and I remember one photographer remarking as he picked up an 80s SLR, "I love the feel of a mechanical film advance. It makes me smile."

When people ask me why I shoot film as well as digital, I think that's the best answer: It makes me smile. And that's a frame of mind that often leads to good photographs.

I dropped off three lenses for repair yesterday at Seawood Photo in San Rafael. I could have chucked them instead of restoring, but they seemed to valuable to just let go of. I asked the lady writing up my order how film sales were going. She said quite well. "It's funny, everyone left analog for a while except for a few of us. Now we're quite popular again."

I had a Contax 139Q with a Zeiss 28-70mm zoom in my camera bag while I was talking to her. "How would you characterize these film photographers?" I asked her while subconsciously patting my bag. "They seem happy," she replied.

Digital cameras are technological marvels. But analog cameras are mechanical wonders. The way they feel and the sounds they make while producing imagery is unlike our iPhones, computers, TVs, and other modern devices we use daily. With analog cameras, the tool itself pulls me into a zone of creativity.

Many, many cameras pass through my hands as part of the restoration that I do for TheFilmCameraShop. Each one is a little different. All of them have their own stories and journeys.

My workbench is their next stop. Then I think about what happens from there. Who's next? What will they create with this camera?

Those of you who have a 1980s Canon, Pentax, Yashica, Minolta, Nikon, Contax know what I'm saying here. You probably have a roll of film in there that you've been working on for a few weeks. There's no hurry. It's a feeling that you want to last.

Derrick returned to analog photography in late 2015 and has shot over 100 rolls of film since then. He currently runs TheFilmCameraShop on Etsy, when he restores 80s and 90s SLRs, specializing in Pentax, Contax, and Yashica.

You can share your thoughts at the TDS Facebook page, where I'll post this story for discussion.