An unused can of Kodak film on the left, and a Compact Flash card on the right…the reality of the changing times.
I can only imagine where that can of 20-exposure film has been…for years it was hidden in my Grandfather’s garage storage until he passed away and it ended up in my hands. I have been its keeper for almost 10 years now and I will always keep it for all that it symbolizes. History. Art. Innovation. The compact flash card on the right is one of many that I use for my photography and it holds 400+ images in RAW format.

There is still art in digital.
I do remember processing my own film and developing my own photos in my High School’s darkroom…it really felt like you were making “ART”. I refused to buy a digital camera until I saw just how amazing the technology and the quality had progressed. I soon discovered that professional images are still edited…still skillfully retouched…still hand-processed. It just happens its done to a digital file instead of a negative.

Pursue your passion and embrace change.
I have five or so of my Grandfather’s film cameras (from a Falcon Miniature to a Kodak Tourist II), which I hope to display one day in a studio of my own. He loved photography, architecture, printing, and was so proud to finally own a digital camera and a computer when he was in his late 70′s. He built his own garage workshop and would tinker, build, repair and organize in there. When he passed, we discovered file cabinets full of old magazine clippings that were categorized…things he had saved and things that he had always planned “to get to” or that he thought were important. He was a very quiet man. I worked with him in a print shop for a couple years and really had an opportunity like no other in our family to get to know him. He was an average man with an amazing life story. From being captured by Nazi’s in WWII to owning his own newspaper business…I just wish I would have asked more questions. We had computers in school when I was a kid and I remember having one kind of computer or another since I was 5. Even games have changed, from Frogger to World of Warcraft…and what would my Grandfather think of my 2 year old playing puzzles on my iPhone? I think he would be amazed and would have been one of the first to own his own iPhone. He truly embraced technology…and embraced change. I just feel like he wasn’t able to pursue his passion and realize his full potential…but he seemed content. I know he wanted more from me, for me to take whatever I had to wherever it could go.