I’m so excited about this project I couldn’t wait till New Years to tell everyone.
A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a used Canon AE-1 Program off of Amazon. According to Wikipedia, the AE-1 Program was the successor to the AE-1 and was introduced in 1981. The AE-1 was a widely successful camera in its day. Today the AE-1/AE-1 Program is a legend with an iconic design. Production of the AE-1 Program was stopped in 1984 so this means I’ll be learning on a camera that is older than I am. To the best of my knowledge, it’s in fine working order.
My project for 2013 is to become a better digital photographer by learning to shoot film (thus Project Film). While that may not make sense at first, it might when you realize that film is a much more unforgiving medium. Not only do you have to wait to develop film (oh, the horror!), you can also screw up and not know it for a while (aka the 3rd roll of film I shot and it wasn’t properly wound so I didn’t get anything). The various types of films available, from normal to “lomo”, is breathtaking. Plus, not knowing the “holy trinity” of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture can make or break a shot (literally). My goal is to get familiar enough with the “holy trinity” where I can shoot on manual on my DSLR’s without a second thought.
How will I get there? By shooting film this year (alongside digital in some cases). I’m still looking for an economical way to get my negatives on a computer without spending a fortune but I plan to keep these scanned shots true to form (no to minimal digital edits). At the end of 2013, I’ll compile my best shots into a book that I’ll sell in 2014.
So, while I’ll be sharing my trials and tribulations with you here, I could also use some help. The Canon FD mount that my camera uses has been out of production for some time. If you know of anyone that rents/sells FD mount glass, please point them my way. If you shoot on a AE-1, also give me a holler- I would love to talk to you about it!
Do you have any big projects for 2013?
[update]: My buddies over at Photojojo just added this idea to their blog post “7 Photo Projects to Start on January 1st“. Pretty cool, eh?
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