Some photographers still prefer using film over digital

No doubt, digital photography is "hot," or "way cool" as my 12-year-old son would say. Seems as if a day doesn't go by that I don't read about a new digital camera, scanner, inkjet printer (or inkjet paper or ink), new digital accessories or new digital-imaging software programs.

So is film dead? Not by a long shot. New 35-mm films for amateurs and professionals are being introduced, too. Fuji's Astia 100F, an ISO 100-speed slide film for professionals, and Kodak's High Definition, a consumer print film available in ISO 200 and 400 speeds, are just two indications that film is still very much with us.

What's more, approximately 750 million rolls of film will be processed this year in the United States, according to the Photo Marketing Association International (www.pmai.org).

And in this digital age, there are still many photographers who prefer film to digital. On the amateur side, scrapbookers (moms who often get together in groups and at scrapbooking conventions to make creative scrapbooks) are predominantly film shooters. In the professional world, film is still the choice for some photographers, although digital is rapidly gaining in popularity.

In this week's column, I thought I'd share with you some thoughts on why some top photographers still shoot film.

Darrell Gulin, freelance wildlife and nature photographer: "With slide film, what you see on the light table is what you get. I like to use highly saturated films for my work in outdoor, macro, landscape and wildlife photography. Film allows me to get those saturated colors without making changes to them in Photoshop. Some of my top stock photography agencies still like to see film. Digital is great, and I am starting to take digital images. However, when I really want to nail an image, I want it on film."

Sarah Leen, freelance photographer for National Geographic. "I still consider myself a film photographer. Film is my medium of choice just like an artist may choose to paint with oil or watercolor paints. I like creating images and having that little rectangle of film that I can choose to scan and print or place on a light table or show someone with only the aid of a lamp or flashlight. There is something reassuringly real about that for me. What's more, in the years to come, you will still be able to view the slide. No matter how the technology may change, you can grab your little slide and hold it to the sky."