Why do we fixate on sharing our images instantly? I want to be in the moment for longer!
(Image credit: Sebastian Oakley / Digital Camera World)
I enjoy photography for many reasons, one of them being that it enables me to focus on trying to be in the moment and enjoying the whole experience. But as we are in the midst of a transforming digital age, I ask myself: are we too connected, wanting to share our images instantly?
This is a trap that I fully acknowledge I have fallen into. Even more so now that I only use my phone to edit all my images – and that, of course, makes it incredibly easy for me to want to share all the images I've taken that day, or while I'm still out on a photo walk. But is that really what photography is about?
We all want to show everyone our photos instantly for those likes, and that five minutes of attention until something else takes the viewer's fancy, and you start the vicious cycle all over again. That's not what I want from my photography.
Working(Image credit: Future / Sebastian Oakley)
I needed a drastic change for me to still be able to enjoy my photography, while also assuaging that digital need to share instantly, so I decided to shoot more film – and it was the best choice I ever made.
Not only did shooting film stop me wanting to share images as soon as I'd hit the shutter, it also made me more aware of my surroundings – and I began noticing more and more things that quite frankly I would never take images of, or just didn't see to begin with!
Film gave me time to think about how I wanted to take a shot, what the lighting was doing, and to be more connected to my subject. But it also built up a discipline that I don't need to share everything right away; I can just enjoy the moment, and then share the image later down the road.
I used to love taking my SD card out and checking my images, making quick tweaks and then sharing the outcome. Now I love the whole development process, standing at my kitchen sink looking out across the fields, timing my agitations until my timer stops, and I pull out that film reel and see my images for the first time – that feeling never gets old!
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Go with the flow(Image credit: Future / Sebastian Oakley)
Now I use a mixture of film and digital in my workflow, and thanks to using film again my digital work has kept at that nice pace of being in the moment and then sharing the images at a time I want to – not right away, or looking for a place to stop and review everything.
It's kept me more present, and I'm thankful for that. But while it's another story for another day, this feeling is why I can see many have been choosing to turn off their rear displays on their cameras, or going that one step further and committing to a Leica M11-D – a digital rangefinder that is purposely built without a screen.
It's said to mimic the film experience, but also have the convenience of a digital workflow. And more users of the M-D series – or those still using the Fujifilm X-Pro3 – all have the same thing to say: it keeps them in the moment.
That's what we all want from photography, in my opinion: being present in the moment to capture something fascinating to view later. I highly encourage everyone to take a look at how and why they think they need to share everything immediately, and just take a step back and process things a bit more. I can promise you, it will be a refreshing experience.
For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.
He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.
He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.
