Living in an analogue world

“Day 13: We are not digital creatures.”

Those who know me will know that I'm an analogue photographer. Like most people who shoot film, I have a lot of cameras. And like other film photographers, I just need one more ;)

Film photography is tactile. From loading film into your camera, winding it between shots, swapping films when needed, loading it into the developing tank, juggling the times and temperatures of chemicals, everything you do is physical, you touch it. And then making prints in the darkroom is definitely my happy place, where time and the outside world disappear, and I finish with some printed photographs (of variable quality). Afterwards my hands will smell of fixer.

Our bodies are analogue organisms. Every digital process is presented back to the human in an analogue form: a printed output; music coming from a loudspeaker; moving pictures on a screen. And when we see a live performance, it is the connection between the analogue audience and the analogue performance that makes it special.

All musical instruments (except the pipe organ) are wholly analogue: the way the player touches the instrument affects its tone and timbre, from the brass player's embouchure to the string player's bowing technique. It is the difference between sweet music and a terrible din. The striking action of a piano affects the timbre as well – the organ is the only digital instrument, where a note is either playing in its standard tone or silent.

So let's celebrate our analogue lives by writing in a notebook with a pen, smelling the flowers and listening to birdsong.

This post is day 13 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.