Digital recovery class, not what you think.

[guitstik]

The idea is to teach just the basics and it would be up to the student to figure out the menu for their camera, not that I couldn't help them. I have plenty of cameras that could be used for instruction and I can develop and scan in about an hour while still giving instruction. I see that as an opportunity to teach film as an aside not as the main subject.

[Hikari]

Why would a punter who just bought a digital camera want to take a film class? Especially when you can learn the same basics on the camera he has. People want to learn how to use the equipment they have purchased.

[guitstik]

Why would a punter who just bought a digital camera want to take a film class? Especially when you can learn the same basics on the camera he has. People want to learn how to use the equipment they have purchased.

Because, buying a digital camera does not impart knowledge that is not already there. Just as buying a paint by numbers art kit does not make one a Picaso. Having expensive Equipement and then not being able to squeeze the most out of it is ignorant. Ignorance is not the same as stupid it is simply the lack of information and we can impart that knowledge to make others better equipped and at the same time make aliving ourselves as well as introducing them to the pleasure of film, well that is just a bonus.

Instead of trying to come up with reasons why it won't work, take this as a jam session and maybe run with it in your own area, you never know unless you try and can't expect to succeed where no effort is put forth.

[Klainmeister]

I think it's a great idea guitstik and have had success myself with this very idea. Run with it. When someone knows that they are imparting an image on a physical medium, they tend to focus more on the ideas you're presenting. That's my experience, at least.

[Mike Wilde]

My favorite camera store, Burlington Camera has set up half of their basement as a teaching studio.

I think the camera store staff got sick of trying to teach everyone one on one how to use their new digital camera.

To get to the teaching space you transit though the darkroom supplies section.

[guitstik]

Memphis photo supply doesn't have the room to give over to class space. I am planning holding it at my place in the studio space, that is if my wife will let me convert that really big room that we don't use

And just to clear up any confusion, I like the Holga idea but that would be more geared toward an art class IMHO

[SkipA]

If I had just bought a DSLR or a digital rangefinder camera and were looking for instruction in photography basics, I wouldn't be inclined to sign up for a class that used film cameras, regardless of the rationale for learning with film. I would feel that there would be significant aspects of the seminar that had no relevance to me and my new camera. If I'm going to spend money to take a class, buy an instruction video, or a book, I'm going to look for something that features equipment as similar to my own as possible. I know this about me because I do the same thing in reverse all the time. If I'm browsing through books or videos on photography or lighting techniques, for example, I automatically rule out anything that is designed around or features digital cameras, since they aren't relevant to me. I doubtless pass up a lot of useful material, but digital bores me and I just have no special interest in it. I want material that is oriented toward film photography. I'm sure that digital users make the same kinds of decisions.

I just took a basic woodworking class. I could have chosen one oriented toward using hand tools, or one that featured power tools. I took the latter because I don't have many hand woodworking tools, but I have a number of power tools. I could learn the same basic concepts in either course, but I knew I'd get exposure that is more relevant to how I'll actually be working by taking the power tools version.

[Rick A]

I dont understand why these types of threads always end up being US versus THEM. All guitstik is trying to do is offer a basic instruction that will be pertinent to either film od digi., with the intention that the digi folks may end up wanting to shoot film also. I think I got that concept in the title of the thread, "digital recovery". It is a super idea and will work, I have every confidence that guitstik can pull it off. I think we should stand behind him and offer up as much support and help as we can. At the very least, the non-films will have more respect for us, and even learn how to shoot decent photos. It's time we stop being elitists and share some knowledge.

[SkipA]

guitstik, I should have said in my post, I wish you success in your endeavor. If you do end up teaching some seminars, I hope you'll let us know how well they were received by the students. If you use film and film cameras in your seminars, I suspect you'll attract mainly people who are interested in film photography. I'd be interested in knowing what percentage of your students use film cameras only, digital cameras only, or both.

Rick A, I don't see it as a US versus THEM issue, and I didn't mean for my comments to be taken that way. I just think it is natural that people will gravitate toward instruction that is based on equipment most similar to their own. I wouldn't enroll in a landscape photography workshop geared toward digital or film SLR users, for example, if my landscape interests were soley large format black & white. There might be useful content for me, but it's just too far removed from the skills I'm trying to develop with the type of equipment I have. I think that's the potential hangup with guitstik's idea.