1966.  Ok, I can admit being old enough to remember listening to a snappy little Simon and Garfunkel tune called The 59^th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) when it came out. The opening lines “Slow down, you move too fast. You got to make the morning last” are as appropriate now as they were then. Perhaps even more so!

Things haven’t changed, except that our daily lives seem to move at an ever-faster pace as we become more and more drawn into the digital/mobile phone/tablet vortex.

How do you create something meaningful to you … and perhaps others … and not just more noise? I really think this question is at the heart of the film/photographic process, and the desire not to be part of the maddening crowd.

I believe there is something special about thinking as much as possible about the picture you are going to make, whether you are using a 35mm, medium or large format camera. Snapping away at blazing speed, only broken up by stopping to look at the LCD screen on the back of the camera – affectionately known as “chimping” (not a very photographically appealing word!) – does not help!

You need to think about what you are doing and then let the creative picture making process flow – whether you are on the street, where you will most certainly loose spontaneity and miss great opportunities by constantly moving your head up and down to view the LCD – or whether you are making a considered landscape.

Yes, I believe the film/photographic process is slower and more deliberative. You are committing and connecting with subjects rather than firing off hundreds or even thousands of shots per day, hoping to later find a few “keepers”.

These are my thoughts and I understand why some might disagree, but I think working at a comparatively slower pace, where we force ourselves to think about proper framing and composition, lighting and exposure can really make a difference and lead to better and more meaningful photographs.

There is something else about slowing down. It enables you to have a fighting chance to see the extraordinary that might be missed, and often is, without a more considered approach. So give yourself that chance to choose the extraordinary instead of taking the obvious and boring shot everyone else has … besides, it’s already on the Internet and can be found a million times.

Of course I suppose you could turn off or tape over the LCD so you couldn’t look at it, and that’s fine. In my opinion you will become a better photographer … but I think in the case of black and white you will miss the look that film contributes to the finished result … and that too is extraordinary!