I was skimming through my early photos in Lightroom, and came across the first image I made with my first digital SLR (a Canon EOS 300D in 2004, for those who are interested).

The thing I remember most was the immediacy of the experience. No waiting to finish the film, no processing in a dark room smelling of chemicals. Click – and there it was, on the back of the camera.

The second thought that struck me was that the immediacy of digital can affect the experience in negative ways, as well as positive. There was a period when the ability to capture an image without consequence of cost or effort meant I didn’t think through what I was trying to achieve as much as I had with film.

We live and learn.

While I still shoot film for enjoyment sometimes (there is definitely a different feel to film, that no amount of digital post processing can accurately emulate), I wouldn’t want to go back.