Crabs on display

and thoughts on film vs. digital / a good eye vs. a good camera

Serious and proud, these Indian fishers show off large crabs they caught, perhaps using the nets behind them in the photo's top left corner.

I was such a technically bad photographer in the early 80s when I shot the top image. I didn’t see results until months later when I returned to the US and got the film developed. Turned out, I had consistently exposed for brights without understanding that the dark faces of southern India would be largely lost.

In those days, I had a cheap SLR camera, one lens, and I generally rationed myself to a single shot per scene, since there was nowhere to restock film (nor the other essentials that shared my rucksack space in roughly equal parts: books, tampons, and clothes that fit).

Below, the image of a crab sold at an NYC restaurant is sharp as a tack, perfectly exposed, and basically dull—proving that technical competence goes only so far. The snap was caught by current Sony digital camera, which boasts buckets of dynamic range (still only half my eyes’) and auto-focus that beats my own vision. And I can shoot and shoot for free and (theoretically) learn almost immediately from my mistakes.

I miss the adventure of the old days, the easy physicality, and the pleasure of being out on my own, off the grid and reliant on my travel skills and what I could carry on my back. I do not miss film.