The Explorer

One thing I learnt from Anne Noble is that "film is cheap so explore your subject". Not just with your eye but with your camera. While I agree that film is cheap, it's the cost of processing that I object to, so unless someone else is paying for it I tend to still shoot conservatively. That just means I do most of my exploring with my eyes first, then take the camera out and get a shot. What has changed these days is that I don't like leaving a half shot film in my camera so if I've started shooting a roll I tend to finish it that day. That's quite an easy thing to do when you're only getting twelve shots per roll though. Consequently sometimes I do explore areas too.

And you end up with two shots that have a completely different feel to them and you wouldn't even necessarily know they were shot at the same place on the same day if you came across them randomly flicking through images - which you'd be unlikely to do as my photos are supremely organised.

So the moral? Film is cheap, shoot lots, but get someone else to buy it for you, or better still blag it off your pro photographer friends who no longer shoot it.