As the Sun Sets on Film Photography...

Back in 1998 I started experimenting with digital cameras. At the time they took a very unsharp photo at 640x480 pixel format and I used to halve that to 320x240 and sharpen it as best I could.

The photos here were taken at Fleetwood on the evening of 29 August 1998. What digital cameras did, that was very tricky with conventional film cameras, was to deal with low light situations like this with no fuss whatsoever.

With film you had to use a light meter, either on the camera or off, which would have over-compensated for the sky and reflection on the water here.

And then when light levels got really low you had to suck your finger, stick it in the air... and decide how much extra exposure to give depending on what type of film you were using, because they didn't cope that well with really low light levels. Colour casts, lots of grain and flare from any light source were common.

I was impressed when I got these back home and onto the computer. The problem was the small size. I have a few years' worth of photos that will forever be no more than 320x240.

This one shows the light from the Pharos Lighthouse - "Top Light" as the locals call it. The lighthouse system at Fleetwood had a tall lighthouse - seen here - and a smaller one on the sea front. Boats approaching Fleetwood in the dark lined them up, one above the other and then knew they were in the deep water channel.

It's moved a little apparently, but they left the lighthouses where they were anyway...

Looking at these again makes me want to go and sit in the car on Fleetwood sea front, waiting for an opportunity like this to present itself to my more modern digital SLR camera! One day...