Talked to an old journalism photog at a cafe yesterday

I was shooting some test rolls with a beat up Canon AE-1 I found at a thrift store. This older guy came up and asked what film I was using, said he shot for a local paper back in the 70s. He told me he never used the light meter, just guessed based on the sunny 16 rule and got it right 9 times out of 10. Made me realize how much I rely on built in meters instead of just knowing my gear. Has anyone else had a run in with an old pro who made you feel like a total amateur?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthewperry9d ago

Wait, did he actually look at the negatives to see if they were right?

carr.willow9d ago

Did he also walk to school uphill both ways in the snow...? I swear old photographers make it sound like they developed film in a cave with a stick and some berries. But honestly, I tried the sunny 16 thing once and my roll came back looking like a raccoon's visual diary. I guess that's why my camera has batteries.