And then, one day we stopped talking about negatives and darkrooms and discovered jpgs, raws and tiffs and photo-editing software instead. The transition was much easier back then for those who already owned a computer for the rest it took a short or a longer while. Digital, changed the photography industry, bringing the whole photography world upside-down.
I had been shooting with film cameras, both negative and positive film (transparencies) since I was a teenager. Lately, I shot only transparencies as their quality and impact were superior to that of printed images. They cost a lot and transparency boxes were piling in my apartment.
What did digital photography mean to me?
It meant I could shoot my heart out without thinking of the expenses.
It meant I could immediately see (and show to others) what I had just shot.
It meant I could DEVELOP my own shots and not rely to any clumsy photo-lab.
It meant freedom and creativity.
So I turned digital.
Do I miss the film era? Yes I do. Because deep down I’m a romantic.
This is why I have kept most of my film cameras (and all my vinyl records).
Am I a digital fanatic? I wouldn’t say so.
What pisses me off in digital is that you almost need to be a computer geek in order to understand and shoot with a digi camera (I’m not talking about the compacts here). Cameras look more like e-gadgets than cameras. The war of the MPixels gets to my nerves. I’m very frustrated that the brand new, damn expensive camera body I bought today will be old and outdated in few months when the new model will hit the selves.
Still, I keep shooting digital. Because the world moves forward.
People often ask me: “what digi-camera is good for street?”
I usually answer that the best camera for street is the one you can always have with you.
Street photography is always around us so we’d better have always a camera handy in our pockets.
Is this possible? Not yet, but soon I guess it will be!
What would be my top choices for street if I were a millionaire?
Let’s see:
1. Leica M9 – 7,000$, body only, add an extra heap of $ for lens(es) [link]
Why a Leica? Come on…! cause it’s a Leica 
2. Fujifilm FinePix X100 – 1200$ Fixed lens 35mm [link]
Why? cause it’s sexy, it’s classic, it’s discreet
Why not? for some the fixed lens might be an issue.
3. Enthusiast raw-shooting compact cameras 328 – 600$ [link]
Why? cause they’re invisible, silent, they fit in a pocket and they shoot raw!
Why not? cause they’ve got a shutter lag and a poor perfomance in high ISO.
What about DSLRS? can’t we shoot street with them?
Sure we can. But they’re bulky, heavy, noisy, we can’t carry them around all the times, can we? 
DIGITAL GALLERY FEATURE
“Time square serene…”
by `cweeks and a Leica M9
“Tuxedo pee break”
by ~du-jamais-vu and a Fujifilm FinePix X100
“Warning”
by *djailledie and a SAMSUNG EX1
written by ^StamatisGR 
on behalf of the Yard’s Digi Gallery Team
___________________________________________
Per-Erik Nilsson 
Photographer and Skipper of the Yard Collective
www.penatwork.se
absolutpe.deviantart.com
