From Digital Habits to Analog Awareness 👀
I have been learning to move from digital photography to analog, and the entire Valoi scanning workflow has become a big part of that transition. It feels like I am rebuilding the way I shoot, one roll at a time.
Recently, we had our first-ever Photobreak Photowalk. It was a blast, and another post about that day is already in the making. But what surprised me the most was not the walk itself, but how much it revealed about the difference between digital and analog shooting.
Slowing Down Is the Real Challenge
When you shoot digitally every day you get used to a rhythm. It is fast, forgiving, automatic. Shifting to analog changes everything. The pace is slower, the mindset is different, and your decisions suddenly matter again.
This was exactly what I wanted. But it is not something you can switch on instantly. The more I use analog cameras the more challenged I feel. When you burn a frame it is gone forever. No delete button. You simply need to accept the flaw you noticed right after pressing the shutter.
What Digital Comfort Does to You
Shooting analog makes you realise just how convenient digital really is. And with convenience comes the dangerous part. You get lazy without noticing it. I had become the photographer who always thought I can fix it later. That is a luxury. And with that luxury you start caring less about details. The quality drops. Not only in the images but in the way you see the world.
Digital is still great. I still pick up a digital camera from time to time. But it is not my first choice anymore. I want to be more strict with myself and more intentional with what I shoot.
The Photowalk Wake Up Call
During the Photobreak Photowalk I caught myself shooting a lot of random things. Mostly the kind of nonsense I would have blasted through with a digital camera. That was the moment it hit me. Digital shooting had made me careless. Not everything is interesting. Not everything deserves a frame.
But sometimes something stands out. A building with a strange shape. A window display that feels off. A person wearing something unexpected. Those moments are worth slowing down for.
“ Digital photography makes you careless. Analog photography makes you aware. 👀 ”
The Valoi Part of the Journey
After shooting comes the next chapter. The Valoi scanning process. It is a workflow that keeps you patient, focused and organised. There is no quick export. No batch adjust. You handle your film with care, you set up your frames properly, you check your light, and you scan one by one.
It is the complete opposite of dragging a RAW file into Lightroom. After scanning, it is the Negative Labs process, fine-tuning, and that is exactly why I love it. The entire process forces you to stay connected to the images long after the shutter was pressed. It becomes a craft, not just a habit.
Final Thoughts
Switching from digital to analog is not only about film, cameras, or scanners. It is about awareness 👀. It is about slowing down and paying attention again. It is about seeing instead of reacting. And for me, that simple shift has already made photography feel new again.
