Film vs Pixels

I should listen to myself when I give words of sage advice to my children. Never speak in absolutes! Which is something of a walking oxymoron all wrapped up in four little words. Never and/or always seldom apply to real life. But was I listening to myself when I said I would never abandon film when it comes to taking pictures? Apparently not. I love my film camera. It's a several years old Canon Sure Shot that takes terrific pictures. It is easy to operate, has just enough features to accommodate most photo-snapping situations, and is small enough to drop in my purse so that I won't miss too many photo ops. But I must now confess that I am flirting with pixels. The slippery slope began nearly two years ago when I lost my cell phone. When I replaced it there were several options available. I went with the latest incarnation of the phone I lost which was, of course, no longer available. I liked the idea of only having to partially learn a new electronic device, the new version being very similar to the old one. But it had a few fancy features. One of which was the best built-in antenna available at the time. Out here on the prairie where cell dead-zones are common, I appreciated this feature. It also had a digital camera. I have never really understood the point of taking pictures with a phone. Understand it or not, I was hooked. The immediacy of being able to immediately see the photo that was snapped was tantalizing. Mega-pixel immediate gratification. It was handy to snap a picture of a craft idea or a pillow design to steal. I took to snapping pictures of beautifully presented restaurant meals and funny personalized license plates. Current snaps of my sons and my cats doing cute things.The antics of friends at social gatherings and stupid human tricks. Pictures of a china cabinet I was trying to sell that I could show to possible buyers. Most of which were eventually deleted and replaced by others. There are a few that are remarkably good that I will eventually email to myself and actually make prints of for posterity or possibly even a local photography contest. I would have missed most of these photo ops with my film camera simply because I didn't have it with me or deemed the situation not worthy of film and developing costs. Digital is environmentally friendly! I have rationalized to myself. I haven't bought a digital camera. Yet. But I'm comparing specs and thinking about it. Naturally, I want a pink one. Probably a 7 megapixel model. Maybe Sony or Nikon or Kodak. There is something that the instant gratification of electronic photography cannot replace. And that is the Christmas morning anticipation of having an envelope of freshly developed prints in your hand, waiting to be opened and examined. Especially if the film has been in the camera for weeks, maybe months. Certainly there are duds and cut-off heads, reluctant and under or overlit subjects. But there are usually a few gems where a moment is captured beautifully and perfectly. Moments you were there for but had forgotten about. Moments that can be revisited and smiled over and shared with others. I hope that I don't abandon film when I ultimately move over into digital. I hope that I won't sacrifice an older but worthy process for convenience. Never say never.