When I started out in newsprint, I used a 35 mm camera. One time, I had a very angry, local  politician (who ultimately went to the pokey for another unrelated incident) grab my camera and expose my film.

I was talking with Mike Sechrist about this yesterday and how younger journalists who have been utilizing digital cameras will never know what it’s like to have a 24 or 36 opportunities to “get the picture.” And they will most likely never have the experience of  having their film exposed. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy about it.

I actually liked using 35 mm. I have a Canon sitting in a box in my closet right now that was always at my side for years. It took me some time to move from the thought process of film to digital, in all honesty, but I go nowhere without my point-and-shoot right now.

One thing that makes me, to use a Twitter term, stabby with the reporters that work for me is when they only take a handful of pictures. They know to take as many pictures as they can. With digital cameras, a person can take hundreds of photographs and there is an opportunity to get that one shot that defies all logic and that expresses the message of what you are shooting beautifully. Let’s also remember this photo taken Thursday of the US Airways plane which went down in the Hudson River was seen around the world. The photograph was taken with a mobile phone by Janis Krum and posted on Twitter.

Taking a lot of pictures isn’t just advice for journalists. It’s for everyone.

How many photos are you taking? Are you documenting the world around you? If you own a business, are you taking candid shots of what you do and how you do it? I find that viewers like to feel a connection with what they are reading and seeing, so are you creating your own brand that documents your own uniqueness. A picture can say a thousand words as they old cliche goes and anyone can invest in a decent digital camera for very little money. And if you want some instant feedback on what you are doing, join 365 on Flickr.

With the advent of new technology, there are a great deal of opportunities available. Back in the day, campers, you had less than 50 shots. Now you have, depending on your memory card, countless images that you can take.

And no one can expose your “film” on your digital camera or on your mobile phone.

The moral of the story: take a lot of pictures.

You never know if you might have the “shot” seen around the world.

Image credit

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