Over the past 30 years, Photography has evolved faster than in any period since the first photographs were taken back in 1826.

Here is a Plate Camera shot I took over 30 years ago. Like all plate shots, a completely manual operation. No automatic shutter speed or any type of help. You have to manually work out the lighting, working with an upside down image. A lot of light is needed to even get a small aperture.

This combined with having to go on location, use transport, bring a lot of gear on site including being dependent on the weather makes it a lucky dip.

You finally get the film developed and find issues. Slightly out of focus or even slightly underexposed so you had only one change to get it right. No preview like modern iphones to check your image. 

All this made you very good at taking exposure reading. Were the results worth it?. Yes but you really had to put the work in.