If anybody dares quote Paul Simon...

...I'll instantly delete their comment. It's just too easy a target, given that Kodak is stopping production of Kodachrome.

I certainly appreciate digital photography - I wish I would have had it around when I was learning the art. It's so much easier to show someone the benefit of bracketing exposures (i.e., taking a series at different shutter speeds or f-stops so as to get a better picture than what the dummy automatic settings choose) as you get instant feedback at virtually no cost. And it's so easy to delete the bad exposures instantly to not fill up the memory.

Using film in the same manner was a time-extensive and expensive. Even if you developed the film yourself, it still was a good hour or more between pressing the shutter and looking at the proofs. It also explains why skilled photographers were happy to get 2 good shots from a roll of film. But because of the irreversible nature of film, all the shots had to be developed.

I've also always been impressed with the technology of photography, particularly color. Being a chemist, I understand the technology, but I still am awed that this was created decades ago. It's a pretty precise technology and it performs beautifully.