Why I Still Shoot Manual

I know, I know. Modern cameras are incredible. The autofocus is faster than my reflexes, the auto-exposure nails it 95% of the time, and AI scene detection can identify a sunset from a portrait in milliseconds. But I still shoot manual. Here's why. When I'm in manual mode, I'm making every decision. Aperture, shutter speed, ISO. Each one is a creative choice, not a default. It forces me to slow down and think about what I actually want the image to look like, not just what the camera thinks it should look like. For landscape work especially, this matters. I want to control my depth of field precisely. I want to decide whether to freeze motion or let it blur. I want to choose whether the shadows go dark or the highlights stay preserved. Is it slower? Absolutely. Do I miss shots sometimes? Sure. But the shots I get are intentional, and that makes all the difference. Photography, for me, isn't about capturing everything. It's about capturing what I see. And that requires being in control.