Young people and film

[Nick De Marco]

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I am always happy when I see young photographers give up digital and turn to film

I remember attending Photokina 2008, wanting my first touch of the Canon 5DII, peering enviously at Leica's new S2, but being most excited by the Lomography stall which was staffed by and aimed at young people, blazing slogans like "Analogue is the future!" "Digital is dead" etc.

 

Since then I have noticed more and more young people, those keen on photography and not just consumers, turning to film. Today I was in a photography cafe in London and got talking to a young guy I have seen in there before with his DSLR. Now he shoots only film. Like me, he had an M8, and sold it. So he could buy an M6. He bought a GF1, and sold it, so he could buy some film. He is a totally dedicated photographer and only works in colour but only film satisfies him.

 

I feel the same way more and more. I'm old enough to have started out in film, but it was digital that got me back in to photography when I was able to afford it. Having had and used quite a few digital cameras I now find I increasingly only reach for them for specialist work (e.g. studio), or almost as an 'exposure meter' to check what I'm doing with a meterless Hasselblad for instance.

 

It is very pleasing to see young people who never grow up with film and certainly can't be termed as dinosaurs turning to the medium.

[Guest nafpie]

"Analogue is the future!" "Digital is dead"

 

What a bullshit.

 

Dream on.

 

However, even the belief that the Earth is flat is allowed.

 

At least, I expect an intreresting thread here.

 

Stefan

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[alexmann]

Same reason my son requested a Leica film camera for his 18th birthday last year. We clubbed together & got him a lovely chrome M6 with a 35 Summaron. He's loving it though of course funding the expense of development keeps his output lower than digital by a big margin.

[AlanG]

Same reason my son requested a Leica film camera for his 18th birthday last year. We clubbed together & got him a lovely chrome M6 with a 35 Summaron. He's loving it though of course funding the expense of development keeps his output lower than digital by a big margin.

 

 

When I was a kid back in the 60s I bought 100' rolls of bulk Tri-X and processed it myself. It only cost about $.50 a roll so I was able to shoot a lot of pictures and get pretty proficient by age 15. (And I still think a few of the pictures I shot then were very good.)

 

I really have very little desire to shoot film these days as I feel I have shot more than enough of it for a lifetime and now appreciate many aspects of digital photography. That being said, I picked up a few rolls of Tri-X at the Kodak booth of the PhotoPlus Expo last week and will shoot some for nostalgia's sake (And perhaps for more than that reason.) I'd encourage anyone who has not shot film to explore it as part of their personal growth as a photographer. And I think it is important to print your own pictures to complete the entire analogue circle.

 

I will also say that my experience in traditional color printing (and a formal technical education on the subject) gave me a solid foundation to really understand color characteristics of light, human visual perception of color, and how to work successfully with sometimes difficult to use tools. (Color transparency film under various tricky light situations.)

 

I really don't think it is significant on its own for "young people" to just shoot some film and think they are doing something "special" solely because it is on film or with a gimmicky camera.

[BJDrew]

I'm not quote young. 31.

But I do work with teenagers and some of the local workshops, etc. attended by a lot of younger photographers. They take a very keen interest in film.

 

Some become film addicts - they save for Leicas - they buy old used TLRs - Lomo is a gateway drug for sure and I'd dare say that there is a great future for film.

[cbretteville]

I worked at a large music festival, "Øya", here in Oslo in August and roamed about with my M8. Most of the attending public were using their phones to capture memories, but I saw a surprising number of old film SLRs. Typically they carried what we carried in the early 80s, Pentax MX and ME super, Olympus OM1, Canon AE1 etc. What surprised me was that these were the early to mid 20s crowd. A welcome sight.

 

Carl

[pop]

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What a bullshit.

 

Dream on.

 

However, even the belief that the Earth is flat is allowed.

 

Before declaring a statement of others to be bullshit, it might be useful to make sure that one completely grasps the meaning of the statement.

 

Since the people of Lomo are well aware of the probability of all digital imaging devices dissolving overnight into thin air (zero), one might assume that "digital is dead" is not intended to mean that.

 

As most - but obviously not all - members of this forum are aware, there is the well-spread opinion of many film users that images taken on film look more "alive" than those captured digitally. By implication, that makes digital images less "alive". Less alive is dead.

[alexmann]

I really have very little desire to shoot film these days as I feel I have shot more than enough of it for a lifetime and now appreciate many aspects of digital photography. That being said, I picked up a few rolls of Tri-X at the Kodak booth of the PhotoPlus Expo last week and will shoot some for nostalgia's sake (And perhaps for more than that reason.) I'd encourage anyone who has not shot film to explore it as part of their personal growth as a photographer. And I think it is important to print your own pictures to complete the entire analogue circle.

 

I agree with both your points. I'm really enjoying the freedom and quality of digital (with the M9). It might be heresy to say it, but weren't we always trying to lessen the grain in our photos? Film companies were trying to make finer and finer grained films, then along comes digital with no grain and then there is a sort of 'perverse' (if you see what I mean) celebration of it. As to your point about printing your own pictures, I learnt far more about photography and how to look from long hours spent in the darkroom.

Regards

Alex

[stephen.w]

Another twenty-something here. I just picked up two rolls of Kodak 400 CN on my way to work, which I plan to put through my M6 over the weekend (right after I get through the roll of XP2 currently loaded in it). I haven't yet taken the plunge to shooting and developing my own B&W film, but I see a huge difference between even the C41 films and my B&W digital output, which now strikes me as rather flat. Don't think there is any truth to slogans like 'the future is analog', but I hope that film will continue to occupy it's current niche.

[Guest nafpie]

Before declaring a statement of others to be bullshit

 

I referred to the statement of those 'young people', not to Nicks, ok? Just to make clear.

 

images taken on film look more "alive" than those captured digitally

 

Yes, periodically (always, when Moon is new!?) you are hearing this mantra in the Film forum.

 

What a b[self-censorship].

 

Stefan

[bill]

I referred to the statement of those 'young people', not to Nicks, ok? Just to make clear.

 

Just to be even more clear, it was not their statement, it was that of the marketing people at Lomo, who clearly know how to engage with a lucrative demographic when they see it. Good luck to 'em, they are clearly tapping into a zeitgeist.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[Guest nafpie]

...young people, blazing slogans like "Analogue is the future!" "Digital is dead" etc.

 

Just to be even more clear, ...

 

Excuse me but there is no need to make absolutely clear things more clear.

 

Stefan

[alun]

I am always happy when I see young photographers give up digital and turn to film. [...] It is very pleasing to see young people who never grow up with film and certainly can't be termed as dinosaurs turning to the medium.

 

Film is the new vinyl. There are many analogies between the gradual death -- but never disappearance -- of vinyl records and film as digital media have taken over. Those too young to have grown up with vinyl (or film) find it cool, fashionable, cultish: it makes a statement -- it suggests a 'seriousness', perhaps. It's fun; it's mysterious -- film like vinyl comes loaded with nostalgia, its own arcane rituals, its own special language.

 

Film, I'm almost certain, will become a small, cultish, niche market of dedicated users. Like music lovers their adherence to film almost certainly won't be exclusive. For many, digital music -- for its convenience, its mobility -- runs alongside large collections of cherished vinyl, and the same will be true of film and film cameras.

 

Call it cultural fashion, if you like -- or even counter-cultural, a desire to buck prevailing cultural norms.

[Guest nafpie]

Well said, well said, Alun. Thank you.

 

Film, I'm almost certain, will become a small, cultish, niche market of dedicated users.

 

Let me add: In many parts of the world Film already IS a small, cultish, niche market of dedicated users.

 

From time to time, I am one of these users...

 

Stefan

[bill]

Excuse me but there is no need to make absolutely clear things more clear.

 

...the Lomography stall which was staffed by and aimed at young people, blazing slogans like "Analogue is the future!" "Digital is dead" etc.

 

...clearly there is... Selective quotes are a two-edged sword.

 

Now, getting back to the OP, two points. I was down in Brighton in the Summer and there were a number of Lomo-using people on the Pier. They were working independently and in small groups and were consulting sheets of paper. I asked one group what they were up to. It was a "photo treasure-hunt" and they were following a set of clues to photograph certain things. Points were to be awarded for creativity as well as finding the items. None of the participants was over 30.

 

Secondly, my own son is 17. Although not that interested himself, he tells me that a number of his friends enjoy shooting with film and "old school" cameras, organising competitions among themselves.

 

Just sayin'...

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[Guest nafpie]

...clearly there is... Selective quotes are a two-edged sword.

 

Ok, you won.

 

 

Stefan

[bill]

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[giordano]

Film is the new vinyl. There are many analogies between the gradual death -- but never disappearance -- of vinyl records and film as digital media have taken over.

 

Does anyone know the workflow of current vinyl releases? Do they use analogue tape recorders in the studio and to create a master tape from which the master disc is cut, or is there a digital stage (in which case listening to a vinyl disk is the equivalent of looking at a wet print made from a digital image)? Or do they bravely and puristically record direct to the wax?

[bill]

Sadly, probably not.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

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Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[Xmas]

I'd imagine DAT tape and analogue tape are increasing in price as they stop being commodity items.

 

I can ask a vinyl tonemister if you want to know.

 

The significant risk is the Leica go bust, in this eventuality we would be dependent on CV and ZM for new lenses M8 and M9 would be like RD/1s...., but M2s would be the same,as they are now.

 

Noel