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Why don't you just switch to digital?

seanbonner

By seanbonner
in Film Forum

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  • 3 weeks later...
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too old to care

too old to care

Posted
Posted

Nice blog and photos. I adopted digital in 2004, kept upgrading my equipment each time a new camera came out (five DSLR's) and wondered why I no longer enjoyed photography. A couple of years ago I dumped most of the digital stuff and got my M6 back out. I now enjoy photography again.

 

Thanks for putting it into words.

 

Wayne

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tobey bilek

tobey bilek

Posted
Posted

Because it makes no sense financially unless you use way more film than most amateurs.

 

But you may enjoy the film process and your darkroom, I do. Color is mostly given up because of availability of chemicals. Tri X is still viable.

 

If you have to scan, forget it. I can do it,and do it well, but it is a pain. But that is the only way I can get color images to my printer as he stopped optical printing years ago. He told me to embrace new technology when I did not want to.

 

Computer editing is God`s gift to photography. It is far more flexible than the darkroom.

My pro lab printer does not screw up my files. They go to him over the internet marked do not adjust color and he does not. Try getting the mini lab to turn off the auto function. Ha.

 

The only issue is cost,computers,programs, calibration equipment,etc and the cheap stuff does not work. Been there, done that. A nice Mac with pro monitor like Eizo is the way to go. Forget your old laptop or the $300 monitor.

 

To stay will Leica will cost an arm and leg unless you get a used one. Then the VF and RF are not to the film Leica quality. Ok ,just not like the old.

 

And remember , just because you have a digi does not mean you need to make more pics than you did with film.

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earleygallery

earleygallery

Posted
Posted

Hi,

 

I can relate to much of what you say in that article.

 

I've been using film since I started taking photos as a kid. I keep using film because I prefer the results I get, compared to the digital cameras I've tried. I use digital too, but I definately prefer film.

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myshkine

myshkine

Posted
Posted

I endorse your article, I like what you say. We are so many still committed to the slow process of film. I even like scanning, which seems to bother a lot of people. But it is part of the film pleasure.

We should start a movement, like "slow-photography", in analogy to the slow food movement...

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pico

pico

Posted
Posted
[...] We should start a movement, like "slow-photography", in analogy to the slow food movement...

 

Slow-photography becomes over and over, and most recently (to me) through James Bowey who proselytizes just that in his lectures, classes and public talks. Oh, and he is strictly a digital photographer. It can work in both worlds, as Toby suggested earlier.

.

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PayPerView

PayPerView

Posted
Posted

I don't often post and I think I accidentally clicked on the thread topic but as Freud might have said, "sometimes there are no accidents", :p

 

I also consider myself at my core to be more of an 'analogue' personality. I much prefer turntables, older manual shifting cars, my favorite being a 1972 Orange 911 Porsche Targa and film cameras.

 

The camera is the least of the process in a way. I don't remember or care to remember which body, lense or settings I may have made capturing a frame. It means nothing in the end.

 

When I got my first digital camera, on day one after a nice outing in Central Park, I noticed I had taken exactly 36 exposures. Some habits don't go away I guess.

 

For years, I would be overly sentimental about film and even turntables (which are undoubtably better sounding than digital to me) but as I've gotten older, it's not about the quality of this or that device but the amount of enjoyment I get out of it. I collect cars and the combined mileage of them last year was probably less than 2000 miles driven.

 

I had always rationalized that as it was worth it to me, that the visceral enjoyment I would get from just looking at them had value.

 

Yet I recently was fortunate to be able to store one in Los Angeles and drive a car that was born in LA and put on 1500 miles in less than a week. And truly my take on ownership of cars is more of the 'he with the most miles wins' more than who has the cleanest 'garage queen'.

 

Many of us might be attracted to many of the same things. Watches, cars and camera's to name a few. I collect watches as well and for years I was too lazy to often switch which one I 'd be wearing. Now I often change my watch and always feel great looking at them and picking out the one I want to wear, it's cheaper than buying a new one too!

 

The common 'thread' for me at least is that there is 'collecting' and appreciating objects for different reasons for different people at different times and I have wasted too much time collecting and not enough time in using and there is no joy with owning dream cars that are never driven or camera's that might get 36 exposures a month.

 

This is not a judgment of the OP and I'm not to say what he 'should' do but at the same time, I behoove everyone to question their ideas and thoughts from time to time and especially with camera's that are so linked to capturing 'moments', it seems a shame not to be using them more.

 

Lastly I had an interesting conversation with a long time photographer who is from the school of film and was shocked and amused when she (probably jokingly) said, "Film sucks."

 

I can be as romantic as any of things of the past and can rationalize and argue till the cows come home about the (huge) superiour sound of vinyl or the visceral feel of one of my old Porsche's in comparison to new iterations but none of it means anything in the end.

 

He with the most frames, miles or songs, wins. At least that's how I feel now.

 

Sorry to intrude into the film forum!

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fotohuis

fotohuis

Posted
Posted

How bigger the format how slower it goes. So analogue photography is very relaxing. I stick with film for B&W and C41, also for development. Developing your own film is not any "rocket science" at all.

I like printing in my darkroom in B&W and RA-4. It's always very plesant to take out a nice 40x50cm photo from my Jobo paper drum.

 

My favorit film cameras; Leica M7 and the Cosina Voigtländer Bessa III 667. I both use them till 40x50cm format. And especially in B&W you can pull out almost the same quality from the 24x36mm Leica negative.

 

Thanks for sharing your blog and article.

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