Interesting IG post by David Alan Harvey

[logan2z]

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 I absolutely do not live in the past. Yet there are always reference points. From a pure street shooting standpoint I don’t think there was ever anything more rewarding than an M6 and Kodachrome. That’s not a lament, just an appreciation. If they both came back tomorrow I wdnt use them. I’ve moved on. What was so great? It was the perfect marriage between eye and camera. When you pressed the shutter you were DONE. It had to be perfect right then and there. That might sound restrictive to some, yet it was liberating in reality. I shoot digital now as if I had Kodachrome or Velvia in the camera . I’ve never looked at a histogram nor do I even own Photoshop...yet I’ve embraced digital mostly because I can go with the flow longer. Changing film after 36 exposures did change how you worked the minute you got to frame 30. You had to make a decision . Put in a fresh roll with a break in the action OR pray that 6 frames was enough if you saw something you loved. Yet while I do indeed borrow from my film days and value my classic learning curve, I wouldn’t go back to film now for the main of my work. Digital simply gives me more freedom. Yet I’d love to have ANY camera I could use everyday for 20 years as I did the M6. It became a part of my body/eye. I didn’t have to think about a menu! Alas it’s all good. Taking pictures a joy in the past and a joy now. That’s all that matters....

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlQoCuqAPyn/?taken-by=davidalanharvey

[Archiver]

If Fuji's marketing is anything to go by, he now uses cameras like the X-Pro 2 and X-T2, although he was using a Nikon D800 a few years ago.  He said in 2017 that the Fuji cameras are the closest to his old Leica experience, although that was in the context of a talk about Fuji.

 

I definitely agree about the freedom of digital compared with film, but that's not an issue of brand or camera, but of technology.

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[logan2z]

He said in 2017 that the Fuji cameras are the closest to his old Leica experience, although that was in the context of a talk about Fuji.

 

I've never used an M9 or M10, but I'd be surprised if those aren't closer to his old M6 experience than any Fuji camera.

[earleygallery]

Sounds like he must shoot jpegs.

[Hello]

When the x100/whateverversion was my main digital carry camera, the workflow of just using the jpegs was the biggest appeal. After getting a digital M, I found the x100 to be redundant so I passed it along, but yes, the ability to just shoot images on it and enjoy the jpegs as they were was great.

[logan2z]

When the x100/whateverversion was my main digital carry camera, the workflow of just using the jpegs was the biggest appeal. After getting a digital M, I found the x100 to be redundant so I passed it along, but yes, the ability to just shoot images on it and enjoy the jpegs as they were was great.

 

So the Fuji's in-camera conversion is so good that you don't need to post-process in LR/PS?  That would be appealing.  When I was shooting digital I used to spend way too much time in front of the computer.  But I am surprised that a pro like DAH wouldn't feel the need to do any post-processing at all.  

[sblitz]

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I have gotten to know from a workshop of his I took here in NYC. It is very clear that at this stage of his career he goes with the camera company that supplies him with a camera. His relationship with Fuji is totally commercial, on his terms in the sense of what he would or would not say directly. A soft pitchman rather than hard. He said he loved the monochrome but once Leica took it back he could not see spending the money on it. Interesting he has gone to the Fuji MF, when I took the class with him he was shooting a Mamiya 7 with Velvia 50. Liked MF because rich clients pay more for huge prints, wasn’t convinced he could get the same quality out of a digital MF. I gather Fuji changed his mind. There is no crime in what he does, and I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same at that point in my life given whatever his financials are. There is a hustle in him, part of his charm, and this is it. Personally, I don’t think any of his recent work comes close to the earlier film shots, especially his work in Cuba, Spain, and Latin America. Is that age or equipment, who knows. Even in the class he said he liked the Fuji because it reminded him of his M6. But time marches on and the timeframe from shooting to publication has gotten shorter. BTW, his assistants do his post work. Still he preaches get it in the camera right first. DePaolo, whom I took a class with earlier this, said the same including setting the light temperature in the camera and does little if any work post. Matter of training and knowing what you want. Anyway, my two cents.

[Ko.Fe.]

Personally I see no big deal of using my M4-2 and some old Kodak slide film.

 

 

And it is as freedom as it could be, no batteries involved. S16 all the way. And no computer needed. Picture is ready and visible as it dries in the bathroom after developing. 

 

 

If I would be into making money by teaching photography, sure, I'll tell everyone what any camera is good and digital. Honestly, I learned all of the technicalities only by taking it digitally.

As long as camera allows to change ISO, aperture and shutter; gives instant exposures - it is good for any workshop, his included. And I do the same. Get it right in-camera, no or minimal edit.

It is called SOOC.

 

But if this guy doesn't do his post work on digital, but assistant, then it is kind of...

Edited July 17, 2018 by Ko.Fe.

[logan2z]

BTW, his assistants do his post work.

 

Ahh, now his comment about not owning Photoshop makes sense.

[sblitz]

Personally I see no big deal of using my M4-2 and some old Kodak slide film.

 

 

And it is as freedom as it could be, no batteries involved. S16 all the way. And no computer needed. Picture is ready and visible as it dries in the bathroom after developing. 

 

 

If I would be into making money by teaching photography, sure, I'll tell everyone what any camera is good and digital. Honestly, I learned all of the technicalities only by taking it digitally.

As long as camera allows to change ISO, aperture and shutter; gives instant exposures - it is good for any workshop, his included. And I do the same. Get it right in-camera, no or minimal edit.

It is called SOOC.

 

But if this guy doesn't do his post work on digital, but assistant, then it is kind of...

 

We are getting close to using ektachrome 100 as new film!!!!!!! The examples from beta photogs on Instagram look great.

[Nick Bedford]

Creative freedom can often become a burden of endless options and inconsistency of vision (speaking from my personal experience). I'm a film convert and have transitioned in the opposite direction!

 

When I walk out of the house, my prime lens(es), my film stock and my goals are all set. I have nothing left to decide than composition and metering.

 

For professional work, I shoot digital because it's not about me, it's about the client's needs, but luckily I can separate the two.

 

At the end of the day though, the tools you choose to use are personally motivated and everyone is different.

Edited August 29, 2018 by Nick Bedford

[A miller]

hb

 

 I absolutely do not live in the past. Yet there are always reference points. From a pure street shooting standpoint I don’t think there was ever anything more rewarding than an M6 and Kodachrome. That’s not a lament, just an appreciation. If they both came back tomorrow I wdnt use them. I’ve moved on. What was so great? It was the perfect marriage between eye and camera. When you pressed the shutter you were DONE. It had to be perfect right then and there. That might sound restrictive to some, yet it was liberating in reality. I shoot digital now as if I had Kodachrome or Velvia in the camera . I’ve never looked at a histogram nor do I even own Photoshop...yet I’ve embraced digital mostly because I can go with the flow longer. Changing film after 36 exposures did change how you worked the minute you got to frame 30. You had to make a decision . Put in a fresh roll with a break in the action OR pray that 6 frames was enough if you saw something you loved. Yet while I do indeed borrow from my film days and value my classic learning curve, I wouldn’t go back to film now for the main of my work. Digital simply gives me more freedom. Yet I’d love to have ANY camera I could use everyday for 20 years as I did the M6. It became a part of my body/eye. I didn’t have to think about a menu! Alas it’s all good. Taking pictures a joy in the past and a joy now. That’s all that matters....

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlQoCuqAPyn/?taken-by=davidalanharvey

how much does he get paid to say that?   Give me a break.

[sblitz]

hb

 

how much does he get paid to say that?   Give me a break.

Who do you think is paying him to say what?

[scott kirkpatrick]

Why doesn't Leica line up him or one of the greats of his generation and gift them an inscribed M-D?  It's just as M6-like (actually M7-like), and at the end of the day, you drop out the SD card, hand it to an assistant, who scurries off and does the LR- or PS-ing.  Probably comes back with two fresh batteries, too.

[plaidshirts]

I've never used an M9 or M10, but I'd be surprised if those aren't closer to his old M6 experience than any Fuji camera.

 

 

Why doesn't Leica line up him or one of the greats of his generation and gift them an inscribed M-D?  It's just as M6-like (actually M7-like), and at the end of the day, you drop out the SD card, hand it to an assistant, who scurries off and does the LR- or PS-ing.  Probably comes back with two fresh batteries, too.

 

The M-D is the closest you can get to a film experience using digital equipment, IMHO.

[Guest Nowhereman]

...how much does he get paid to say that?   Give me a break.

 

Give us all a break! No need to question his integrity. I know DAH, and he doesn't praise cameras because he gets paid to do so. A few years ago he got an MM, or an M9 (?), to use for a while and eventually returned the camera without buying one — it may have been because it wasn't flexible or reliable enough, I simply don't recall exactly why. The quote above is a straight statement of what he thinks. I believe he has a film M, probably the M6, with some M-lenses.

_______________

Alone in Bangkok essay on BURN Magazine

Nowhereman Instagram

[A miller]

Give us all a break! No need to question his integrity. I know DAH, and he doesn't praise cameras because he gets paid to do so. A few years ago he got an MM, or an M9 (?), to use for a while and eventually returned the camera without buying one — it may have been because it wasn't flexible or reliable enough, I simply don't recall exactly why. The quote above is a straight statement of what he thinks. I believe he has a film M, probably the M6, with some M-lenses.

_______________

Alone in Bangkok essay on BURN Magazine

Nowhereman Instagram

 

I am not questioning his integrity.  I am just challenging the premise of the two reasons that he gives for preferring digital:

 

1.  "yet I’ve embraced digital mostly because I can go with the flow longer...."   This is a big "give me a break" for me.   He spends so much time on the issue of needing to pause for 1 minute to change rolls after 36 exposures in a way that completely blows out of proportion the significance of this.  Yet, he ignores the reality that film is so much more forgiving than digital, particularly in the highlights, which has benefits from the perspective of efficiency and end results (i.e., higher ratio of well-exposed results) that far outweigh the hassle of needing to change film every 36 exposures.   

 

 

2.  "Digital simply gives me more freedom...."  This is a statement without any explanation other than the hassle of changing the roll after 36 exposures.  And it is baseless, indeed.  The freedom from reliance on internal light meters and all the buttons and useless functions is far more liberating, and I would think that he would know this very well...

 

In the end, I really have no idea what points he was trying to get a across other than that (i) he loves his kodachrome days but likes digital b/c he doesn't have to pause capturing life every 36 exposures and (ii) that this gives him more freedom, though not from a post-processing perspective b/c he doesn't use Photoshop....

 

The incoherence just makes one wonder what else is going on behind the scenes of this message....

[Guest Nowhereman]

"Gimme a break" time again! 

 

Your two points are so ungenerous — I would say "typically" — as to not take into account that the quoted statement is from Instagram, where people tend to write telegraphically because they are adding text next to a posted photo, which is the purpose of the post and which we don't see here; and that involves doing it in the Instagram interface which does not encourage posting or reading long texts.

 

Also, your first point, that DAH's concern about stopping to change film is baseless may be true for your photography, but obviously he thinks it is important for his, which many people value highly — so I tend to think there is no reason not to take him at his word at face value on this point.

 

On your second point, that DAH doesn't expand on why digital gives him "more freedom" — you conclude that his "incoherence just makes one wonder what else is going on behind the scenes of this message" is similarly disingenuous because one can easily think of many of the factors that he is referring, the same way you filled in (in your first point) the factors that can be the advantage of film.

 

All this leaves  a bad taste as far as I am concerned.

_______________

Alone in Bangkok essay on BURN Magazine

Nowhereman Instagram

 

 

[pgk]

To be honest I have no idea why digital is a solution if you don't unleash its potential with software. My workflow is such that I really can't figure how you can simply shoot the image and leave it at that or get someone else to interpret it. Such statements IMO do little to enhance the photographer's reputation as they suggest a fundamental lack of understanding about the digital process. After all its not like in the good old days of Kodachrome (I remember it well) in that the image isn't finished when it leaves the camera - and don't try to convince me that in-camera JPEGs are as good as a properly adjusted RAW file - they most certainly are not in my experience.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Guest Nowhereman]

If you're referring to DAH, his digital work is always processed — the same way that a negative would be manipulated in printing. At this stage an assistant does that. In his B&W film work, I imagine initially he did it himself. Now he has a skilled printer who does that.