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Film addiction/ digital dilemma..
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Lol, I shoot film for my serious work, and digital for my fun stuff. Funny world
Not too worried about the possibility of losing value, to be honest, as the funds are likely to get re-invested in some film gear that seems set to only increase in value.. again, funny world :)
Damien
I started with 35mm film because that’s what was available :D
I went back and forth between digital and film for 3 years. Now I have to say 98% of what I do is digital and 2% film (6×6), but for work is 100% digital. It’s been a while since I’ve put some fresh 35mm film in the F100.The great thing is that I used to be afraid of photoshop, mainly because of the infinite possibilities it offers, but now I’m way more comfortable than I used to be, and part of it is because of what I’ve learned in the dark room, I think that’s some kind of education everyone should try to get, even if it’s just visiting a friend’s darkroom for a couple of days and see what he/she does.
In the end, as nfl-fan rightly put it, it’s all about the picture and its content, about the photographer’s vision, rather than the tools used in the process. The worst thing that’s happened because of the digital (r)evolution is the insane amount of people becoming completely obsessed with technology and missing the point about photography, while others so-called “purists” rant about “things used to be easier and better before digital”.
Francesco, I have to say part of the appeal of delving into film was the opportunity for darkroom work, and see where many things derived from in photoshop.
I know what you mean re: the technology obsessed, I was almost starting on that road myself, and one of the appeals of delvng into film and manual focus cameras was mainly to put the emphasis on the image again. Have seen the purists too, and that’s not a pretty sight either :)
I must say I am enjoying the latitude of negative film, and black and white gives me the opportunity to take a more hands on role with the film I shoot. It really is enjoyable, though for colour I may very well dabble in digital again in the future..
Damien
francesco wrote:
In the end, as nfl-fan rightly put it, it’s all about the picture and its content, about the photographer’s vision, rather than the tools used in the process.
People saying that its all about the picture are really overstating the obvious. Of course it is. But how can you separate the photographers vision from the process or the tools they use?
If for example you take a landscape photographer in a scene where he/she sees something or pre-visualises. They most likely will consider how each individual component in their process can be used to convey what it is they want to express. That could be a soft lens or a grainy film or whatever. So IMHO you cant separate the vision from the tools/process.
I agree, but the way I took up nfl’s comment was that once you have a final image, it doesn’t matter how it was captured – at least for the viewer..
..now, the taking of the image is something else all together, for this I think a clear vision, and intricate knowledge of your tools are essential.. at least for consistent, repeatable results – after all anyone can get lucky, but the best set themselves up to ‘get lucky’ as much as possible :)
Tools do matter, at least for me. Simpler tools like I’m using at the moment, allow me to focus on the non-technical aspects of an image a little better. Not so say someone else doesn’t find the same with a completely different set-up, but the real goal is finding tools you can use as fluidly as possible in pursuit of the images you seek, and that is a personal thing for each one of us.
Just my 2c,
Damien
damien.murphy wrote:
I must say I am enjoying the latitude of negative film, and black and white gives me the opportunity to take a more hands on role with the film I shoot. It really is enjoyable, though for colour I may very well dabble in digital again in the future..
Damien, that’s what I did for a while a couple of years ago: b&w film for medium format, digital for everything else. Now I don’t have access to my dark room anymore, I left my enlarger back in Italy, so I haven’t printed anything for a while, but as I wrote before I put some 120 in my Hassy from time to time :)
If I could afford a digital medium format I guess my usage of film would drop from 2% to maybe 0.5% :DFintan wrote:
People saying that its all about the picture are really overstating the obvious. Of course it is. But how can you separate the photographers vision from the process or the tools they use? […] IMHO you cant separate the vision from the tools/process.
Fintan, I wasn’t suggesting that knowing your tools is wrong. Actually, i think you have to know your tools so well that it becomes almost second-nature, so that you can put all the technical aspects in a corner of your brain, and concentrate on the pictures. I was referring to some people who are really obsessed about the tools, just have a look around the most popular photography internet forums and you’ll see what i mean. How many websites have you seen about photography? And how many of them are exclusively about gear? There are some forums where the majority of users spend hours everyday talking about cameras and lenses and never go out shooting.
I think I might prescribe to Mr. Eggleston theory, be it film or digital –
“I don’t think about what camera I should use that much. I just pick up the one that looks nicest on the day”
— William Eggleston
In fairness, believe Egglseton used a variety of rangefinder cameras from 35mm to medium format. While not all identical, operation of these cameras would have been very similar for the most part, harking back to the advantage of knowing your camera very well..
Eggleston is a funny character though, seems like a real trickster-like character :)
Damien
Loved reading all this~
I guess for all of the reasons mentioned I feel sort of the same. The digital barely gets used, mostly because I started to feel the constraints of my limited kit and could see myself falling into a trap of need need need and expense of the constant change in the state of the art.
I seriously don’t think I will buy another DSLR, though I am happy I have the one that I do.
For the last year I have found myself scouring craigslist for the odd and rare film camera and having a ball.
To date, nothing I have gives me as much pleasure as my Holga which I bought before I bought any digital.
I’d love a Canon T90~
The T90 is/was a landmark camera . . . I have a great model and am very sorry
I sold it now!Dilemma solved. Last remaining DSLR, a Nikon D200, sold and now in less neglectful hands :)
In the big bad world of film photography now, with no image previews and instantly accessible images.
Can’t wait :)
Damien
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