Pretty amazing that photographic film continues to still hold a pretty solid audience. Digital has managed in just a short period of time to turn the whole photographic world upside down. Yet there are still folks out there that persist with film. This is not a rant against them.. only to say that they are very focused and stay the course of what they know even tho’ the world has left them behind. Me, I am a little more fickle. I waited for the digital medium to equal what I captured on film and then dove headfirst into the pool and never surfaced at the film counter again. Within one year sold ALL my film equipment and never looked back. I guess sometimes I am a little jealous on how some people tighten up their blinders and continue to still focus on their course no matter which way the world has turned. A good flash of interesting light and I throw my head in the direction it come from… so more power to those that keep their eyes on the ball and never look away!
Last night on my way home from work I heard a spot on NPR about Kodachrome’s final gasp from the photography technology nursing home. Kodak has finally ceased production and there is only one lab left in the world to process it.
I do miss shooting sheet film for run though…
I have to strongly disagree with your dismissal of silver based photographers – “even tho’ the world has left them behind” Silver based imagery is alive and well and has a unique and valuable role in the world today! The demise of Kodachrome aside, film (particularly black and white) continues to flourish! Ilford, Fuji, and Kodak continue to introduce new products to their film lines and improve on existing products (Kodak STILL produces the venerable Tri-X). Ilford has a commitment to producing their sheet films in ultra large and unique formats – a sign that this niche market is continuing to remain strong (check out their website http://www.ilfordphoto.com).
Digital hasn’t killed silver imagery, it has provided creative individuals additional tools for creativity. When Niépce took the first photographic image in 1826 the popular press soon announced the death of painting, yet today I walk by galleries crammed with all manor of paintings. With the advent of color film people said that the world had passed the black and white photographer by – why would anyone want a black and white image when they see the world in living color!, yet today traditional black and white photography continues to be a creative and archival benchmark.
The photographic and creative world is not a zero sum game, the ascendancy of digital imagery does not necessitate the demise of traditional photographic techniques. Interestingly there is a strong resurgence among high school and college students turning to the darkroom in search of something “different”, something to set their work apart from the masses.
I strongly encourage today’s digital photographer’s to look at the long history of photography and learn the lessons it has to teach!
Philip..
All that you say is totally true. I guess that the true direction of my blog piece was to actually pat those still in film on the back. With all the flashing lights and buy me stuff out there in the photography world it is easy to get distracted and move in a different direction. The blinders that I refer to are representative of the discipline that film photographers must face daily in order to practice and improve the medium with the larger than life world of digital howling in the background that film is dead.
I was drawn away from film as the world of commercial really is a good landing pad for digital imaging. The “we need to have it now” mentality along with the ability to combine several photos to create one select make the only right choice for a good percentage of projects.. digital. Film is still around the commercial arena.. but it is very scarce.
Once again hats off to those that do their very best with the medium that pushes their button.. be it fine art, landscape, commercial, weddings, editorial or any direction in the world of modern photography.
Bill-
Photography has always been susceptible to the “we need to have it now” mentality. I would argue that it’s been accelerating since the ’70′s with better and better film, cameras, auto exposure, auto focus, bigger digital sensors, faster computers – - – etc. It’s a real balancing act for photographers (particularly of the professional variety) between spending all their energy acquiring and learning “the latest and greatest” tools vs. actually creating images.
For me, it boils down to using the media that works best for communicating what you are looking to communicate. Had I remained in portrait/wedding photography I know that today my media of choice would be digital. In commercial photography the advantages of shooting digital are so overwhelming that you need a very specific reason not to be using it . . . yet there are still photographers in those areas who use film because, for them, it is the best media to express their creativity.
I think you’d agree that VISION needs to drive the creative process, not technology. Rather than blindly following the latest trend, photographers need to spend more time understanding WHY they are choosing the tools they use.
The rapid transition to digital photography and the push back/growth of film and black and white are indicitative of our times. We live in an age of instant gratification and always wanting the newest gadget – a mold that digital fits perfectly. At the same time, there is the longing for a simpler time which creates the push for others into or back to film. And it sems every generation has its “retro” movement which helps fuel film and B&W as well. I agree that digital is just one more tool in the tool box of creativity. It does not lessen the creative process but hopefully opens the mind to more great ideas.
Not surprisingly, the painters said that photography was not art and the film photographers said that digital photography was not art. It is all just part of the growth of new tools, techniques and technologies and oh so entertaining to watch and be a part of.
Shooting digital, printing digital and still owning the film camera and darkroom stuff. Will I use film and the darkroom again? Perhaps. When the right project crys out for it and I can’t do what I want to digitally.