A very interesting read - clicky.

Postmodern revisionism. It's all been done before.

Mark

You know, I agree with everything the guy wrote. But, as he said, you can't put the stuff back in Pandora's box.

Interestingly, we've been considering going back to craft methods of print in the Bat Cave. I mean real inky-fingered stuff with moveable type and big clunky machinery. I'd like to think it may happen one day, but for now it's a nice thing to talk about over a cup of tea and a biscuit.

I'd hope someone, somewhere, is doing that anyway. Or we'll find ourselves in a situation where that stuff is desirable but nobody can remember how to do it, or the machinery isn't serviceable, and that'd be a crime.

Somewhere, I have a Gestetner duplicator. Maybe I should use that for my letter heads. I use fountain pens, and I have a collection of smelly marker pens.

My old photo tutor from Uni recently told me that digital photography has yet to be fully accepted for “fine art” photography for a large number of reasons.

Certainly, if you're buying photographic prints, then nothing commands a price like a platinum print.
I think it more or less goes platinum > silver gelatine > giclee > inkjet.
And, for a collector, then there's the direct link between the image, the negative and the photographer.

I found this quote to be spot on:



I know it was from a graphic designer talking about sketching out ideas, but I still find a notepad and pen the fastest way to sketch out ideas for a story and plan a rough draft. And I'm yet to find a faster replacement for pen, notepad and shorthand for interviews.

I went to a social meet with one of the Welsh flickr groups and someone showed me their collection of old Russian 35mm SLR's. It was only small but it was sooo heavy, stunning build quality like you would expect from the former Soviet Union - built to last forever. Does make me wish I had the space to set up my own dark room, but I'm tempted to get one just for posterity. It felt like it had so much more soul than a digital SLR.

It's an inanimate object. The only 'soul' that it possessed is what you imbued it with.
I have a film camera here, a Pentax MV1, if I wasn't keeping it for sentimental reasons (it was the very first camera that I ever owned) I'd've posted it off to Alex by now! (8+)

Mark

A good read Prof, cheers for that, the purple one liked it too



I can see the purple one turning houses down in a couple of years time because they don't have room for a dark room...

EDIT: The 'f' and 'g' keys are close together and I didn't check my post, sorry...

Prog?

Mark

There's nothing new or surprising to me about a graphic designer sketching ideas with a pencil and paper. Any designer worth their salt will work that way. And nor do I think there's been a sudden shift 'back' to film photography. It seems more like this bloke has just realised what most of us here already know. At the top end of the market you still have people like Joe Cornish shooting with Ebony field cameras and fashion photographers using medium format. But there are plenty of people for whom using digital makes sound commercial sense, for example wedding photographers, who can now have a bound photo album ready for the couple before they've left for their honeymoon.

In the end as the point was made it's the photograph, not the camera, that matters and neither film nor digital will ever be the 'right' or 'only' way to take photos.

Zactly, and that's just as it should be.
Although, I know a photog who hates wedding photography as it takes her a week, minimum, to get the album together. Too many photos!
What I'd really love is for someone to bring a 35mm camera body back into production.

A local charity shop has the occasional camera days. They really do have buckets of the things. The most common are the Zenits. Small, heavy, Russian SLRs. Wonderful things. My first SLR was a Zenit, and it’s now in the hands of my sister. My dad gave it to me when I was about 11, and I got a lot of use out of it.

I should have bought one last time - I think they were asking about £10 a throw for them. All manual, and wonderfully mechanical. I wonder if we’ve lost something with digital at times. Next time, I might just plonk a tenner down for one, buy a roll or two of Ilford film at the camera shop and take the thing for a walk around town.

I know it is, but when you see an old Russian bit of technology like a camera, it makes you wonder what it has seen in its long life - at least I wonder...
Harsh winters, enormous untouched habitats, civil unrest, abject poverty, maybe. Then I do occasionally question my sanity!