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Archive 2016 · Article by benjikan

  
 
dmacmillan
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Article by benjikan


Benjamin just posted a thread about his new Elle cover.

He's also been doing some writing. Here's his article Why Film Photography No Longer Works for Me

I'm thinking he'll find a pretty sympathetic audience here, but the comments section shows there are still film adherents that disagree.

Every once in a while I come across someone who started with digital photography and has since discovered film. I'm glad they are enjoying the novelty, but I'm bewildered by some of their claims.

I got my first film camera in 1957 and developed my first roll of film in 1959. I worked as a professional photographer for over 20 years in the film days. After shooting, developing and making prints from thousands of rolls of film, I have so much more flexibility with digital. I, for one, am glad to be out of the darkroom.



Sep 08, 2016 at 12:04 PM
friscoron
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Article by benjikan


I really miss the darkroom and all the magic that's created in there. I didn't even mind the nasty odor of fixer. I loved dodging and burning, failing, and doing it again. But shooting digital is a milion times better, and couldn't imagine ever going back. Just so much flexibility, and you know right away if you got the shot or not.


Sep 08, 2016 at 12:57 PM
dmacmillan
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Article by benjikan


friscoron wrote:
I really miss the darkroom and all the magic that's created in there.

The magical moment for me was when the print image would begin to appear in the developer.

Dodging and burning is an art. The good news is that every print from the same negative was unique. The bad news is that every print from the same negative usually fell a little short of your goals because of the nature of dodging and burning.

After I left pro photography I had a dedicated darkroom built when we did an addition to the house. I spent many an evening printing. If I got one or two decent prints from a night's work, I considered it a successful session.

I've been scanning some old negatives and transparencies recently. Spotting with the healing brush is a lot less tedious than spotting with a paint brush and spotting fluid!



Sep 08, 2016 at 01:24 PM
Peter Figen
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Article by benjikan


I had a couple of people ask me at my gallery exhibit how come there were no dust spots on the prints. Ha! It pained me to tell him they were all drum scan and digital prints and that I took out the dust spots on purpose. But the bigger thing for me is that he couldn't tell from looking at the prints that they were inkjets.

I still shoot film for myself and for certain projects but never for commercial jobs anymore. Clients are far too impatient and won't pay for film and processing, let alone hi-end scans. It's been several years now since I had a wet darkroom and although I thought I would miss it, I was wrong. I do think a very well made black and white negative is still better than a digital capture converted to black and white, but only by a little bit.

What I don't really understand is the certain crowd that shoots film to be cool but not because it's the right tool for the job. I'm way more about the right tool...



Sep 08, 2016 at 01:40 PM
Tom In Arizona
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Article by benjikan


dmacmillan wrote:
"I've been scanning some old negatives and transparencies recently. Spotting with the healing brush is a lot less tedious than spotting with a paint brush and spotting fluid!"


Spotting fluid...geez, I'd forgotten all about Spotone and spotting prints. Used to dip the brush in the Spotone bottle and then touch it to your tongue to get just the right dilution for the shade of gray you were spotting. Ah, the good old days.

Thanks for the nostalgic reminder.
Tom



Sep 08, 2016 at 01:44 PM
airfrogusmc
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Article by benjikan


If I still had a darkroom (lost it in the downsize after the divorce) I would still be shooting film in some capacity for my personal work I'm sure. Might return with large format after I retire. 8X10 Deardorff might be in the future at some point.

My pro work really moved me away from film in late 2006. I have to say that I do love my Leica M Monochrom and use it for almost all of my personal work.

I also really miss the darkroom. NO distractions once that door was shut. Another world away from everything. I could spend all day and be completely away from it all. The smell of stop bath and fixer and the gray of your fingernails (from the silver) ahhh those were the days.



Sep 08, 2016 at 03:00 PM
Andre Labonte
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Article by benjikan


I don't give a damb what other people use so long as the pictures are good.

For myself, as a hobbyist, I use what I enjoy, and that happens to be digital ... I don't miss film one bit. But if I had loved film, I would still be shooting it.




Sep 08, 2016 at 05:05 PM
Peter Figen
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Article by benjikan


damb?


Sep 08, 2016 at 06:01 PM
airfrogusmc
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Article by benjikan


Peter, files from the MM are truly a treat. Different from film but truly amazing in their own right More like medium format B&W than 35mm plus no problems with some of the artifacts that happen from time to time in conversion and then there's the process that starts with the seeing through to the end result. Not an after thought or the mentality of saving a bad color image. An uninteresting photograph is still an uninteresting photograph whether it's color or B&W.


Sep 08, 2016 at 06:33 PM
neighbourboy
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Article by benjikan


Oh dmac, you know better than to start a film vs. digital thread

I'm of the category: started with digital, discovered film. I had a grand notion it would slow me down and thus magically cause me to be better. Didn't happen. However, I discovered it was just simply fun. It's a mystery what I'll get back.

But if I shoot something important - an event, portraits, etc. I definitely use digital.

--David



Sep 08, 2016 at 11:48 PM
dmacmillan
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Article by benjikan


neighbourboy wrote:
Oh dmac, you know better than to start a film vs. digital thread

--David

I know, I know. As punishment I should have to spend an hour listening to a skinny jean wearing hipster extol the virtues of Lomography! (BTW, I own a Diana camera).

Light leaks, double exposures, expired film and poor developing are described as "magical accidents". In my day we called them f*** ups.



Sep 09, 2016 at 07:43 AM
Bernie
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Article by benjikan


I've never shot LF, but have observed professionals that have and their end products some years ago. First off, there was definitely a stylistic difference compared to 35mm film. The LF shots were routinely better lit, composed, and staged (posed). The 35mm shots were more spontaneous and candid, showing life as it "really" was.

My thinking is that some of us live in a photographic world where we want to create our shots compositionally while others capture an image much like "found art". Whatever is found is captured, brought back to the studio and prettied up in PP. Both have their place.

In today's digital world, things are a bit more complicated since the digital realm can work with both styles of shooting as the quality has continuously improved.

Just as there are collectors of old cars, tractors, typewriters, and other obsolete technology, there will be art markets for images created with film, tin type, collotype, etc. Hey, even today there are still markets for images made with oils, graphite, water colors, and many other manual methods. Somehow the camera hasn't obliterated them even though they take much longer to produce.

However as Benjamin noted, if one needs the ease, flexibility, and timeliness that most of today's commercial customers demand, digital is the preferred choice.




Sep 10, 2016 at 10:56 AM
zalmyb
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Article by benjikan


As someone who learned on digital I found a certain magic in film photography that was lacking for me with digital. It also gave me a strong baseline for what "looks good". With digital it's so easy to push and pull sliders and have no clue what even looks good.

Besides for that I have found the film colors it be better (for me) and I love that you can't really lose highlight detail unless you really try. With modern digi you could underexpose quite a bit to save the highlights but when you bring back the shadows often there is quite a bit of noise.

Additionally there are much more interesting cameras in the film world and it makes anything larger than 35mm actually affordable...



Sep 11, 2016 at 01:03 PM
dmacmillan
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Article by benjikan


zalmyb wrote:
As someone who learned on digital I found a certain magic in film photography that was lacking for me with digital. It also gave me a strong baseline for what "looks good". With digital it's so easy to push and pull sliders and have no clue what even looks good.

Besides for that I have found the film colors it be better (for me) and I love that you can't really lose highlight detail unless you really try. With modern digi you could underexpose quite a bit to save the highlights but when you bring back the shadows often there
...Show more
These are all valid points.

Zalmy, I just love the "Ritual" section of your website. There's some terrific photos there. I especially like the hats image.



Sep 11, 2016 at 02:39 PM
zalmyb
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Article by benjikan




dmacmillan wrote:
These are all valid points.

Zalmy, I just love the "Ritual" section of your website. There's some terrific photos there. I especially like the hats image.


Thank you!! That reminds me I have to take a few images out of there and add a few others...



Sep 13, 2016 at 11:22 AM





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