Woophy - Is the digital age destroying the old film ways of photography. - Forum

Forum < Workshop < Is the digital age destroying the old film ways of photography.

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jonny greentree Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 02:23 - Edited by: jonny greentree Reply BE WARNED THERE ARE SOME LINKS IN THIS THREAD THAT ARE ADULT THANK YOU. Wanted to ask this question as i have mixed feelings on this subject. Recently i have been watching documentaries and reading up on photography and have come to see the vastness of this subject. And remembering my art lessons in the dark room and seeing exposures and toying with film back then and now seeing the digital side sometimes i feel like an old trade is dying. I love seeing these new hdr images and what photo-shop and gimp and all the other programmes can do but is it taking away from the true skill of taking a great picture with out the touching up . Ive seen photos from back in 60s and seventies of how just using your camera settings and the light you can produce some of the most moving and eye capturing moments and breath taking photos and then i see some photos of today touched up with the likes of photo-shop and feel are we losing the lust for perfection in our initial taking of the photo and then relying on the digital age to fill in the pieces. i know this subject is abit deep and i know peoples language barriers might make this subject difficult but id like to know other peoples take on this thank you for your time regards jonny[b][/b]
Martin de Rijk Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 07:41 Reply In the so called old days I always missed the opportunity and possibility to work in a dark room. I always envied others who were able to work on their pictures. They cropped, worked on the contrasts, sharpness, you name it. I had to rely om the first shot and the people at the printshop. Now, in the digital age, I can do all these things at home, work on my pictures, get the right composition etc. For me this is great. The possibility to take as much pictures as you like and pick the best is also fantastic. All things develop, we are in the digital age now. The PC is our darkroom, our photoalbum if you like. We can produce our own books, prints you name it. So you see Jonny, for me, as an amateur, the digital age is the best thing that happened. And, to conlude this, thanks to the digital possibilities we are able to share our pictures in a way we never could before.
sawsengee Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 08:13 Reply Hi jonny & Martin, this is one debate that touches almost all of us....questions, dilemma, conscious and subconscious predilections. Personally, I have the benefit of having been touched by both analogue and digital systems and personally, as an amateur and the constant use of images for my graphic works, I must say, digital is the answer for me now and in future.....for sheer easy access, easy sharing, instant usage and above all, digital gives me the immediate, COMPLETE CONTROL and practical usage in my work and recreational enjoyment....like sharing the photos in Woophy.... .For analogue,(to share pictures in Woophy) I would need to scan the negative or print to facilitate sharing in the likes of Woophy which invariably would be compromised by the the scanner software and the photo editing softwares which the scanner transports to. Unless, we are comparing print for print. Here are some useful links (I hope) to this question of analogue or digital: http://www.frogge.de/pepper/photography/analogue.html http://www.clarkvision.com/imagedetail/film.vs.digital.summary1.html http://www.batchphoto.com/articles/digital-photography.html Best regards.......sawsengee
jonny greentree Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 10:39 Reply I love the digital age and the way we can share each others images and memories, i just dont want analogue photography to disappear but thanks for the links and comments sawsengee and martin cheers jonny
scarlet Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 13:33 Reply There have been people on Woophy doing some interesting things with analogue photos. Take a look at alexbriseno who uses a Holga camera, for instance. He's one of my favorite Woophy photographers. I'm not sure he's active right now, but he returns from time to time with stunning photos he makes on a very simple analogue camera.
Dieuwertje Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 14:52 Reply Hi Jonny, I agree with Martin, as an amateur I am very happy that I am able to make my own pict just as I like them. It's very nice to sit at my PC and to look whitch photo I will hold or with one not. And I am sure that in the old days the photographer retouched the photo's in the dark room too. But I agree also with you that I don't like all the photoshopped pict, but it's a question of taste too.
devish Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 15:02 Reply Hi, I never really knew the analogue era, unless we talk about the simple camera that I stopped using when I was fourteen or so, when photography was not yet one of my passions. I must say, I think that digital photography is truly "democratic", it allows many people around the globe to take how mny pictures they want, how they want and share them with anyone in the world (woophy, as an example) at little or no expense. I think that digital photograhy has brought great improovements. However, I also think sometimes that there may be an abuse of things like photoshop and graphic developement. But I think that it is not the "digital era's" fault, it is ours. Besides, we are still free to not use photoshop, anyone can do what they want. The difference between now and then is only the fact that now we have more possibilities.
pansa Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 15:09 Reply This discussion reminds me of the firemen that where maintained for quite some time on the electric trains in England. Analogue will die out within 5 years time and only old and grumpy photographers will still complain about it. A cheerful and digital new-year.
jonny greentree Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 15:16 - Edited by: jonny greentree Reply i dont dislike digital I'm more concerned that it will come so flooded with samey samey photos and that people will be happy to See an over edited photo than see a capture of time. but i do agree with pansa in someway . but as you can see I'm all over the place on this matter hahaha the bit i agree with pansa is that im already a grumpy old man as my wife says
davidoff Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 15:49 - Edited by: davidoff Reply I disagree with those who say that the photograph analog disappear, the best professional photographers are still doing their pictures in analog format, -sebastiao salgado- is an example, and if today there is a growth in the photograph is like devish say is more democratic, but let us not confuse photographs with images is not the same. Anyone can push the button of the camera in automatic mode. But I think that very few can take a photo with a message. jonny Im a grumpy too, I make pics with my old leica, and I want to buy a scanner to show us. The analog photography is the base, if somebody only use photoshop and automatic mode in your cameras, dont know nothing about photography. best regards.
jonny greentree Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 15:51 Reply http://www.bbc.co.uk/photography/genius/programmes.shtml This has been a inspiration to me the past few weeks
jonny greentree Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 15:55 Reply I'm so glad this subject has so many lovers think it goes to show there is so much love for this subject called photography analog and digital
giz Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 15:59 Reply @Pansa, no I don't think analogue photografy will die out, yes for amateurs as we all are maybe but there are a lot of professionals who never will use digital. I know one professional cameraman who never touches a digital camera, either professional or for fun and he is not a grumpy old man but rather young and some of his not professional work is on woophy.His nickname is Hoyte. For myself, I am very glad with the digital era,analogue is to complicated for me!
fotogravenswaay Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 16:58 Reply for years ago I had a dark room of my own, black and white. But after a few months I discovered some heavy allergic reaction to the chemicals.......I still miss it. I think the analogue photography will always have their own group of people, like the vinyl records still have their fans.
jonny greentree Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 17:05 Reply sorry to hear that foto i think your right and now vinyl is coming back in the UK as the new thing again so maybe analog might in the photo world. In one episode of this documentary i watched original negatives and photos were fetching 750,000 pounds a print. so think now looking at this subject peoples tastes do differ quite a lot.
devish Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 17:23 Reply I as well don't think that analogue will die out, at leats I hope so, it is a wonderful expression of art!
zerega Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 18:28 - Edited by: zerega Reply You can compare it to the transition from classic typesetting invented almost 600 years ago to computer based publishing introduced about 20 years ago: - professional typesetter lamented that this will be the end of the world if non-typesetters started doing amateurish typesetting - indeed the amount of office publishing exploded and most of it looks horrible - indeed for professional typesetters it was the end of the world, because they all but disappeared but ... + many of those 'amateur' people invented great new type designs and designs with type no one imaged before and no one has ever seen before + new tools (i.e. software and faster hardware) made possible even many more ideas + many magazines, TV-designs, newspapers, school books, etc. started to look exciting + teachers, students, lecturers, scientists, etc. at last could dump their typewriters and turning machines (stone age copier producing copies smelling of isopropyl alcohol from typewritten stencils) and easily design, produce and copy hand-outs + publishing became more affordable Classic typesetting with all its careful selection of well-cut typefaces and fine tuning of spacing and ligatures can still be found in high-end productions and continues to look wonderful for those who appreciate it.
giz Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 19:02 Reply a very well comparison, and I would add that digital photography is accesable for a lot of people while analogue photography is for the specialist.
devish Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 19:10 Reply Thanks zerega, I was looking for the perfect comparison and you found it!
devish Member	# Posted: 17 Dec 07 19:12 Reply Thanks zerega, I was looking for the perfect comparison and you found it!