Film vs Digital debate, darkroom update & Route 66 galleries
There have been some videos popping up on my YouTube feed of late that have been stirring up some emotions in me. The videos and movies are on the subject of film vs digital and which is better in the opinions of those that are being interviewed. I have some very strong sentiments regarding the commentary in these films/videos and why some of the interviewees feel that film is better than digital and their reasoning behind their claims. This could get long…
First, I need to make it quite clear. I am a BIG proponent of film. I love film. I mean, I really love film. And I love spending time in my darkroom. I also love the fact that film is making somewhat of a resurgence the past few years especially among younger generations. “Younger generations”? Have I really become that old? Ugh. The documentary that I am currently watching shows people as young as 14 finding a love for analogue photography. This makes my heart sing! That being said, I have rarely seen an interview of someone stating anything truly unique about why they choose film over digital. Most responses are blanket statements of overgeneralizations, misrepresentations, flat out false or in ignorance to what’s truly important.
The one statement that nearly every single person mentions when asked what they like about film over digital is that film “forces me to slow down.” If I could roll my eyes farther back in my head they’d pop out the other side and plop onto the floor with a squelch. Here’s my take on this; if film is what it takes to force you to “slow down”, then it is a lack of self-discipline, not the medium with which you use to make photographs. Let’s take a look at the flip side for a second. If film forces you to slow down then by comparison, for the sake of this argument, one would assume that digital must therefore force you to speed up… That doesn’t sound quite right.
If you want to slow down, then slow down. If you want to speed up, then speed up. There is nothing stopping you from taking the same amount of time to frame a photograph or adjust the settings for a photograph using a digital camera over a film camera other than yourself. Sure, with digital, you may have a near unlimited supply of frames to expose should you choose to. But nowhere does it say you are being less engaged in making a single photograph with a digital camera as apposed to using 1 out of 36 exposures on a roll of film. And don’t let anyone tell you differently. The importance of the image you are making, especially on a personal level, should not be impacted based on the tool or the medium that you use. In the end, all that is important is the photograph.
Another statement that really gets under my skin is that digital is “too technical and precise” making it “soulless,” implying that film somehow inherently contains “soul” simply by being film. Bullshit. I mean c’mon. If you have a shit image, it’s still going to be shit regardless of the medium. A shit image isn’t going to have soul or be more artistic because it contains grain.
There is also a bit of a problem I have with some of the folks pushing(pun?)the film argument. A lot of these interviewees are younger hipsters. Now, not all hipsters are bad! I have a lot of hipster friends. However, these hipsters brag and brag about how their photographs hold more meaning and how much better they are as artists simply because they use film and analogue cameras. Here comes the twist. A lot of the time, and in the same breath, they’ll unabashedly comment that they send their film off to a lab somewhere to get it developed and digitally scanned(or scan the returned negatives themselves). They then upload these scans and post process them in software like Lightroom or Photoshop… Well, you don’t get to talk anymore. Sit down. Thanks.
I could go on and on with examples that really get under my skin. I was watching a documentary while I was on the treadmill yesterday and found myself yelling at the screen at some of the complete bullshit and drivel these people were saying… At times it makes me wonder why I even bother watching these films. Though, as stated above, I love, LOVE seeing younger kids getting excited about being in the darkroom and using analogue techniques to produce their photographs. So maybe it is seeing that excitement in their eyes, like I had when I started, that keeps me watching.
Well, on to my darkroom update. I finished the table I planned to build this week. I finally have a place for the giant heat press that has been sitting on the floor since Christmas. Hard to tell from the image just how big the table turned out but it is expansive. It is a great addition to the space! As I look at it now however, I am kind of thinking my darkroom as a whole might need some paint…hmmm…
The only big project left to finish off the darkroom is the sink install!(and maybe paint…hmmm…) I’ve been looking for some sinks on Marketplace but no luck so far. If I cannot find one there, I think I’ve found one on Amazon that would work out pretty great. It’s just a little smaller than I would have liked but it has everything I would need.
The last thing to add is that I have also begun to set up my Route 66 gallery page. By separating each gallery into the states we passed through, I hope to have a sort of chronological order to things. We’ll see if that will work out or if another layout would be better. I will be feverishly going through my digital files over the coming days and have also been in the darkroom when Ella is in school printing from some of the rolls I have developed. There is going to be a lot and it is going to evolve and grow over time but I will post updates whenever I add photographs to the galleries.
I’ll end this long-winded post with a quote that I love thinking about whenever I hear those that would argue one type of camera/medium over another,
“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.” - Ansel Adams
á na márië
~Cory
