[pure-silver] Re: Darkrooms
- From: Eric Nelson <emanmb@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2009 15:50:58 -0800 (PST)
When we talk about film and digital the issue isn't about coexisting, but
survival. Maybe film will survive, just maybe. If students and practitioners
like ourselves are enough to keep Ilford, et al producing their products for
us, then great. Just remember it wasn't enough for Jobo, Forte, Kentmere,
Kodak, etc.
Image quality differences not withstanding, most folks, (the ones that keep the
medium they use in business) just don't care. They want to take a photo and
turn the camera around so everyone can see it. That's it. No one asks for a
print because they know they'll be able to see it online tomorrow. Images are,
in that sense, devalued to the level of vessels for immediate gratification.
Standard viewing of photos are no longer prints but on the back of a camera, an
email, or web site.
As hard drives stop spinning and images are lost, people will look back and
miss analog, as all they had to do previously was keep water and dust away from
their negs, prints, and slides, but not enough to go back.
They don't mind that their photos are nothing without electricity and the gear
that contains and displays them because of the New Ease. They get over the
loss of photographic memories as they can always make new ones.
As more and more of my analog supplies become unavailable narrowing mine and
everyone else's choices, it feels like the seduction by the glowing screen is
nearly complete.
I'm not suggesting giving up but to evangelize analog in realistic terms. We
may be lucky and still have Ilford and other purveyors maintain a supply for
our needs for a long time, or we may end up having to make our own papers &
film just because we're that way.
A couple Harman reps stopped by my lab for a visit a couple years back to let
me know they are still committed to silver. We all know that attitude can
change in an instant. My feeling is they didn't want people like me to abandon
analog before they do.
Here's a link to an article I found yesterday that advocates that even the
digitizing of old photographs pushes them towards obsolescence. Something to
consider as we scan our images.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090301/jsp/opinion/story_10595559.jsp
I made myself go downtown to do some shooting today. Grey skies and snow for 6
months just doesn't inspire me much, but I needed to shoot something.
Something I noticed is a cold Hassy will suck the warmth right out of your
hands till they hurt even with gloves on. My thumbs are still a little painful
2 hours later. The price for 24 exposures.
Now to find the development time for this TMY I shot in pyrocat hd....
Eric
________________________________
From: Tim Daneliuk <tundra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, March 1, 2009 12:21:48 PM
Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Darkrooms
Silver based photography will never die, just as the synthesizer did not
kill off the piano. What has died is the high-volume, commercial
use of traditional silver printing ... and for entirely reasonable
reasons. Note that people continue to practice traditional craft
in palladium, LF contact printing, and so forth. This is the future
of silver photography - a boutique specialty that will always have
a place in the art world.
I've been an active photographer for nigh on 40 years, I see no reason
to stop now just because digital changed some of the craft (added to it,
actually). Moreover, the young kids at the local colleges are still
shooting and printing silver - the local camera shop does a brisk business
in used 35mm gear for just that purpose.
As far as quality goes, there is no digital equivalent today for a well
made MF or LF neg printed properly on silver paper. The best digital
printers don't even come close to my eye, and the largest sensors still
fall short of my Hassy negs, let along those big fat 4x5s. But ... this
is going to change, and change fast. Hasselblad is using a 50mpix sensor
from Kodak, with larger resolutions on the way. Computational power
and storage are evolving rapidly to make high res, low noise, small form
factor available, probably in less than a decade. At the current pace,
I expect to see 100Mpix next year and 500+ within the decade. At that
point, the capture problem is solved - you've essentially bettered what
a film image can hold.
BUT, there still the output problem. Silver paper has a 'look' unlike
any other. It is an artform in its own right. Even as inkjets get better
and better, and the papers more abundant (costing more than silver coated
papers in many cases!), they just don't look like a great silver print.
For this reason - assuming I am permitted to live long enough - I am looking
to the day when I capture digitally, manipulate in the lightroom, but
still print traditionally in the darkroom. DeVere already have a
digital enlarger - I hope this trend continues to make my dream a reality.
--
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Tim Daneliuk tundra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
PGP Key: http://www.tundraware.com/PGP/
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