Kids these days

[egpj]

I have read many things of late about the death of film and digital versus film. Really allot of hype about nothing IMHO. That having been said I was out shooting in Cartago, CRI. In the center of town is a church that was destroyed while being built by an earthquake. The town had tried to rebuild it about 80 years after the first quake but then during the rebuild another quake hit and destroyed what little progress they made. So the project was abandoned but the ruins are great to go shooting in.

While there I ran into two photography students from the local university shooting some studies in and around the ruins. I got to talking to them and they really surprised me in their passion for photography. One was shooting with an old Minolta SLR and 50mm/f1.something and the other was using one of the Nikon digital cameras. They both loved taking photos and we sat and talked about different cameras and the characteristics of different films. When one of the students started talking about her Spotmatic she started to wax poetic about it and how much she loved her Spotmatic. She would sell everything else in her inventory if she ever needed to but the SPotmatic would stay with her forever!

Before talking to these students I really felt that film was only something for people growing grey like me and that the younger generation was so used to growing up "chimping" that they would never know the joy of switching in between emulsion and the different looks they would render. But I found that things were not as bad as I thought. These students had passion for their studies and I think the future is not so bleak for film.

Right now I am waiting for the next leap in sensor technology where the sensor is as thin as a piece of film and you just load a cartridge in your trusty Bessa or Leica IIIf and shoot away storing the images where the film casing would normally be. You know, even if something like that came about I think that there would still be young people out there happily playing with camera's three times older then they are and loading whatever films they can get their hands on.

 

[jan normandale]

Glenn, I'm over the hill in the age profile. I meet up with a young crowd of photographers, all 25 - 35 all hauling around digital equipment and very good with it. I'm the odd one out and I'm hauling around my RFs and other arcane film exposing equipment. They are all interested. No put down, no film is dead, yes interested. I loaned a little Olympus RC to one member and they were all clamouring to be next to run a roll of film thru it. Some have even gone to camera shops looking for cheap classic RF's and SLR's. I'm surprised.

Most experts in technology suggest that a change doesnt eliminate one medium at the expense of the new medium, it merely increases the overall use of the total media used. Maybe film will be something to change to when you want a change from digital, who knows. Lots of old cars that should have been dead are still around, it'll probably be true for film cameras too.

 

[clarence]

The only problem is that as film becomes less profitable, manufacturers will be less able to supply it at current prices, and may one day either abandon it altogether, or raise the price of film to the point that only professional artists and well-heeled hobbyists will be able to afford it. Although I'm currently reaping the benefits of the general exodus of the photographic community from film equipment, in the long run, the opportunity cost of keeping the machinery needed to produce film is growing greater and greater, and the day to day costs of using my dear cameras will increase.

My 400 foot roll of HP5 (note lack of 'plus', it's circa 1960 vintage) is only going to last for so long. I would start stockpiling the emulsions I like, but I haven't the space in my freezer.

An entire community moaned audibly when Kodachrome ceased to exist, and lest we forget, Ilford came very near to the brink as well.

If film scanners became cheaper, and they were better promoted, we might see a small return to film. I doubt this is likely, though, since it's directly competitive to sales of digital cameras.

I think we may safely say, 'After us, the deluge'.

Clarence

 

[ddutchison]

I have to say that here in Vancouver I see a lot of kids walking around with film SLR's and the cameras are often as old or older than the shoulders they hang from.

I like to believe that they appreciate the quality of the object as much as photogs my age do, maybe even more - these days using one digital device feels pretty much the same as using any other.

I'm pretty sure that they don't subscribe to the "A camera is just a light-tight box" school, and if nothing else it's good to see skepticism about the virtues of the digital age.

 

[fgianni]

Unfortunately I discovered that one of the last bastions for traditional photography overs just put another nail in the Film's coffin: I just shot a roll of C41 colour film with my Certo Six, and since it was I while since I shot colour film (I develoo my own B&W) I took the last issue of Amateur Photographer to search among the adverts for a lab that could do the developing for me.
Do you want to know how many adverts I found that offered film developing/printing?
Zero!
Of course Google did come to the rescue, but I found it extremely disappointing that the adverts in AP are now 100% digital.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

C41 in Birmingham? I did not imagine that would be a problem.

 

[fgianni]

C41 in Birmingham? I did not imagine that would be a problem.

Not for 35mm, but rollfilm is another story.

 

[smudwhisk]

I took the last issue of Amateur Photographer to search among the adverts for a lab that could do the developing for me.
Do you want to know how many adverts I found that offered film developing/printing?
Zero!
Of course Google did come to the rescue, but I found it extremely disappointing that the adverts in AP are now 100% digital.

Hhm, I'm sure I've seen some in AP recently, but they may only have been for B&W. I'm contemplating whether its worth looking at buying a kit and just developing my own - I think you can still get them at the moment from Nova Darkroom in Warwick. I suspect I'm going to have the same problem with C41 APS film - I've about 12 rolls of B&W APS C41 to use up - don't like my chances of getting that developed in Birmingham either! I've been holding off using them up because I only want to use them for panoramics :bang:

 

[ch1]

Unfortunately I discovered that one of the last bastions for traditional photography overs just put another nail in the Film's coffin: I just shot a roll of C41 colour film with my Certo Six, and since it was I while since I shot colour film (I develoo my own B&W) I took the last issue of Amateur Photographer to search among the adverts for a lab that could do the developing for me.
Do you want to know how many adverts I found that offered film developing/printing?
Zero!
Of course Google did come to the rescue, but I found it extremely disappointing that the adverts in AP are now 100% digital.

I'm curious why, if you were seeking a local lab, you didn't just look in the Yellow Pages? 😕

 

[fgianni]

Hhm, I'm sure I've seen some in AP recently

Well my point was not that I could not get anyone to develop my C41 rolfilm, but that for the first time in probably 100 years or so there are no adverts about film developing in AP, and this really looks like another nail in the coffin for film.

 

[Grober]

At church last May, I was approached by a 16 year old student who had seen me photographing various things about the place (baptisms, family shots, etc.) and wanted to know if I could teach a photo course. I posted an annoucement and generated a syllabus which spanned three June Saturday mornings in the art classroom of the high school attached to our church. I started with a basic glossary of terms and photographic concepts, discussed elements of composition and ended, on the last week, with scanning in their best liked negatives through a Nikon film scanner to Photoshop for subsequent manipulation and printing.

They were asked to bring a fully adjustable 35mm camera with 50mm lens. Each student was given a 12 exposure roll of film which we promtly shot that first class day. Then as an assignment for the week, each student was restricted to taking every shot with the camera on a tripod. (If they didn't have a suitable camera and tripod, we had just the quantity we needed loaned by members of the congregation for this class.) The class was restricted to ages 14 to 17 and was completed in three weekends with the very eager but managable class size of four. Plans are already afoot for a repeat this June. One could say that the instructor had more fun than the students! -g

 

[rpsawin]

Recently I was shooting landscapes with a MF and using an external meter. While I was shooting two school buses pulled into the parking lot and ~ 30 junior high school students appeared. Of course they all grouped up at some distance from me. One kid watched me intently as I was metering and shooting. Finally it was more than he could take and he came up to me and began asking questions. Before long there was ~ 20 kids standing around asking questions and taking turns looking at ground glass thru the waist level finder. I had to explain that they were looking at ground glass and that the camera recorded images on film...it was not digital.

It was an amazing experience and these kids were great. I really think a few of them were genuinely interested in the whole process.

Bob

 

[jano]

Where on earth are you guys finding all these people aged 25-30 who like photography? I often times feel I'm the only one in that age group, because all I run into are old pharts, and they've all moved on to digital. Not many film shooters left *shrug*

 

[kvanderlaag]

I am seventeen. My first camera was my Nikon D50, if that says anything about just how far over my head I got myself into this, right off the bat.

My second camera was an Agfa Karat IV, my mother's before she died, and what I've figured to be about 1954 in vintage. That makes it a lot older than me. I imagine the pictures that thing saw when it was purchased in West Germany would leave me somewhat awestruck.

After that, a 1965-vintage Zorki 6. Not only lots older than me, but just one in a long line of cameras that carry a history I can't help but respect. In fact, most, if not all of my cameras do.

A Kiev 4 (which was inevitably sold) and then a whole pile all at once: A Yashicamat TLR that was used by a pro as a pair of two (I have both) for weddings before I was even conceived, a Fujica 35-SE that saw some heavy use long before I was ever around, a Nikkormat FTn that looks like it's been to hell and back, a Canon TX I paid $50 from a nice old Chinese fellow who seemed like he knew what he was doing with it...

And then, of course, my '65 M2 and my '71 CL, both much older than me, and probably two of my favorite possessions. If I had to keep any two cameras, I think they would be the M2 and the Karat IV, one for the fact that holding it makes me want to weep with awe, and the other for sentimental reasons.

I have a preference for film -- I like digital for its instant gratification factor, yes, but for the most part, I am much more satisfied with my results from film. Film makes me slow down, think things through, and go through the motions with every shot.

I don't even meter anymore -- I shoot from exposure settings that seem logical, which was the way I started after I put the D50 down for a while. At first, I simply didn't have a light meter, and after that, when I did, I realized that I didn't really need one -- or at least, I wouldn't if I practiced and trained myself a bit. I think freedom from electronics is one of the most liberating things I've found, artistically. it's just natural for me to set aperture and shutter speed without checking against anything but my own brain, and it's all part of the process I go through every time I take a shot.

My favorite film is APX 100. I am going out to buy a gross of 36 exposure rolls with my next paycheque. I enjoy it, and using it, that much.

I inherited a cabinet full of tins of powdered D-76, so this is the developer I use.

At the same time, I am both blissfully unaware of the fact that all of the technology, and a vast majority of the equipment I am using is many whole numbers of times my age, and always consciously aware of it. Most people my age don't even know what half of these things are, and I'm constantly bombarded by questions as to how many megapixels my M2 is, or whether the things I'm shooting with even work.

As an aside, a 'classic camera' of any variety seems to add at least five years to my age, as far as anyone I meet on the street is concerned.

Was it a lot of work to get into? Yes. It was very intimidating at first. I had no one to help me, and no one who could tell me what anything was, or how it worked. This place, which I found when I was going to purchase my first rangefinder, is the closest thing to that I've ever had. And I must say, you folks have been absolutely fantastic to me, and brought me, even indirectly, a long way on this journey.

With my expertise (or lack thereof) I can hardly hope to have done any good here, so the least I can hope is that I've done no harm! I'm very, very fond of this community. It's taught me an awful lot about something I never thought I'd be exploring, and filled that need to be a part of something bigger than me.

Thanks, everybody.

 

[MelanieC]

Hi Keegan,

I would never have guessed you were only 17. Not that 17-year-olds are incapable of expressing themselves through writing, but you are a very good writer. In addition, unlike the college students I taught during grad school, you are capable of writing without using IM abbreviations or substituting numbers for words.

I keep forgetting I'm not a kid anymore, although at 33 I guess I'm younger than most of the folks on RFF by a little bit. Like you, I just got into photography (I'm guessing you just got into it if your first camera was a D50 -- and coincidentally I have a D70s), like you, I prefer the results I get from film to the results I get using digital, and like you, my first real film camera (I'm not counting the point and shoots) belonged to my dad before he died. (I was 12. You can't have been much older.)

I love my cameras, the pictures they make, and developing my own film (which I've been doing for a grand total of about two weeks). I wish I'd started doing all this earlier, but I was intimidated by my father's cameras for a long time. Finally I just said, "Screw it, I'm using them" and so here I am.

-- Melanie

 

[visiondr]

Keegan,

It's nice to hear that the Canadian education system still works. I also grew up in Canada. You seem like a very articulate young fellow.

Anyway, back to photography. My own journey has had starts and stops but, like many here, I have a strong affinity for analogue photography and simple tools. You hit the nail on the head when you suggested that shooting film makes you "slow down, think things through, and go through the motions with every shot".

Ron

 

[Mohan]

Most people can’t quite understand why the newest camera I have is a 1967 Nikon F (I was born in 1987) so its really refreshing to hear other young voices who share my passion.

 

[Goodyear]

Where on earth are you guys finding all these people aged 25-30 who like photography?

/waves.

I'm only 25. I have a K1000 that was made the year I was born, s/n within a couple hundred of the one my father bought the year I was born because he wanted a camera to record his kids growing up. Which gives that camera a kind of sentimental value by proxy!

 

[squeaky_clean]

I'm only 23. My favorite camera by far is my K2DMD. Made a few years before I was born... Just a great camera, other than changing ISO is a pain. It's the camera that got me into photography.

Also, it belonged to my father, so there is some sentimental value as well.

I have thought about trying to find some like-minded and like-aged people to shoot with, but its a little hard out here in MT. Not that many people to start with! 🙂

 

[jonasv]

Most people can’t quite understand why the newest camera I have is a 1967 Nikon F (I was born in 1987) so its really refreshing to hear other young voices who share my passion.

1987 must have been a good year for analog camera lovers!


I'm 19 and thoroughly enjoying RF's and manual SLR's.