Why photography is neat

[jlw]

Every now and then I get to thinking that photography is a frustration and a waste of time and energy. But then something happens like the following, which happened to me last night; thought I'd share it...

...I was doing one of my rare paying jobs, photographing people attending a members' reception at the big art museum here. I was pausing between shots to plan where I'd go next when I was approached by an older, somewhat belligerent-looking man.

"Did you used to take pictures of the old Omaha Ballet?" he asked. I said I had, wondering if he was about to accuse me of having debauched his daughter or something. (I've never debauched anybody's daughter, but you know what kind of reputation photographers have nowadays.)

"And did you used to show at a little gallery about 50th and Dodge streets?" Ah, yes, the Photographers' Gallery -- a doomed venture by an idealistic and well-intentioned lady who thought that it might be possible to develop a collectors' market for local photographers' work. Nice little place... lasted about two years. Cripes, it must have been at least 10, 15 years ago that I was represented there. But I said I had.

"I have four of your pictures that I bought there," he said. "They're beautiful, and they're a nice memento of the dancers who used to be in that company. I still have them hanging on the wall, and I enjoy them every day. I never get tired of looking at them. I just wanted to shake your hand."

So I thanked him, and shook his hand, and thought: Gosh, I hadn't thought about the Photographers' Gallery in ages. But here was someone who still got value out of prints he had bought there... my prints.

Kinda made me think that photography is kinda neat...

 

[back alley]

very nice story.

as much as we may like to think we do this only for ourselves, it's nice to get a little pat on the back occasionally.

joe

 

[jlw]

Y'know, since I wrote the above, a nagging doubt has surfaced.

Nowadays I shoot most of my photos digitally, and distribute them either online or via CDs, along with the occasional inkjet (or "giclée," for the pretentious) print.

I wonder if any of these will have the staying power -- either as a physical object or as a source of pleasure -- as the old-fashioned wet prints that guy bought in the gallery?

By going digital, am I cheating myself out of the opportunity to create anything of lasting value?

 

[hoot]

Well, as far as I know, it's technically possible to make "real" prints from a digital file just the way you would from a negative. If I recall correctly, there are two ways to do this:

1) contact printing, using a special machine they have in professional labs
2) having the digital photo emblazoned onto a strip of celluloid as a negative, then putting that strip into any old enlarger and printing as you would from a real negative

Personally, if I ever get a digicam, I'd definitely want to give number 2 a try.

 

[jlw]

Well, as far as I know, it's technically possible to make "real" prints from a digital file just the way you would from a negative. If I recall correctly, there are two ways to do this:

1) contact printing, using a special machine they have in professional labs
2) having the digital photo emblazoned onto a strip of celluloid as a negative, then putting that strip into any old enlarger and printing as you would from a real negative

Personally, if I ever get a digicam, I'd definitely want to give number 2 a try.

I've tried it, but I wasn't crazy about the results. The film recorder I used had a resolution of 4000 lines vertically, which seems like a lot, but the resulting negatives were nowhere near as crisp as ones made by imaging directly onto film. Dynamic range was inferior as well.

The type of recorder I used was designed for making slides for projection, and probably worked fine for that, but as we all know, viewing projected slides from a normal distance isn't as critical as viewing a print.

I think there are recorders now with 8000-line or more vertical resolution, but I'm still not confident that I'd be happy with it. Strange how much technology it takes to replace a few cents' worth of chemicals in three plastic trays...

 

[hoot]

Thanks for the info! Admittedly, I'd never actually seen such a print.

 

[nikon_sam]

That right there makes it all worth while...
I feel that photography for me, isn't a hobby but a passion. I'm not in it for the money (ask my wife).
I get my payback two ways:
First by actually getting to photograph...no matter the subject...just plain shooting.
Second by getting positive feedback just like in your story. Someone who got what you were doing, loved it, and let you know.