Do old, proven technologies attract certain mindsets?

[David Lyga]

Maybe audiophiles will be visiting you soon. You are not too dumb to hold onto these treasures. - David Lyga

 

[Trask]

I think this topic would benefit by we participants identifying our approximate age, because if we are all, say, 50 or older, then it's not a matter of whether older technologies attract certain mindsets -- because most of would be retaining the technologies we grew up with. We didn't have to be "attracted" to them, they are part of our fundamental experiences. If we responders were 25 or so, then the question of attraction would have much more meaning.

Yes, I love film photography, and my tube amps, and my old Fulton and Saras and Linn speakers, and my vinyl and SME tonearm and so forth -- and I still drive my 2000 Avalon which just won't quit on me, and kept a VW Bug for 20 years. But this is what I grew up with, grew up lusting after a McIntosh 275 or a Hasselblad or a Nikon F.

 

[frank]

I think this topic would benefit by we participants identifying our approximate age, because if we are all, say, 50 or older, then it's not a matter of whether older technologies attract certain mindsets -- because most of would be retaining the technologies we grew up with. We didn't have to be "attracted" to them, they are part of our fundamental experiences. If we responders were 25 or so, then the question of attraction would have much more meaning.

Yes, I love film photography, and my tube amps, and my old Fulton and Saras and Linn speakers, and my vinyl and SME tonearm and so forth -- and I still drive my 2000 Avalon which just won't quit on me, and kept a VW Bug for 20 years. But this is what I grew up with, grew up lusting after a McIntosh 275 or a Hasselblad or a Nikon F.

Old guy, raises hand.

 

[David Lyga]

DOB: 21 FEB 1950. Am I old enough, Trask? - David Lyga

 

[Dave in Kansas]

I think one problem with newer technology is that it becomes a rat race to stay current, and there is a constant migration and maintenance work to keep it viable.

When our children were young I shot hours and hours of video of them, but that video format is now obsolete and the camera no longer works so it can't easily be transferred to a different media. On the other hand, I also shot some 16mm movies of them, which are still viewable. A lot of times I think the older technology is better if you have something you want preserved for a future generation.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

I think this topic would benefit by we participants identifying our approximate age, because if we are all, say, 50 or older, then it's not a matter of whether older technologies attract certain mindsets -- because most of would be retaining the technologies we grew up with. We didn't have to be "attracted" to them, they are part of our fundamental experiences. If we responders were 25 or so, then the question of attraction would have much more meaning.

Yes, I love film photography, and my tube amps, and my old Fulton and Saras and Linn speakers, and my vinyl and SME tonearm and so forth -- and I still drive my 2000 Avalon which just won't quit on me, and kept a VW Bug for 20 years. But this is what I grew up with, grew up lusting after a McIntosh 275 or a Hasselblad or a Nikon F.

54 next month. I got my Macs, a pair of MC75s; got my F, just got my F2. A Hassy would be nice, but I'd need a real stunner of a deal on one.

 

[Roger Cole]

I'm 51. That's certainly part of the appeal (in particular for film) but not all of it, because I also like things older than I am. I got into ham radio when tubes were only used for final amplifiers, for example, with a fair selection of transmitters available that were all solid state, yet I like older gear with all tubes.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

"You are always in my mind".

Country I was born is not exist, companies I worked for have changed.
We moved to another continent and changed dozen of houses.
Computers and such are changing OS and such on same rate as diapers on babies. And I have to use comps to get paid. Television I'm working in is digital for long time, not analog one.
The only thing which hasn't change is my family FED-2 and this is why I like to use it.
But I admit, I like old films and music so much, my wife calls me as old fart!

 

[Roger Cole]

I had an experience at work yesterday. One of my coworkers, in an almost bragging way, said that he had actually seen (not used) a rotary phone. The kid was born in 1984. I was in college then. Discussion of rotary phones ensued and I wondered if pulse dialing even still works now (I don't know, nor do I have a regular POTS/PSTN line to even test it) but I know it won't work on my VoIP line. I wondered if there were some sort of pulse to DTMF converter so I could use a rotary phone, because I am thinking of setting up one room in my basement I'm building out with everything circa 1965-1975 or so. I said it might sound odd but - then he interrupted me and said, "nah, makes sense, you're old, it's what you grew up with."

Well. I'm glad it made sense to him, but "you're old?" At 51?

As I said before WRT people hovering around while under the dark cloth of my view camera, [queue Foghorn Leghorn voice] "Go, I say, go away son. You bother me."

 

[frank]

Quote: I am thinking of setting up one room in my basement I'm building out with everything circa 1965-1975 or so.

A safe room in these tumultuous times.

 

[BrianShaw]

Were things really that much better in 1965 - 1975?

 

[Roger Cole]

Nope. Never said they were. But at some point I started just really liking the styles and such that I grew up with, that's all.


Sent from my iPhone via Tapatalk using 100% recycled electrons. Because I care.

 

[BrianShaw]

Understood; I was there then too.

Frank's mention of a safe room made me ask for clarification. Maybe it was better north of the border?

 

[MattKing]

Were things really that much better in 1965 - 1975?

I did not have a mortgage then, and my Kodachrome came from my dad.

 

[BrianShaw]

Hey, it really was the good old days. I was making 1 dollar per hour flipping burgers and had no financial concerns. Unlike today, when I make lots more money and have lots $ore bills and debt.

 

[winger]

Many of the guys who restore cars (for themselves, not the guys like Chip Foose) choose the cars they grew up with or lusted after as teens. Hubby is only slightly off with his choices - 71 GTX and '70 Challenger (he was born in '66).

 

[Steve Smith]

I wondered if pulse dialing even still works now

It does here. You can check it by tapping out a number on the cradle switch as a dial disconnects in the same way that the handset down switch does.


Steve.

 

[Roger Cole]

Yeah I knew you could dial like that - in the old days I showed someone by dialing a number that way. But I actually don't have a PSTN line to test with, haven't since 2005 when I moved out of my apartment and into the house I bought where I live now. I never got one installed.

 

[darkosaric]

> Do old, proven technologies attract certain mindsets?

I noticed that in "The Lounge" part of forum often I agree with majority of ideas here - so I would say that we have our mindset on the same frequency not only for photography .

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I like the fact that my film cameras continue to simply use the same film over and over again. It is comfortable to me, because while I experiment pretty wildly with what I photograph, how I photograph it, and so on, it's better when some things stay constant.

My iPhone is great for snapshots. I have a tripod mount for it from SteadiCam, the company that makes movie cameras and accessories. I use an app that takes multiple exposures and blends them together, and the results are truly magnificent. But, to date I haven't printed a single one of them. Instead I yearn to get back into the darkroom and make more prints from my carefully exposed and processed negatives. I yearn to continue making art the way I have been for years.

Before I got divorced I had a sweet audio setup. A 1971 Linn LP12 Sondek with all the upgrades except Lingo for a turntable, a modified 1961 Scott 299B tube amp, a pair of highly efficient Snell EIII speakers, and a Sony SACD player, modified in California. Friends brought over digital front ends from Wavelength that hooked up to my computer, and via USB to the Wavelength produced, by a mile, the best and most engaging front end to my audio setup I had ever heard. But I kept spinning vinyl on the Linn, just because I liked it better. I guess I like tangible things, and much dislike 'black box voodoo' where I push a button and the 'thing' does the rest. It feels a bit lazy to me, and kind of like cheating.

I'm 42.

 

[Alan Klein]

I just returned from a vacation with 800 digital photos taken with my micro 4/3 camera. Very convenient and light to carry when traveling. When I'm home and shooting landscapes, I'll pull out my heavy, manual focus MF film camera, hand held light meter and tripod because I like the slow, methodical and thinking approach that I find works for me with film. It's not an either or situation. Why not use what you find the best for different times and circumstances? It's not like you're getting married and have to commit until death do you part.

 

[baachitraka]

I do not know why but I prefer valve radios, dumb phones, analog cameras, bi-cycle(18km) and walking(2km).

 

[Dave in Kansas]

I wondered if pulse dialing even still works now

The last time I checked, our elderly neighbor lady still uses a pulse dial phone.

 

[Nathan King]

I am 28 and make photographs that are analog from capture to print. I don't think it's necessarily an age thing. You all may think I'm crazy, but a darkroom print seems to have a slightly gentler, more poetic way of showing tonal transitions. While digital can do this with a lot of expensive equipment and post production time, nothing replaces the uniquely creative, soothing, and rewarding experience of the darkroom.

 

[David Lyga]

I am 28 and make photographs that are analog from capture to print. I don't think it's necessarily an age thing. You all may think I'm crazy, but a darkroom print seems to have a slightly gentler, more poetic way of showing tonal transitions. While digital can do this with a lot of expensive equipment and post production time, nothing replaces the uniquely creative, soothing, and rewarding experience of the darkroom.

Thus, a print is 'intimate', not intimidating. Well said, Nathan.

I think that the absence having to rely upon the technology-crutch is one of the more revealing reasons why we feel so comfortable with film. We can fully 'understand' what is happening and, although oftentimes not as quick and predictable, we can more readily craft our work, feel more in control, and make the transition from pre-visualization to tactile print more easily (and, perhaps, more honestly). - David Lyga