Here's Whats Behind the Comeback of Vinyl and Printed Photographs

Agulliver · Oct 14, 2019

I'm 46, been married 21 years and working since I graduated with a degree in applied physics and mathematics.....and eve outside London the wife and I live in a 1 bedroom flat. OK we have a front and back garden and live with a wood behind us....but one big reason why I can develop film is because all the chemicals and equipment fit in a bucket and I can do my developing in the bathroom.

I *do* own an enlarger....it lives at my mother's house and I am able to use it a couple of times a year. I suppose the space where I could theoretically put it at home is taken up by the AV system including my aforementioned turntable....but also the desktop PC I use for scanning negatives and the surround AV receiver etc. Choices....

It's nice to hear Ilford reporting that sales of B&W paper enjoyed a modest increase in 2018.

blockend · Oct 14, 2019

albireo said:
Even if moving wasn't an issue, space is.

People who formerly found themselves in your position had access to public darkrooms. Ilford made a survey of such facilities a few years ago, if I recall correctly there were slim pickings. I'm suspicious of long term access to exclusively digital recording media, and for that reason alone negatives and slides have a tangible existence as well as virtual potential.

pentaxuser · Oct 14, 2019

Agulliver said:
It's nice to hear Ilford reporting that sales of B&W paper enjoyed a modest increase in 2018.

Did the Ilford report actually say b&w silver gelatin paper? There are certainly other types that are used in so-called dry darkrooms which are not in fact darkrooms at all but maybe Ilford reported on both sets of sales separately? If silver gelatin darkroom paper sales are rising this is good news

pentaxuser

Wallendo · Oct 14, 2019

One thing I find interesting with the digital revolution in audio and photography, was an initial push to maximize quality, followed by a race to the bottom. High quality audio was replaced by convenience, High-end dSLR's are being replaced by phones. Even movies where digital technology routinely supports 4K (8 megapixel) images, most movies are still done with 2MP images - a far cry from 70mm.

Agulliver · Oct 14, 2019

Wallendo said:
One thing I find interesting with the digital revolution in audio and photography, was an initial push to maximize quality, followed by a race to the bottom. High quality audio was replaced by convenience, High-end dSLR's are being replaced by phones. Even movies where digital technology routinely supports 4K (8 megapixel) images, most movies are still done with 2MP images - a far cry from 70mm.

For most people, "good enough" and "convenience" are what they look for. And sadly, most people find a fixed wide-ish angle lens and 5MP with autofocus and auto-flash to be "good enough".

blockend · Oct 14, 2019

Wallendo said:
most movies are still done with 2MP images - a far cry from 70mm.

As a kid in the 60s and 70s I remember large movie theatres split up into multiplexes, or at least their forerunners. Out of focus films, screens that wafted in the breeze, sound bleed bad enough to follow two movies at once, umpteenth generation copies, it was a race to the bottom. The technology was there to exhibit high quality moving images, but no one cared enough to do so.

Sirius Glass · Oct 14, 2019

The biggest reason that people scan rather than invest in a darkroom is that the cost for the space tied up in a darkroom is high. That cost means that a room is dedicated to to photography and frankly most people cannot afford the space especially in the high rent/high cost urban areas.

Alan Edward Klein · Oct 14, 2019

I must be old. We never called records vinyl. Vinyl seats vs. leather as I recall for your car or maybe vinyl flooring, but never vinyl records.

Alan Edward Klein · Oct 14, 2019

When I was a teenager in the late 1950's, I built a Fisher Kit pre-amp amplifier with tubes, soldering etc. I think I bought a Garard turntable for my "vinyl" records along with Acoustic Research speakers (AR2's). When I joined the USAF, i dragged them all with me to Japan where I served for two years and added an Akai reel to reel tape player with all kinds of features I never really used. But it was cheap over there being made in Japan. I added a FM tuner along the way and included a Nikon F camera bought there too. Film. Err, I mean analog camera. Those were the days. The equipment was shipped all the way back to NYC where I had it for years more until finally they crapped out. The woofers went kaput. Then I got tinnitus from playing the music too loud. So I always have an accompaniment to the music I'm listening too. Something the artist didn't include in his work. The Nikon I lost on a NYC subway. But lately, I've been shooting with my Nikkormat 35mm film err analog camera

John51 · Oct 15, 2019

Film costing us money effects our photography.

Using C41 in a 6x9 camera and having it lab processed and scanned costs me over a quid a shot. If I went for economy, I could get 35mm b+w down to ~ £0.10 a shot by souping cheapo film and scanning myself.

I'm more likely to be a 'free and easy' snap shooter at 10 pence a shot than at a quid a shot. Different price = different photographs. Even if I'm not thinking of the price per shot at the time, it's there, lurking in the back of mind. I'd guess that it's similar for most of us.

Huss · Oct 15, 2019

blockend said:
It's possible to go from fuddy-duddy stick in the mud, to pretentious hipster by doing nothing.

As long as you already have a beard.

ph · Oct 16, 2019

No stranger to perfectionism, I gave up regular film use some years ago, but still use manual focus lenses for photography. I bring out my old R-9 equipmen for special occasions. Linhof negatives give far better quality, but were difficult to print with my setup:.35mm was cheaper, so I gave away my Technica to a friend whooccasionally provided me with optics..

As to sound, I had a number og musically gifted friends, so I used a Revox High speed and condenser mics to get better sound. The RIIA equalization and preamp needs of the LPs.gave too high a noise floor, so I found an Ortofon transformer for the inpout stage What goes for loudspeakers these days are a puny joke and headphones usually have exaggerated bass, so I use the Stax condenser versions. By now I have fled to CDs and given away my Revox. I presume the rubber parts inside the pickup have stiffened too much.but my stack of LPs still work.

p.

macfred · Oct 16, 2019

Huss said:
As long as you already have a beard.

Not to forget some thick-frame glasses ...

Here's Whats Behind the Comeback of Vinyl and Printed Photographs

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