the way back machine

removed account4 · Sep 29, 2015

im sorry, i am starting a thread like this but for years i have read one thread
after another .. here, and elsewhere ... and it goes like this"

way back when ...
back when ...
i used to ..
we used to ...

sure i am as guilty as the rest of the pack but
rather than dwell on what a glorious past photographery has had
why don't we concentrate on the here and now and the future of silver based photography ?

yeah i know, its nice to talk about the good old days when we died for our process, or enlarged wet negatives
but chemical photography has such a great time ahead its hard to believe how we just get stuck in the past ..

im not talking about talking about how to do old processes or techniques or making emulsions or using flash bulbs
im talking about how wonderful xyz film was or abc paper/developer was &c ... as if photography is dead now that they are gone...

with the current situation and the "lack of main stream participation" chemical photography can achieve great things
always seen as the ugly stepchild of the artworld it can come into its own. old processes have come alive, emulsion making is
being revived, only great things can happen with the merge of old and new ( and merger of apug and dpug ) ...

while it is nice to have fond memories, i think it is also great to think of what we have and the days ahead ...

moderators please put this someplace better if i have put it in the wrong place

eddie · Sep 29, 2015

jnanian said:
with the current situation and the "lack of main stream participation" chemical photography can achieve great things
always seen as the ugly stepchild of the artworld it can come into its own. old processes have come alive, emulsion making is
being revived, only great things can happen with the merge of old and new ( and merger of apug and dpug ) ...

while it is nice to have fond memories, i think it is also great to think of what we have and the days ahead ...

I agree. I think the advent of digital has allowed us to "operate under the radar", while the public is fascinated by the new, shiny objects... I think there are more people doing alt processes than at any time during my 40+ years in photography (and hybrid is owed a degree of gratitude for this). The increased effort necessary to acquire materials means an even greater commitment to pursuing one's passion for analog. In my case, the "perfection" of digital has led me to working with the "imperfection" and serendipity of film/darkroom, in a way which can't be replicated with digital tools. I think, as a medium of expression, film has a bright future.

Rook · Sep 30, 2015

I strongly believe my best photographic work is still to come, utilizing whatever film will be available at the time. That's what keeps this hobby going for me, and why I don't dwell too much on the golden era of film photography as it slowly drifts off into the past. Nothing wrong with looking back once in a while, but you have to keep a positive outlook about the future. Unless all you care about is collecting cameras, with little interest in using them. For such collectors, the past is all that really matters.

Sirius Glass · Sep 30, 2015

I am not old enough to sit around cogitating and ruminating about that past the way race horses do when they are too old to stud and they are turned out to pasture.

eddie · Sep 30, 2015

Anyone who has done this for awhile has seen things come and go. Adapting, and moving on, has been a part of photography since the beginning.

AgX · Sep 30, 2015

I find myself here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmPwYhHX_jY

(And of course here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czTNs-D5xJQ)

darkosaric · Sep 30, 2015

I am deep in analog photography for around 10 years. And I must say that every year is better and better. Finally I have all tools (Leicas, Focomat...) that I need, and soon I will have dedicated darkroom. Also now I am free from seeking technical perfection/improvement. Before was worse.

Only thing that I am missing from the past is cheap but awesome Emaks FB paper from Fotokemika (that I was buying directly from the factory).

doughowk · Sep 30, 2015

Lyle Rexar, in his "Antiquarian Avante-Garde..." book, describes how the ever changing/progressing technology of photography has frequently left various processes not fully explored. Rather than bemoaning what we have lost, we are instead going back and exploring the potential of those older processes.

Rick A · Sep 30, 2015

"Memory Lane is a dead end". Am I better now than when I was younger? Yes, of course I am, at most things. I am wiser and infinitely more experienced. The experience makes me more efficient, maybe a bit jaded as I see things a bit differently than before. I do see deeper into a scene than I used to, and contemplate what I am trying to convey to my viewer before I trip the shutter. Now days, my output has increased, while my effort has decreased. Today's materials are fabulous, though I do mourn the passing of my old "tried and true" fave's, but we all learn to adapt, this "old dog" continues to learn new tricks.

Nodda Duma · Sep 30, 2015

"What's old is new again."

I've noticed, too, that alt processes are more popular than in the past, and I believe that's also due in part to the free and wide exchange of information allowed by the Internet. Lots of hobbies have benefited from this.

Something else to consider: film photography has become a purer art form as daily picture taking has shifted to digital cameras and then to smart phones. New developments in film photography (where it doesn't track digital) have been and will be focused more on the artistic side. I see a shift of development from perfection of the imaging medium to a "looser", more artistic use..if that makes any sense. LOMO/Holga, reformulations of older B&W emulsions, the Petzval Kickstarter campaign are all indicative of this new direction in film photography.

It's actually pretty exciting and opens up new possibilities for the art form.

skorpiius · Sep 30, 2015

I actually thought this was going to be about the 'internet way back machine' aka the Internet Archive.
Here's some memory lane: Kodak's first website in 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/19961108211744/http://www2.kodak.com/

removed account4 · Sep 30, 2015

hi sckorpiius
not THAT way back machine ( mr peabody isn't pooching the controls ! )

LOL thats what i mean

removed account4 · Sep 30, 2015

Michael R 1974 said:
I think Ansel Adams said something like "the good old days are usually the product of a failing memory".

The past definitely sucked, but the present also sucks, and I think the near future is going to suck big time.

depends on how big a glass of lemonade you want to make, michael ---

Alan9940 · Sep 30, 2015

Like Darko, the only thing I really miss is the variety of fine graded printing papers we had "back when." Makes me regret--just a little--giving away about 2,000 sheets of my favorite papers when I moved across the country in 2000. I donated it to our local high school photography department so I don't feel too bad; I'm sure many a budding photo students enjoyed printing on it!

Oh, and I also miss when 8x10 Tri-X costs a buck a sheet when purchased as a 50-sheet box. Man, I really do miss those days!!

Best regards,
AlanH

bdial · Oct 1, 2015

Adaptation is good, it's why we are here.
I miss some of the old papers, but there is no lack of available materials now to make great prints with.

I find the renaissance of old processes fascinating. For the first 30 or 40 years of my photographic life, there were only a handful of people world-wide working with processes like wet plate. Now I know 5 or 6 folks in my local area for whom wet plate is their primary medium. Another photographer I know is working with making Dags.

It is quite the contrast from when a photographer's primary medium was either black and white or color.

blockend · Oct 1, 2015

Great photos are as rare as they ever were.

the way back machine

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency