There's still hope for analog photography

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I guess what was old is new again with kids.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20062810-93.html

 

[Klainmeister]

Kinda funny that the quote talks about film not being controlled.....which is why I choose to shoot film: control. Control over shutter, film speeds, develop, etc etc.

In my demographic (between 20-25) I have a lot of friends who have taken darkroom courses in HS before they all went digital and still are super passionate about both analog and digital. Oddly enough, I can think of only one friend in that age group that shoots digital exclusively. The rest use film for what I've heard called "things that matter". My intent is not to start another film vs. digital thread, but I believe given the proper exposure, many younger folk like the experience of using film over digital. Maybe we're getting bored with the instant-instant lifestyle.

I cannot believe I am about to type this.....go Hipsters!

 

[CGW]

I'm seeing this too but still think it's fated to be a nano-trend. Why? Finding even consumer film can be tough now, not to mention cheap C-41 dev/print services. Here in Toronto(GTA), Costco was the last source for passably good cheap processing until fall 2010 when they unplugged their last processor. What's truly catnip for this group is medium format once they see an 8x10 printed from a 645, 6x6, or 6x7 neg.

 

[Sirius Glass]

While ones parents are stupid, if ones bff says the same idea is good, then one embraces the idea.

 

[BetterSense]

I don't shoot film because it's old, flawed, uncontrollable, and crappy-looking. But o well.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Are some younger photographers are looking for the element of chance that film has to offer? Media savvy kids are tired be being fed a diet of "perfect" shots in magazines and allowing imperfections? I noticed there's a resurgence of collodion which looks more organic. Is that due to the digital revolution where people crave something that is real?

 

[yulia_s_rey]

will that mean the next generations will pick up tracing from camera obscuras or exclusivly do finger-painting instead of the 3D holography gadgets that are bound to come?

 

[Klainmeister]

Are some younger photographers are looking for the element of chance that film has to offer? Media savvy kids are tired be being fed a diet of "perfect" shots in magazines and allowing imperfections? I noticed there's a resurgence of collodion which looks more organic. Is that due to the digital revolution where people crave something that is real?

That's what I find interesting. At least amongst my friends, there's a desire for something non-digital. Many have resorted to cell phone free weekends and turned to fancy cooking in a desire to possess something with real world tangibility.

 

[maliha]

The only thing which bothers me is that many people shoot analog these days just to show off, it appears. Retro is the new trend, and anything based upon just trend fades away just as fast. However, I'm still hopeful. May be some of those who are now shooting to be trendy will actually fall in love with the medium, and start doing analog photography out of real love and affection!

Did I just say love and affection??? Passion too I suppose...

 

[Newt_on_Swings]

I guess you can get some sort of uncontrollability with film, if its past date, or stored weird, or cross processed. Hell randomness is fun sometimes, and sometimes mistakes work out for the better.

The other day I had to shoot a quick event for my boss, using her dslr, the the batteries ran out, I said I would shoot it in film instead, and heard a few gasps. And even a coworker coming up to me afterward telling me he had is Rebel to spare. The shots came out fine, and they look as good if not better than the dslr shots.

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

Urban hipsters shoot analog? Must be a new craze in the US. It's visible here in the Melbourne suburban hippie strongholds of North Fitzroy and Brunswick. Around those traps it is TLRs with garish banjo straps attached, accessories by beaded dreadlocks, toe rings, nipple studs and spears through the ear(s).

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

You might be right with some...

Retro is the new trend, and anything based upon just trend fades away just as fast.

Did I just say love and affection??? Passion too I suppose...

Here's one retro affectation.

http://www.finepix-x100.com/

 

[Jeff Kubach]

At least it looks promincing!

Jeff

 

[Luseboy]

Thats funny to read... I'm 17, and I live just north of San Fransisco, but i guess my cameras are all from the 60's and 70's, so it's not my grandparents old camera. I know a few kids who are passionate about film, and quite a few kids who take a photo class and work in the darkroom at school. I have yet to meet another person my own age who has a darkroom and processes their own stuff on their own (not at school). This is a start though. I guess I count as "urban hipster" as i am wearing urban outfitters at the moment...lol

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I'm an oldster (48) and I'm counting on your generation to keep film alive. You're an Urban Hipster and keeping the craft of analog photography alive.

 

[MaximusM3]

Here's one retro affectation.

http://www.finepix-x100.com/

Perfect example. Sadly, unlike a Leica M3, for example, it will be forgotten within 12-18 months to make room for the next "use it and throw it away" gadget. I'm still dying to see the new Cartier Bresson born out of the use of the Leica M9 but I'm afraid I will be kept waiting...but I digress here.

 

[robertmgray]

I wouldn't call myself a hipster, but I started shooting 4x5 film at the age of 19. It took me about 2 years with digital to realize that film was going to suit me much better. Now, 21, I shoot medium and large format film while my digital nikon is being lent to a friend, maybe once he gets the photography bug he'll switch to film too

 

[Diapositivo]

I wouldn't be much surprised if the Fuji Finepix X-100 were to be followed by a film version. Remember Fuji sells film as well. Maybe they found there is a market for a camera without superfluous automatisms and programs of very dubious utility.

Instead of making just another digital, they could have brilliantly thought about making a camera the basic frames of which allows the installation of a film transport system. We have to see first whether the X-100 is a success. If it is (maybe in some next improved versions, this first attempt seems to have some glitches), then I would see as quite logical a film version of it.

That would be probably a cheaper camera than the digital one, would allow Fuji to use most of the same parts, would be marketable as a "trendy" camera, Leica-like etc. And it would be a nice manifesto encouraging people to rediscover good, old, basic photographic tools, film included.

A Trojan horse so to speak.

Fabrizio

 

[MaximusM3]

I wouldn't be much surprised if the Fuji Finepix X-100 were to be followed by a film version. Remember Fuji sells film as well. Maybe they found there is a market for a camera without superfluous automatisms and programs of very dubious utility.

Instead of making just another digital, they could have brilliantly thought about making a camera the basic frames of which allows the installation of a film transport system. We have to see first whether the X-100 is a success. If it is (maybe in some next improved versions, this first attempt seems to have some glitches), then I would see as quite logical a film version of it.

That would be probably a cheaper camera than the digital one, would allow Fuji to use most of the same parts, would be marketable as a "trendy" camera, Leica-like etc. And it would be a nice manifesto encouraging people to rediscover good, old, basic photographic tools, film included.

A Trojan horse so to speak.

Fabrizio

Ciao Fabrizio,

I agree, wholeheartedly. Apparently, the X100 is selling like crazy but I don't know what that means. Fuji released the GF670 not long ago (which I ended up buying recently) so they certainly feel that there is a market for film cameras. A film version of the X100, at the right price point (ie, cheaper than the many good, non-Leica cameras), would probably sell well.

Ciao,

Massimo

 

[paulrocon]

As one of the elderly hipsters (23) I can agree with certain aspects of the article. I certainly don't take any sort of extra pride in shooting film however. It's mostly a matter of economics & post-processing for me. Tangible, physical activity is a rather pleasant change of pace from spending ½ my day in front of a screen. The sense of accomplishment and control from start to finish is also much greater with film. Compared to a digital medium, film exudes a sense of craftsmanship & tradition that is becoming rarer than a hologon in modern culture. I really hope that I never meet a self-described “photoshop craftsmen.”

The idea of a film X100: That would be an extremely difficult undertaking. The only usable parts would be the top controls, the cast magnesium pieces, and maybe the optical part of the viewfinder. Most importantly the lens would also not work (only covers aps-c.)

 

[Diapositivo]

Yes I thought about the APS-C after writing the text. If the next X100 is full-frame, then I think it is really feasible. In that case, besides the electronics, all the rest would be usable. The rangefinder is an expensive part and using the same rangefinder for two cameras would be advantageous. The shutter, the flash, and maybe the lens could be the same.

 

[MattKing]

Here's one retro affectation.

http://www.finepix-x100.com/

It's a very interesting and nice looking camera. And the one I've seen "in the flesh" was bought by a staff member at a store which sells and rents a lot of pro gear, both digital and film.

He was showing it to a friend and customer who is a very good black and white photographer - both film and digital, although most of his commercial work is digital now.

The feature that both of them appreciated the most, and which appealed to me as well, was the viewfinder.

Its control layout appeals to me more than any other digital camera I've seen. I can only hope it sells well, and gets copied.

And convinces a few photographers to either try or go back to good film rangefinders.

EDIT: As for the APS-C issue, I could live with a half-frame film version

 

[moki]

I like that Fuji too... it's a good concept and very nice design, but way too expensive for me. For that kind of money, I can get a decent DSLR and one or two good lenses for it (assuming I'd want to buy a digital camera). If there was a true compact digital camera with optical viewfinder and made from metal and leather, I'd sure buy it, even if it cost a little more than usual compacts - anything's better than these plasticky things today. They look and feel like single-use cameras...

And about all that "Yay, hipsters use film!"... you know what hipsters are? A very shortlived trend, like most so-called subcultures. A decade is a very long time for such thing to last... I bet, all that hipster-style is forgotten and replaced by something completely different by 2020. Maybe, people won't be that interested in photography anymore... or maybe start using large format or today's digicams for their bad image quality. I don't know. Nobody does. It's almost impossible to predict, what the next trend will be and I would never build my hope into one of these subcultures. I can't even imagining today's hipsters keeping what they're doing in 10 or 20 years. They'll mostly be parents in normal suburbs, maybe thinking about the good, old, wild time, having children that will have their own culture that their parents don't understand...
Still, I'm optimistic for analog photography to last a few more decades, but not because of some trendy hipsters. It's been booming for almost 200 years and a lot of film is produced today. Maco/Rollei even brought us new films and chemicals... probably wouldn't do that, if it was going downhill.

 

[brucemuir]

This may sound like b*itching but really bugs me is when these "people" shoot film for 6 months or so in a holga and are immediately some sort of "expert" on all things related to film shooting or processing.

As evidenced by countless blogs and forum posts.

This fad will pass quickly.
I don't think it really boosts film sales all that much because they mostly buy outdated stuff.

I buy a lot of past date stuff myself but probably not for the same reasons.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Forgive them for they do not know

"people" shoot film for 6 months or so in a holga and are immediately some sort of "expert" on all things related to film shooting or processing.

Just like teenagers. They don't know enough to know that they're not experts. My hope that they will keep the use of film alive.