What do you say?

keithwms · Feb 11, 2012

jnanian said:
i don't know exactly what you mean ...
a sensor isn't light sensitive, an image isn't drawn with light ?
having a cellphone image light jet printed
through a sophisticated enlarger head
onto light sensitive paper and souped in chemistry
at a mini lab isn't drawn with light ?

its like suggesting slides aren't authentic ...

i don't think authenticity has much to do with it ...
it is just a different technology ... one isn't more authentic or photographic than the other ..

+1

This isn't a question of right or wrong, good or evil, etc. It's about using the medium that helps you do what you want to do.

tkamiya · Feb 11, 2012

I think we get way too caught up in technicality of producing photographs. Photography happens about 6 inches behind the camera (of any kind)....

Well... 8 inches if you have a big head.

dehk · Feb 11, 2012

Smile and Nod.

MattKing · Feb 11, 2012

I don't think I have had anyone say they thought film was "pointless", but I certainly have had questions from those who are curious.

My response depends on a number of factors.

In many cases, the question comes from someone who has used film in the past. For those people, I respond by indicating how much I enjoy using film. In addition, I mention that I still do my own black and white darkroom work, that film and processing is (relatively) readily available in my area, and that modern films are really wonderful in comparison to films from even 25 years ago.

Also, if someone notices what I am doing, it is fairly likely that I'll be using medium format equipment. Many former film users still recognise the larger medium format equipment as being in some way "special", and therefore it seems to be easier to explain why I use it.

And for those that have never shot film, I think the combination of the "unusual" equipment I use, my enthusiasm about the subject, and my phrase "I've been using and enjoying film for 40+ years, why should I change now" helps convince them that I have good reasons for the choice.

jscott · Feb 11, 2012

Tell them that Kodak's film sector increased by 20% last year. And who wouldn't prefer a home cooked meal to McDondalds?

Bill Burk · Feb 11, 2012

Mustafa Umut Sarac said:
I always want to live a simple life , like an shepherd in the mountain , an villager at the village but my life is more complex. I did not take a single picture to be applaused by the others. Keith , reread what you are talking about.

Haa, Mustafa, If you were to be a shepherd in the mountain you would be John Muir. Your insights and unique take on the world open the doors for others.

Poisson Du Jour · Feb 11, 2012

"I'm an artist. I don't take pictures, I make them."
At the crux of it all is that I use whatever I have the experience and skill at using, and what is best suited to me and the end product.

Worker 11811 · Feb 11, 2012

papagene said:
Great answer!!

Just to make it clear... I know the ceramics teacher fairly well so that joke was taken in the humor it was intended to be.

Poisson Du Jour · Feb 12, 2012

jscott said:
Tell them that Kodak's film sector increased by 20% last year. And who wouldn't prefer a home cooked meal to McDondalds?

I was way too busy with photography yesterday (apart from being busy keeping dry!) and had MacDonalds while drying Pentaximus! No crime to give the kitchen a miss after a day of dodging drama. So, you can have your cake and eat it too...

removed account4 · Feb 12, 2012

keithwms said:
+1

This isn't a question of right or wrong, good or evil, etc. It's about using the medium that helps you do what you want to do.

+1 ... EXACTLY

analog what is that? · Feb 12, 2012

jscott said:
Tell them that Kodak's film sector increased by 20% last year. And who wouldn't prefer a home cooked meal to McDondalds?

And this year? 100% DOWN!? Kodak is DEAD.

benjiboy · Feb 12, 2012

I have been known to ask them " do you enjoy sex and travel ?, and when they say they do I tell them to " f**k off ".

Thomas Bertilsson · Feb 12, 2012

Oh Benji... I just laughed when drinking my coffee, making a mess. And I blame you for it.

I agree with tkamiya - don't make such a big deal out of it. It's a camera, and pictures come out the other end. Just be thankful that you had the presence of mind to think critically about what gets your creative juices flowing, instead of just being like everybody else, a norm.

Steve Smith · Feb 12, 2012

jnanian said:
i usually tell them my phone is a 8year phone

My only phone has a wire and it plugs into a socket on the wall.

Steve.

Worker 11811 · Feb 12, 2012

Steve Smith said:
My only phone has a wire and it plugs into a socket on the wall.

The theater I work in is a multi-purpose venue. We show movies and live, stage shows.
I always get people who come in to give lectures or play concerts who ask for wireless microphones. My stock answer is, "The best kind of wireless microphone is the kind you plug in."
People don't believe me until they start to go out of range of the receiver, the batteries go dead or they get interference on the frequency the transmitter is set to. Try as I might, there is just no way to prevent these problems 100% of the time. When you use a wireless mic, that's just the way the game is played.

People still demand to use the wireless and, every once in a while, the mic still goes bad.

That's right about the time I come walking on stage, carrying a regular wired microphone, and hand it to the speaker.

I just smile and don't say anything...

Paul Goutiere · Feb 12, 2012

jackie_like_the_chan said:
I know that this has probably been brought up a couple times. I'm taking a photography class and I'm really enjoying it, I love the atmosphere and I love enlarging and everything about it. Unfortunately, every time I'm asked what I study or what I'm doing and I answer, I almost always get the same response...
"Really? I didn't know they made film anymore! What is the point when you can just use your phone? It just seems so pointless now..."
This normally sets me back. What do I say? I normally just say its an art form and leave it at that, but I always feel a little deflated. My question to everybody though, is what do you say? Does everybody answer this way?

Why do we love those we love?
Why do we love the art we love?
Why do we read the books we love to read?
The movies?
The food?

Why do we love photography?
Why do we love film?

I guess we just do, is all! We don't need to justify it.

blansky · Feb 12, 2012

Paul Goutiere said:
Why do we love those we love?
Why do we love the art we love?
Why do we read the books we love to read?
The movies?
The food?

Why do we love photography?
Why do we love film?

I guess we just do, is all! We don't need to justify it.

With the internet now so prevalent it's comforting to know that no matter what any idiot asks us we can simply say "GOOGLE IT" and walk away.

No need for long winded explanations, great pontificating, or explaining to glazed over eyes, we now have a perfect outlet/scapegoat to pass our detractors or time wasters to.

Naturally they won't "get it" by googling it, but they wouldn't get it, if we explained it until we were blue in the face either.

zk-cessnaguy · Feb 15, 2012

blansky said:
With the internet now so prevalent it's comforting to know that no matter what any idiot asks us we can simply say "GOOGLE IT" and walk away...

Brilliant, sir. Brilliant.

moose10101 · Feb 15, 2012

jackie_like_the_chan said:
"Really? I didn't know they made film anymore! What is the point when you can just use your phone? It just seems so pointless now..."

"Really? Does that mean you eat frozen dinners every night? What's the point of cooking when you can just use your microwave?"

summicron1 · Feb 15, 2012

Perhaps this will be a good universal answer: "Why do I like using film? Well, let me ask you this, if you could choose to drive your date to the prom in a 1957 Chevy or a 2012 Honda, which would you pick? If you could go hunting with an AK 47 or a Thomson Center Hawken Rifle, which would you choose?"

And so on. Pick something the person asking can relate to -- classic cars, classic homes, classic whatever -- anything you know that person will select the more classic instead of the newer but more utilitarian product -- then you can say "Well, I use film for the same reasons. It's a bit more involved but it is more satisfying, it involves me more as an artist, and it produces something that reflect more what I am and what I put into the work."

And if they still say "that's stupid," then just shrug, give up and go on taking pictures.

Worker 11811 · Feb 15, 2012

As a matter of fact, I ask people whether they would rather sit down to a home cooked meal or eat a frozen dinner from the microwave.

When you cook your own meal on the stove, you get to choose your own ingredients, use whatever spices you want, and cook it the way you want it. When you eat a frozen dinner, you get a quick, convenient meal but you have to eat what comes out of the package and you have few choices.

Sure, there are times when I'm hungry or I don't have time to cook and I just want to eat something quickly but you can bet that I'd rather sit down to a well-cooked turkey dinner with all the trimmings if I had the choice.

Sure, it takes longer and it's extra work but it's worth it.

Just because you bought a microwave oven, that's no reason to throw your stove away. Is it?

Yes, there are times when I just want a quick picture. In that case, a digi-snap is fine but there are also times when I would rather have a nice "home cooked" photograph.

Just because I bought a digicam, that doesn't mean I have to throw my darkroom away.

What do you say?

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