Tuesday, February 10, 2009

What can film do that digital cant?

A lot actually. Film still offers the ability to do things in camera that digital does not. These photographs, (minus the toning) were produced in camera as you see them. Digital photography is a great resource for the instant gratification of the image. Analog photography is a much more tangible medium. In an analog photograph like these ones, the photographs was made in camera, processed, and then printed in the darkroom. Where as if this was shot using a digital camera, it would take a much longer period of time to manipulate the image to resemble what film was able to do. A photograph printed in the darkroom holds a much stronger value being produce from a tangible and concrete object, such as a negative. Not just the aesthetic look and feel of the image, but for the fact that you can hold in your hands what your eyes and creative mind have been able to produce. Shoot film before it is dead!!!!

Boston Common 2

Boston Common 1

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jeff;One of the reasons I went digital was that I didn't have access to a dark room.I believe there is a more intellectual and creative rigor to film.The whole busyness of developing,drying and cutting negatives
and choosing paper,setting up the enlarger and on and on.Sometimes I find myself setting my digital camera on automatic and getting close to "phoning it in"and depending on software.
Henri Cartier-Bresson believed that "cropping should be done with the viewfinder". It's hard to stay that simple.....Jim

Jeffrey Byrnes said...

Jim, you could not have said it any better. For some people, myself and you, (though you have had different circumstances) have had the privilege of working and living during the film-to-digital era. One of the single greatest moments a photographer can have is to watch his print appear on the paper in the developer. (One of many experiences that can be very profound for photographers)

Now, the quote by Bresson, that is something so very true. I myself follow some similar philosophies. Bresson is a legend and a hero.