The Online Photographer

["Open Mike" is the Editorial Page of TOP, wherein Yr. Hmbl. Ed. is sometimes detectably more self-indulgent than usual. It appears on Wednesdays, which I can say because today is Wednesday.]

"Retire from what?"

—Willie Nelson, when asked by Paul
McCartney if he ever intends to retire

I had a big, fat, beautiful post all ready to go this morning, two hours' work, and I went off to fix my breakfast...and came back to find myself staring at a blank page. Once the cat's away, the mice will play: acting on its own, my computer restarted itself to install an update. I've gotten lax about saving (again!) because TypePad has an automated "Restore Content" feature now. But the Restore Content feature didn't work through the restart.

That's what it's like to work on computers. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...." Maybe it was a sign from the heavens that the post should have been shorter and sweeter. I'll leave out the digressions this time.

I really just what to get your opinion on something I'm struggling with (again):

Do you think it would be bad if I went back to shooting film?

Obviously I can do whatever I want to as a private individual. But I'm not a private individual where this is concerned. I make my livelihood on TOP, and I don't want to hasten my own irrelevance. (That will happen on its own anyway*.) I'm a writer, not a photographer, and I can do a lot of my work without my personal photography having any effect on the writing one way or the other. On the other hand, though, the way I practice photography can't help but sneak into the blog.

To be honest, which I try to do even if it makes me look bad, my own photography has been in the doldrums these past few years. Apart from wandering around testing cameras or lenses or recording the various happenings in my literal backyard (like this or this), I haven't been doing a whole lot of anything.

But I don't want to indulge in nostalgia and I don't want to become an antiquarian. Readers over the years have urged me to engage with whatever was new and upcoming at various times: Flickr, smartphones, Instax, Facebook, Lightroom, Instagram, video, whatever it might be. I try. But for better or worse, I love B&W and I love prints made with light. Looking at a lot of those old Magnum prints yesterday just made me pine for home.

I really just want some way to get the endorphins firing again. If you're a car nut or a music nut, then cars or music is what gets your juices flowing. Pursuing whatever grabs you creates fuel and gives you energy. Where creativity is concerned, that energy is how you'll know you're on a good track or not. I was talking to Keith Davis a while back (he's another person who likes photographs that are objects), and I heard myself saying to him the odd words, "...I kind of miss photography." I'm not out of it, at all, and yet still, it seems, I'm struggling to find a way back in. How weird is that? But we do only have one life, and time, despite rumors among the young to the contrary, is short. We have to strike some balance between supporting the heart and supporting the hearth.

What I'm worried about is that people will say, "Sure, do whatever you want," while thinking, ...and I'll just go somewhere else to get my daily photography fix. Could be bad for you and hence for TOP. Or, this could be just another passing phase (or faze, as Internet would spell it). I do get these flareups periodically.

What's your slant on such thoughts?

Mike
(Thanks to Fred Morrison)

*Except to my favorite writer, George Orwell, who was prescient.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Edward Taylor: "I will not stop visiting T.O.P. if you start shooting film. I was a quick adopter of digital photography, but having been a professional photographer in the film era, I too thought it would be fun to shoot film again. I especially liked film cameras. I used Canon F-1's as a pro, and still had a new one in a box. (New 45 years ago).

"Anyway, I did it. I went back to film. Basically my efforts only ruined my memories of film. Everything about the experience was a pain in the neck and not very much fun.

"But beyond that, after all that effort, the results are so inferior to modern digital images that God forbid if I got an image I loved and wanted to do anything with it. Even the better images from a technical point of view would have been considered complete failures if taken with even an average digital camera. Film is simply an overwhelmingly inferior technology. As soon as people stop fondly remembering the film days with rose-colored glasses, no one will argue that film is a reasonable alternative.

"I know I will get a lot of blowback for this comment—maybe even from you, Mike— but I always tell my friends who say they love the look of film to go and look at photos of JFK taken with the best film cameras of the time by pros, and see if they can find any with technical quality that would be acceptable to any digital photographer today.

"If you look at some of the greats, part of their success is based on how amazing their work was, considering the limitations of film photography. Now, you can go on Instagram and if you spend enough time, you'll find amazing digital works routinely.

"Film may work well in some very limited circumstances, but its use will greatly reduce your options and your ability to get that decisive image."

Ms. Jen: "Your writing on this blog is what encouraged me to pick film photography back up in 2015 after a 15+ year hiatus.

"You wrote about the one camera, one lens, one print per day challenge for the digital age in Nov. or Dec. 2014. In that same post, you wrote how you used to do it with one camera, one lens, one film and at least one photo per day.

"My brain lit up with joy at the idea of using film again. I had/have a lovely Nikon FM3a with a 50mm ƒ/1.8 lens that was sitting my in closet and with that blog post, I trotted over to Samy's Camera in Santa Ana to see what film was available.

"I altered your challenge a bit and shot a new roll of different film for each month. It took me until 2017 to work through all of the 35mm films still available at Samy's and B&H.

"And I am still shooting film along with my camera phone and my DSLR. I am very excited to announce that I just got four rolls of Film Ferrania P30 in the mail and can't wait to finish my current roll of Ilford so that I can start.

"As for your current quandary, be it digital, phone, or film—it is photography. Follow your joy, write about what is exciting and we will still find things in your posts to challenge or excite us."

Bob (partial comment): "Follow your joy, indeed. As for the loyalty of your readers, I think you needn't worry. If there is one thing I have happily learned in my time here, it is that you cannot be depended upon to write on one topic forever! Like the old adage about Chicago weather: 'If you don't like it, wait, it will change.'"

MarkB: "I should send you a t-shirt that says 'Life is short: shoot film and listen to jazz.' I'm sure one exists, given the hipsters I saw in NYC."

Cliff M (partial comment): "I think digital was a huge advance in color photography, but an impediment to good B&W."

Sroyan: "I would unreservedly, unabashedly encourage you to return to film, if that's what you feel like doing. Speaking for myself, far from going elsewhere, I'd read TOP with even greater enthusiasm than I do now. I say this for two reasons.

"First, while I am deeply interested in photography as art regardless of how it was produced (digital, film, wet plate...), technology-wise I am far more interested in film cameras—especially film cameras from the 1950s to 1980s—than in digital cameras. I have a Nikon D5200 which I bought in 2012 and have never felt any serious desire to upgrade, while I am constantly on the lookout for new (old) cameras to try—borrowing from friends or older relatives or using eBay as a 'camera library.' I take more photos on film cameras (not counting phone pics), not because I think analogue is somehow superior, but simply because I enjoy it more. I am also more interested in developing and printing than in, say, Photoshop or Instagram. (I'm not above posting scanned negatives inverted in Photoshop on Instagram, but I see them as tools; like with digital cameras, I have no emotional bond.) As a millennial who shot film as a kid in the early 2000s, went digital and then came back to film about 10 years ago (and discovered analogue printing less than two years ago), I find that the occasional TOP posts about vintage cameras and lenses, darkroom techniques, etc. are an invaluable source of information and inspiration—much more than, say, YouTube tutorials on 'Split-Grade Print Like a Boss' (I just invented the title, I'm not defaming anyone), posted by someone who is as new to it as I am.

"Second—and this may be connected to my aforementioned indifference to the latest digital whatsit—I personally read TOP mainly because I enjoy your writing and your perspective on the world of photography (and the world in general), not to find out, to use a recent example, what the Nikon D6 offers that the D5 doesn't (I read that post with interest too, but it was the bit about the F series cameras that held my attention). And I think when you write about something you're more interested in—which at the moment may be film photography?—that enthusiasm comes through in your writing, which can only make it more (even more!) engaging."

Pepperberry Farm: "It could be a phase...or not. No real way to tell unless you work that out.... I tried going back to film a year or so ago—and immediately was reminded why I didn't miss film at all.... I think most of us will stick around for your film faze...."

Matthew: "Would I just go somewhere else to get my daily photography fix? Quite the opposite, possibly. At least where I am film is increasingly popular with the younger photographers, and despite not being one of them I too am heading that direction as well. For example, I’m back to using the Zeiss Ikon rangefinder and 35mm ƒ/2 lens that I once read about here. Returning to occasionally discussing film here might keep TOP in regular rotation alongside Emulsive, 33mmc, and other places that have become my go-to resources."

Zack Schindler: "Try this to get reinspired. Keep a digital or film camera and tripod in your car. You might be surprised how often you will find something to shoot during your drives.

"For instance I was driving home from work one day and heard on the local AM news station that there was a factory fire just north of my home. Since I keep a camera in my car I drove to the fire and got this shot which I am proud of."

Ben Rosengart: "I have little interest in shooting film myself, but finding an exact mirror of myself is not what draws me to your writing. My advice to you, for your sake as a photographer and mine as a reader, is to do whatever makes you feel inspired to work."

robert e: " Two cents worth from a nobody who dabbles in both film and digital: .01) For me, TOP's unique mojo, despite all the delightful geekery, is less about specific gear, process, or social or market environment as it is about how The Photographer interacts with those specifics to realize her/his work/art/vision. Because what's revealed in that story transcends the specifics and gets at the ineffables of the art and craft, and of living, too. Film, digital, print, screen, hybrid...that's all McGuffin, no matter how weedy and fascinating in themselves. .02) For some reason, film has become a medium for young artists and hobbyists winging it and figuring things out for themselves, which is all well and good, but I feel like the Internet is crying out for some grizzled veteran/guru types to dust off their chops and show the kids just how good it can get (and share the wisdom).

"The kids might teach them something, too."

Chip McDaniel: "Your blog is not as gear-oriented as many. You engage with aspects of photography that go way beyond gear. I think that rather than diminish your blog or channeling it into a nostalgic dead end, it would enrich your content, if shooting film refired your passion for seeing and making photos. That will carry over into the broader photographic content of the blog. Maybe it will even improve your pool game too ;-) One caveat on these thoughts: I was originally a film shooter in pre-digital days, went 100% digital for awhile and am now back to 90% film. So I am not objective about film."

Rod S.: "Mike, please go back and shoot film. It's obvious to me that your photography has been in the doldrums these past few years. It shows.

"We all need an emphasis. In our lives, it allows us to get things done. In the public arena, it allows others to place us; to categorize us. It's good marketing. Think Michael Reichmann. His readers could categorize him. It worked. Where, in what box, do you want your readers and potential readers to place you?

"Currently, we (your readers) know you as the past magazine editor and teacher who once shot and developed lots of film and made lots of photographs but then abruptly gave it all up and confines himself with difficulty to digital photography, but longs for great black-and-white prints. It doesn't seem to make sense.

"Then there’s the matter of the way you’ve been thinking about it: Back to film? Why not on to film?

"Yes, of course, for you it will be going back, but it isn’t for a whole lot of younger readers and potential readers. They want to try film, or having tried it and saw something, want to get better at it. You might see it as an opportunity. It's just the blockage you have in your mind. You said it yourself: 'I don't want to indulge in nostalgia and I don't want to become an antiquarian.' Surely the best way forward for a person of your enviable print-making experience is to pick the best tool for the particular job at hand. Perfectly good and enjoyable tools, techniques and results don’t have to be tossed away for fear that others will see you as engaging in nostalgia.

"Like many people, men particularly, you delight in gadgets. Cars, hi-fi gear, coffee machines, and more. So, feel free to do your thing of shooting film and making prints and talking about it, and mix in articles about the new gadgets, such as new cameras, that delight you.

"The difference will be that your thirst for substance will be quenched and that will inspire you in all sorts of ways. Your readers will be able to categorize you. Your emphasis will make sense. And that will bring opportunities to inform new readers seeking practical help and insights."

Xf Mj: "Mike—your post is timely. Today I came home to find the new Jeff Parker album, as a vinyl LP, on my doorstep. With subdued delight, I unwrapped the thing, pulled out the record and in its sleeve, unsleeved it, and cued it up on my '70s Pioneer turntable that still works just fine and sounds good enough, and mostly warm to my not-so-precisely-discerning ears. I then poured myself a beer, and sat listening to it for 20 or so minutes, and in a state of familiar-but-new bliss. When the right time came, I got up, flipped the record in that ritualistic way many of us know, and got it going for side B. I poured the second half of my beer in my glass. I sat down, doing whatever, reading whatever, and of course experienced about 20 more minutes of a calm and steady feeling of satisfaction and bliss.

"I've downloaded, band-camped, Spotified, iTunes'd, and YouTubed around for many years now. There are charms to instant access, sure. But this was like seeing an old friend, staring them in the eye for a quick moment, and then jumping right in to an easy conversation about how they've been, and learning everything's just fine, all things considered. Maybe worse for the wear, maybe doing better, but just like old times. In short: shooting film sounds good to me."

PhotoDes (partial comment): "I go a different direction during the gray winter months. As dull as it is reputed to be, I refresh my enthusiasm with still life / table-top photography. Many artists have produced time-honored still life works and, as a photographer, I find it challenges me to improve my understanding of lighting, color, and composition."

Victor Bloomfield: "What draws me to photography is its engagement with the world around us, its uniqueness as an art form that ordinary people like me can practice, the stories that it can tell, the history that it conveys. I read your column each day because you, more and better than anyone else, communicate these various facets of the culture of photography. Whether you shoot film or digital is totally beside the point."

Tom Devlin: "Mike, I'll tell you what I miss about film. Absolutely nothing."

Malcolm Myers: "I still enjoy film photography so I'm fine with you writing about it."

James Chinn: "I find a good road trip or workshop revives my creativity and excitement for photography."

Bill Tyler: "Of course use film if that's what you love. It won't make a bit of difference to my interest in reading what you write. The choice of film or digital is entirely secondary to the core of photography—making images. There are plenty of sites I can visit that delve into the minutiae of digital devices, as though making images was about nothing but technology and getting the last pixel of resolution out of a piece of silicon. None of that has anything to do with what makes an image good or bad, or whether the image will resonate with a viewer. And that second part is a large part of what you write about, and what makes TOP worth reading. Use film, or make Daguerreotypes, if you like, just keep writing.

"If you do go with Daguerreotypes, make sure you have a good fume hood to keep the mercury vapors away from your lungs."

Joe: "I readily see that my digital images are so much better than film. But I have more fun with film. When I take out my Super Graphic, and load up some film for a shot I feel so much better. Or taking any of my old camera collection out for a drive. lately its been the Rollei 35s, and the Super Ikonta loaded with Portra 160. I develop all my own B&W and then print some of the keepers. Frankly, working on a digital image in Lightroom doesn't give me the same satisfaction.

"Many great photos of yesteryear were great because of content, not because they were a perfect image. So I don't stress about the sharpness, or color, or tone. I want an image that is interesting to look at."