The future of film and LF cameras.

[Stephen Willard]

Consider this:

Has the gun eliminated the bow?
Has the airplane eliminated the hot air balloon?
Has the rototiller replaced the spade?
Has the power lawn mower eliminated the hand mower?
Has email eliminated snail mail?
Has the cell phone replaced the house phone?
Has the Palm Pilot replaced day planers?
Has the stapler replaced paperclips?
Has the cloths dryer eliminated cloths pins?
Has the power boat replaced the canoe or sail boat?
Has bottled compressed air replace the dust brush?
Has the gun scope replaced open sights?
Has paint sprayers eliminated paint brushes?
Has the vacuum cleaner eliminated the broom?
Has the computer eliminated filing cabinets?
Has the automatic transmission replaced the standard transmission?
Has online billing replaced snail mail billing?
Has online banking replaced the bank?
Has plastic replaced paper money?
Has metal studs replaced wood studs?
Has the flat screen TV replaced the TV tube?
Has the iPod replaced the stereo system?
Has the pen replaced the pencil?
Has the computer printer replaced the pen?
Has DVDs replaced books?
Has online classes replaced the class room?
Has the light bulb eliminated oil lamps?
Has the electric stove eliminated gas stoves?
Has nonstick pots and pans replaced cast iron pots and pans?
Has online ecards replaced paper cards?
Has contacts eliminated glasses?
Has the digital watch replaced the analog watch?
Has the GPS eliminated the compass?
Has the gun eliminated the knife?
Has the chain saw eliminated the axe?
Has the power saw eliminated hand saw?
Has the power staple gun eliminated the nail and hammer?
Has the power plane eliminated the hand plane?
Has Velcro replaced the shoe lace?
Has the hair clipper replaced the hand scissors?
Has fast food replaced real food?
Has DVDs eliminated the movie theater?
Has synthetic fabrics eliminated cotton fabrics?
Has modern furnaces eliminated fireplaces or wood stoves?
Has FM replaced AM?
Has TV eliminated radio?
Has online news eliminated TV news or newspapers?
Has the snowboard eliminated the ski?
Has the alpine ski eliminated the Nordic ski?
Has the snowmobile eliminated the snowshoe?
Has the supermarket eliminated the corner market?
Has the power toothbrush eliminated the hand toothbrush?
Has synthetic down replaced goose down?
Has the race car replaced the race horse?
Has the automobile eliminated the horse?
Has synthetic boots eliminated leather boots?
Has artificial bait eliminated the worm?
Has the kayak eliminated the inner tube?
Has the supermarket eliminated the vegetable garden?

In all cases noted above the answer is NO! The hot air balloon, the axe, the bow and arrow, and the cloths pin will most likely never go away, and I suspect film will not either. There will always be a significant group of people who have no camera and will go to Wal-Mart to buy a reusable film camera.

To do high quality fine art digital photography today is and will continue to be extremely expensive, and it is cost prohibitive to stay current. My digital buddy has given up trying to stay current which probable explains why digital sales are slumping. The market saturation point is being reached. Those that are going to do digital imaging have done it, and they do not have the buck left to upgrade to the next generational leap. For this reason alone I believe film will be with us for many years. I can make a high quality16x20 color print in my darkroom for about $1.00 which includes printing on Fuji Crystal Archive paper and chemistry, and the minute I put the latest sheet film in LF camera I am current. My friend estimates it would cost anywhere from $20 to $35 to make a high quality16x20 inkjet print. Control or no control that is a big difference, and some of us are smart enough to realize this and will continue to demand traditional photographic products because they are a lot cheaper.

Some would say why would I every want to grow my own vegetables when I can buy them at the store, or why would I ever want to fly a hot air balloon when I have so much more control flying a jet. My only answer is some of us have the talent and artistic vision to produce great prints without having to twirl bits and pixels. The pleasures of growing your own vegetables, the smell of air dried cloths, the quiet flight of a hot air balloon, and taking hours if not days constructing an exquisite composition with a LF camera simply has no equal.

[scott_6029]

And the tranistor replaced the vacuum tube? NO! High end audio vacuum tube equip. is more musical than transistors. Plenty of mfrs. of tubes in the world. There is a single plant in russia turning 600k tubes a month.

[George Kara]

Stephen

I dont think there is any reason to justify using film, or digital for that matter. I am primarily a painter and prefer oil over acrylic or tempera. I also combine digitized imagery to create moving paintings.

I personally feel comfortable using both and see no need to justify anything to anyone. If you have the bucks for a scanning back and your style of shooting is suitable. God Bless you and go for it.

The medium itself has little value. Its the content only. I have been finding out more and more that the purchasers of most of the high end digi backs are amateurs who have the financial means to play. Thats OK.

the same type also are the ones purchasing the Bugatti V16's (darn Id love one of the those myself).

If I could afford it, Id have the leaf, phase one, and better light back. While living in Monaco of course.

Like it or not, digital is here to stay and has been the largest development in still imagery since the advent of film. Good or Bad.

Cant we all get along? lol

[Brian Vuillemenot]

To be fair, while none of those things have completely eliminated the other, many of them have greatly reduced the demand, in many cases to a small group of people who still embrace the old technology. I mean, outside of Amish country, do you see many horse drawn buggies on your commute to work?

[Scott Davis]

In the case of email replacing snailmail, well, with the exception of UCS (unsolicited commercial snailmail), I'd say it just about has. When was the last time anyone sent you an actual LETTER, and not just a Hallmark card for your birthday?

[scott_6029]

I don't think this has anything to do with digital. Pro or con. I don't think he is justifying film either. I think he is justifying that film will probably be around for a while. And I agree that film will be around...less demand, probably;format - who knows, hopefully large .

Also, I think he is saying that the two processes are different and he enjoys analog. Growing your own vegetables, so to speak (although the example is a little extreme).

I also sense a desire for optimism that he will be able to enjoy his film for awhile? I share the same desire and hope film stays around for awhile too. But, I also shoot 4x5 transparencies and have them drum scanned for color prints (30x40's). And, I also shoot 8x10 and 7 x 17 b&w. And, I use a digital camera for all my family shooting and sharing images and what not (it's fantastic for this). No, I think we are just trying to be optimistic about the future of what we enjoy. At least that's my position. If others like/love digital, go for it. Do what you like, no?

The vacuum tube was supposed to be extinct a longggg time ago. I prefer the sound of tubes over transistors, but others will disagree. I don't care. I just care that I can get tubes .

[Jim Rhoades]

Whoa, It's too bad I like black and white so much. My 16x20 paper goes for $3.49 a sheet, NYC price. A buck for a 16x20 color print?

[Brian Ellis]

Yawn

[Bruce Watson]

The thread that will not die. Yawn...

Darn Brian - you beat me to it!

[Stephen Willard]

Scott,

You are correct. All I am trying to say is film with be with us for a long time for the same reason the bow and arrow is and the cloths pin is. Last fall after shooting a wedding I drove to Kebbler Pass near Crested Butte, Colorado to check out the fall foliage. To my surprise, I noticed on the hill above me were around 10 LF photographers. When I drove up there I was further surprised to find not one of them was over 30.

I just did my last wedding on June 23th of this year for a young couple who both had there own 4x5 cameras and demanded I shoot their wedding using film. So I did.

I just returned from a 23 day trip in the mountains south of Aspen Colorado and met hundreds of people on the trail with my llamas. Everyone wants a picture of me and my llamas and unlike years ago everyone new what LF photography was. I would say close to 20% of those I posed for used reusable film cameras. I took in over 200 business cards and had none left when I came out.

I really work the crowds on the trails now talking about my llamas, my cameras, and the process I use. I most always pose the hikers with my llamas and use their cameras to take a picture of them. I then give them my business cards, and since I started doing this 2 years ago the sales of my prints have more the doubled. Most people I meet have a perception of LF photographers as very special artists who create exquisite photographic image. We LFers are at the top of the food chain. The fact they encountered me in the back country furthers that perception.

Here is my two cent prediction. I believe that digital photography may actual be good for LF photography. It has brought lots of young people into the fold that would have just been playing video games. As they mature as photographers many of them may migrate to LF photography for the challenge and the prestige. Up to last year I have never meet any young people using LF cameras. All of these kids I have met recently had roots in 35mm digital land.

So who knows where this is going, but I am very optimistic about film and LF cameras. This spring I was in a bicycle shop having my bike tuned when the owner informed me that classic bike designs were outselling mountain bikes and road bikes combined. Perhaps there is a resurgence of LFers with young people who are now looking for the ultimate challenge. The classic LF camera loaded with fresh film!