Will Digital Photography Cause A Collapse of the Analog Business?

[James Webb]

I am sure this topic has been discussed before, but I could not find it in the l ist of questions. I just spent thousands of dollars to build a darkroom, but I a m continually having nightmarish visions about analog photography going the way of the 8 track tape and the LP - does anyone have any ideas about the possibilit y of the big paper and chemical companies ditching their products to go digital? If most commercial agencies switch to digital, the chemical, paper, and film bu siness will eventually no longer turn a profit. The only remaining users would b e fine art junkies, and that may not cut it. It would be the low point of my lif e if after a year or two of working in my darkroom, I found that I no longer cou ld obtain paper and chemicals. I guess I would be forced to turn to painting and drawing. Someone please assure me that this will not happen anytime soon....... ..

[M.]

Don't throw away your brushes. Certainly it's coming, but no one knows how quickly, nor how completely. The replacement of Vinyl LPs by CDs was expected to take many years, but it happened virtually overnight. Will the same happen to silver based photography? "Fasten your seatbelts, cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

[David R Munson]

Well, last weekend I bought the new single by my favorite artist on vinyl, developed in pyro, printed with Azo and Ansco 130, photographed with my 60+ y/o Deardorff, and spent 2 hours reading about Daguerre- and I'm supposed to be part of the next generation of photographers who are supposed to be the ones to entirely embrace any and all digital technologies. Yeah, digital is going to take over in many areas, but when you consider photography as a whole in all markets in regards to all demographics worldwide, there isn't a snoball's chance in hell that analog is going to die any time soon. True, we may have to fight to keep some of our preferred materials in production, but so long as I live there had better be film and chemistry at my disposal. Otherwise, heads will roll.

[Jim Galli]

There are more parts available for Model A Fords now than there were in 1951. Why? Because there are more knuckleheads with $ that insist on keeping these oil slinging air be-fouling rattletraps going than ever. Photography will be the same way. There's plenty of knuckle heads.

[fishfish]

My vote is that it is coming, and coming fast, but will not be a carte-blanche victory. I hope to see smaller companies, like Bergger, pick up business when Kodak and the others end their film production. I will certainly live to see the day when Kodak closes it's final film production facility for North America. Film will still be needed where the digital infrastructure is weak (Africa etc) for for here, I think we are certainly going to see the day when film ceases to be prevelent, or easily avaible. I work 1/2 time in retail, and I am selling digital on par, dollar for dollar, with analog, though because they are cheaper, film cameras sell more numbers.

I have NEVER in 6 years of retail sold a new MF camera, let a lone a view camera, but I have sold dozens, if not into the hundreds, of $1500-$8,000 digital cameras, to both pros and amateurs. The death- knell for film is far from here, but there's someone playing with the bell-pull, though you might not want to know it. I just hope that smaller, specialty companies will keep enough film and paper on the market so I can do what I love to do...and then I can scan it and throw it on the web and into digital format for easy consumption!

e,

[Lukasz Zandecki]

Do not bother. "Analog" photography will survive. Try to make an exhibit print (100x70 cm) from 24x36 mm fromat negative (I know it's LF forum), it's common among photojouranlists and wildlife photographers. When you make such a print from negative, you of course get big grain, loose some sharpnes, but it is looking natural for the eye, it's often even pretty. Try to do the print in the same format (100x70cm) from very good digital camera, such as nikon d1x. You will get an image with a lot of squares - pixels. Nobody will tell you it is looking fine, because an image made from squares is not looking natural. There is also a lot of people who don't accept images made from pixels, they want to see that the picture was created in a traditional way, to be sure it wasn't manipulated, (this attitude is very common among my friends from Polish Union of Wildlife Photographers). Next case: when I'm going to shoot outdoor I preffer to take a lot of film than a lot of batteries, laptop, cabels, etc. Eric is right that there could be no kodak's films in USA but they will be in Africa. The films also will be in Poland and many other countries in middle-eastern Europe for a very long time. Why? Because people from these countries are not as rich as in USA, and new technologies are much more costly here. (Just imagine: photo equipment -except of that produced in European Union - is in Poland about 60% more expensive than in USA, and when you are earning 1000$ monthly you have a very very good salary). So it is natural that people here are using things longer, and do not buy so many new items as in USA, UK, or Germany. So there will be a lot of film users who will need provia, velvia, t-max, etc. Sleep quietly.

Lukasz

[Xavier]

There is a lengthy article on the latest 'British Journal of Photography' (12/12/01) named 'Surviving in the Shadows' which looks at the state of darkroom processing and its future.

[Chad Jarvis]

Did photography kill painting?

[Mike Mahoney]

The simple answer to your question is yes. Many applications are now digital, and as the capacities of CCD capturing, image storage, and printing expand, and costs decline, the remainder will become digital.

Phase One offers one gigabyte sacnning backs for large format. Epson offers digital printers at 1440 dpi and 44 inch width producing pro lab quality prints.

I could go on, but I've mentioned those above two products as they relate to both LF photography and large prints. The only reasons for not going full digital today are 1) cost, 2) skepticism(either a lack of knowledge or a refusal to learn), or 3) you enjoy the traditional printing process.

As to control over the process, Photoshop is more enabling than a traditional darkroom.

You're more likely to get a defense of the traditional process on this site than many others, and it's one of the reasons I like this site so much, but for commercial shooting, traditional is dead. I'd expect you will still be able to buy traditional supplies well into the future, but the major manufacturers will at some point put it into the "hobbiest" category - not where you want to be.

[Doug Paramore]

James: Yes, digital will eventually kill off traditional silver based photography, but not yet. In a few short years technology will reach the point where it ought to be with quality and cost. We LF photographers here on this forum are rather thin on the ground already. How long has it been since you have seen someone shooting LF outside of your circle of friends who share your interest? The last LF shooter I saw in my part of the country was 20 years ago, although I'm sure some may be in the area. The camera stores in my area don't stock LF film, but will special order if their suppliers have it. One of the camera stores in my area, which is well stocked with things photographic, said the only reason they stock black and white stuff is for the students taking photography courses. It just makes me want to go out and beat my head on the pavement to think of it, but I think major manufacturers are trying to wean us. Look at the products that have disappeared during the last few years. Black and white has already moved into the realm of the hobbyists and the purists such as we are. It is not pleasant to think of, but photography has always been in a state of change, and the change now is to digital. Ready or not, it is coming and our way is going. Do I like it? Hell no.

Regards,