The question implies a pre-determined eventuality. It should ask: Will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?
Steve.
I'll die grasping a grafmatic.
Even that is a strawman. It is possible (though expensive and restrictive) to do large fomat using digital capture devices. That possibility may expand in the future. Many of us hope so.
I think it's a safe assumption that for those who choose to do color, or who lack the capability to coat their own emulsions (which is really a hobby in and of itself), switching to digital is indeed an eventuality, assuming they don't die first.
That Grafmatic being clutched by the poster after you in the thread may, after all, be empty.
It is also a valid question, despite all the rhetoric associated with it. How much should one invest in large-format film photography? The return on that investment may have to be positive in a shorter time than people hoped for. Or maybe not--we really don't know.
One thing I do know is something I learned from a retired colleague years ago. I was huffing and puffing about ill-advised changes at the agency where I worked, and he told me, "If you lay down an ultimatum, you'd better have one foot on the train." Those who assert that they will never, ever, ever, ever, switch to digital photography may find their resolve put to the test before they hoped.
Rick "who has invested a lot in film photography and hopes it stays available for a long, long time" Denney
"Have you stopped beating your wife?" - Another question with an implied assumption of fact.
Last edited by Ken Lee; 29-Jul-2011 at 05:09.
I get off the freeway after work. Go in the dkrm and clean a LF neg, focus etc. Mix up
the RA4 and get the water tempering box going. Wheel my drum processor outside and
hook it up to the drain. Expose a test strip. Dry it. Print the full 20x24. Sound like a hassle? I'm done in time for the evening news. Why would I want to spend way more
time and money to scan and print the damn thing digitally? You call that progress?
I am shooting 4x5" just because I enjoy the process. And I would only give it up if the time, finances or availability of film and chemicals would get short. Time is a bit of issue recently, but I have hopes for improvements in the future. And I would like to try some darkroom printing other than just contact prints at some point.
Matus
What's "evening news"?
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