The potential of analog

[Marko]

Now, I wonder when someone is going to suggest that analogue captures a real image whereas digital only captures a virtual one...

There is, actually, one fellow who has done this on more than one occassion on this very board. He put so much effort into the hypothesis that it simply kills any desire for discussion. But it could be a quite entertaining read for those so inclined.

[paulr]

Maybe the issue is that analog captures a naturally invisible latent image, while digital captures an artificially invisible latent image. Or that the digital image is only virtually latent, while the analog image is actually latent. Or that it actually has to do with the Latin root of the word "image" which comes from "imitari" (to immitate) and implies nothing at all about transistors, thereby proving the traditional position correct and all others false.

See also the Anglo-Saxon root of the word "bullshite" which lies outside the intellectual bounds of the current discussion.

[tim atherton]

Maybe the issue is that analog captures a naturally invisible latent image, while digital captures an artificially invisible latent image. Or that the digital image is only virtually latent, while the analog image is actually latent. Or that it actually has to do with the Latin root of the word "image" which comes from "imitari" (to immitate) and implies nothing at all about transistors, thereby proving the traditional position correct and all others false.

See also the Anglo-Saxon root of the word "bullshite" which lies outside the intellectual bounds of the current discussion.

:-)


(ps - I want to grab me some of these images that are floating around waiting to be 'captured" - will a butterfly net do...?)

[Robert Hughes]

The hand-made vrs machine-made argument has been argued since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and hasn't lost steam yet. My wife is a handmade paper artist; she sheetforms papers one at a time. When we first met she showed me her studio with its manual tools. I foolishly remarked, "Gee, you could make this a lot more efficient with some computer control", and she nearly threw me out. Go figure.

[roteague]

Maybe the issue is that analog captures a naturally invisible latent image, while digital captures an artificially invisible latent image.

Or, maybe the issue is one of simplifying life.

I have a friend in Sydney, Australia who is a commercial photographer, he has worked in the darkroom and processed film for 40+ years. He went digital several years ago, because he found that doing everything on the computer simplified his work and life. For me, my career has been built around technology, I've been working with computers since the mid 70s (in one form or another), and I find shooting film gives me the same feeling, of simplifying life.

[Dick Hilker]

I find shooting film gives me the same feeling, of simplifying life.

Much as I love film and use it exclusively, it seems much more complicated to load a camera, expose the film, unload the camera, take the film to the darkroom, load the tank, mess around with the chemicals, dry the film, cut it up and then scan it into the computer, than it would be to plug a digital camera into the computer and instantly have an image to work with.

Maybe cutting a piece of wood with a fine handsaw is simpler and more soul-satisfying than zipping it through an electric table saw, but it's more time-consuming and probably not going to provide as uniform a cut. As we consider our reasons for preferring analog to digital, I think we shouldn't let romance cloud our objectivity. But then, should we have to be objective about such a subjective experience as making art?

[roteague]

I find shooting film gives me the same feeling, of simplifying life.

Much as I love film and use it exclusively, it seems much more complicated to load a camera, expose the film, unload the camera, take the film to the darkroom, load the tank, mess around with the chemicals, dry the film, cut it up and then scan it into the computer, than it would be to plug a digital camera into the computer and instantly have an image to work with.

Maybe cutting a piece of wood with a fine handsaw is simpler and more soul-satisfying than zipping it through an electric table saw, but it's more time-consuming and probably not going to provide as uniform a cut. As we consider our reasons for preferring analog to digital, I think we shouldn't let romance cloud our objectivity. But then, should we have to be objective about such a subjective experience as making art?

I don't process my own film, nor do I do my own prints. I pay someone else to do what they are good at, and I do what I am good at. I don't use film out of romance, I use it because I prefer the way film looks.

[Dick Hilker]

I don't use film out of romance, I use it because I prefer the way film looks.

I can't think of a better reason. As a successful professional photographer, you've needed to make business decisions as well as artistic ones and have found the best mix of resources for your particular circumstances. With the volume of prints you must sell and the extensive traveling you do, it's understandable that you would depend on others to do the production work.