It's the end of photography as we knew it.

you are 100% on track

I don't think digital will take over completely. It's sort of like the radio and t.v. thing. When t.v. came into being, people predicted the demise of radio. Obviously it never happened. I think the same thing regarding film photography too. I imagine its future lies more in the art form than in publishing though.

Yes Kodak is at a scramble to keep itself alive.But so are we. Fortunately for the masses less deveoping chemicals, from film, in our drainage system the better it is for all. Apparently all the pregnancy pill chemicals are not going away. Not to mention all the laudry detergent and what have you. This planet should focus on a direct turnaround and instead of producing more toxics for the ecosystem to handle , totally curb our growth. And get this palce together for the next generation after out childrens. Otherwise weÈll be the curse of the future. It is our generation that should take this incemtive. Still the Hippies ahad the best of ideas and no one gives that movement credit.

Kodak is also making what seems to be firesale pricing on their line of digital cameras to top things off. Well I don't think I'd really or my choice is not to own one right now.

Regardless of the delimma we are all facing I will sincerely miss the fine silver gelatin print. Black and white images or any of the other tonalities associated with the medium, will all be dear image making techniques that have always thrilled and satisfied me. The good news is that all existing silver prinbts will truely become more valuable over time.

I really wished - well it's not to late I suppose to dust off my Pentax MX, put some batteries and film and carry it along with my digital. I was going to sell it in ebay, but have not been able to bring myself to parting with it.

Listening..

All in all we have no choice really but to engage this new medium of photography and say farewell to the polluting of the planet through photo chemicals.

Not all new things are bad either this new medium with adobe photoshop gives one far greater control over the process than the old fashioned method of dodging and burning images to gwet things just right. The display of images on the internet is farely fantastic as well. I am sure in the nt to distant future all computers will need to be replaced because of the advent of holographic viewing.
Where are we going from here ......

A completely off topic response



Let me step in to say that hippies are notorious for trashing the environment. They say they love it, and hug trees, but they don't clean up after themselves and do a lot of drugs and booze, leaving paraphanalia and litter everywhere. Having huge protests also isn't great for mother earth - it tramples things and leaves behind litter.

We have a beautiful nature preserve here that was a favorite of the hippies and they ruined it by trampling all over and littering, so the owner gave the park to the state and now they strictly regulate it.

Of course, it depends on the hippie. Maybe you mean tree huggers of the kind that prevent deforestation?

Considering you are 21 I believe? You weren't even a glint in your father's eye when the hippie movement came into being. What would you know about how they handled the environment? Where is the proof of what you say?

I suspect one has to get a professional level
digital camera to get the kind of results obtainable
with a 35mm......I have a mid price range digital camera
...fantastic for instant results,
but for clarity I go to my 35mm....

Thanks Algis, for your report on the romance, magic and nostalgia of the bygone photo studio.....I too am sad to see it go ..........

Funny - cause I've been approached the one the and just recently again, and most my pictures are in the 1200 x 1600 range with the old camera and the new ones are twice that, but looking at some of these pictures I'm thinking it had better be at 2400 x3200 or bigger, I'm saving up for an 8 megapixel only about $1,200 to go and it's going to take awhile.

Why let it go? Sure, digital is here and most of the new cameras sold will be digital. Does that mean film is dead?

With every stage of technologocial development things have faded. We don't have many steam engine locomotives around any more. We don't get out and turn a crank to start our cars. The horse and buggy are a by-gone era...

But if you look around you can still find people with interests in every one of those and many many more things.

In your first post here Algis you wrote "With it also passes my mentor Berenice Abott and her Mentors Man ray and Eugene Atget."

They only pass if you allow them to! Why not take on a study of your own and pass the wonders of film on to them?

A mentor only passes when the student no longer wishes to pay attention.

35 mm isn't going completely away, but the 1 hour processing surely will, leaving it a medium for professionals.

I am sorry I gave away my father's old projector (he was a film editor at Columbia and Rko in the thirties), when I moved after divorce north-north. But, I gave it to a editor for Imax and many contemporary high profile films. (He worked across the hall, older, harried, avid for culture, especially with some good red wine at hand to talk about it.)

Wonder if his wife threw it out when they moved... nooo, I don't want to know.

Being in the field, I have seen it coming to this for years..and believe me..not just the photographers but, the professional labs have had to change ways. There has been a huge market change in photography, you'd be stunned to think about it. From Cameras to Paper, from film to digital, from one time consuming process and technique to another. And..its all had to be done side by side. Whew...I applaude everyone dealing with it that is able to stand on and go forth.
Personally, I gotta have my film. There is so much more that can go wrong digitally but, then again, there is the other side of instant knowlegde with digital that you just have to wait for, and hope for no problems with on film. Its a double edged sword.
Still, to get a real photograph from a real piece of film onto paper...theres nothing that can compare.
Digital does keep getting better and Im sure there will be a day when I wont be able to tell the difference in them..right now though I do.
The general public however, dont have a clue. Most dont have a clue about film to begin with. Ive seen more pictures people have that they adore that I just want to take from them and make better for them because they are so bad, they however dont see them that way. Its okay to see them the way you want..for them and for me. We can all live together..no problem.
I worked in a studio where we even did passport photos on one of those big old 70mm cameras. Did anyone really know when they sat in that chair that even when I was taking the shots with that camera it was already years older than they were? nope, not a clue.
I did hand restoration on little vibrating machines, and I printed more military photos that were taken on 70mm than I can even count. Does the end user even have a clue as to their negatives? nope, not a one.
When I stroll out now with my 35mm I find it so odd that people approach me and want to chat for a while about what in the world Im doing, why, what is it I see that they cant, howd I get into it, what do I do with it...etc etc. And only now do I realize that Im a dying breed, a curiosity, and gosh darn it...Im too dang young to be labelled as such!
Its been a very quickly evolving transformation, thats for sure but you know...I dont think digital will ever replace it, there will always be others just like me, and the interest will always be there from within or without.

It's an amazing transition and everyone who made alot of money on it will surely see it change.I am sure film will around for quite somemore years and I am glad that it is.
I think many of these digital cameras can never give you the consistent eye satisfying look of the 50mm lens.

I believe in most of those images everything tends to be in focus.Not to mention charging up batteries all the time.Both worlds are great, I just love the idea of my 35mm, Old and well used. An extension of my mind and reflexes.
And no matter what speed film I use, I am always up to the best of the best in pixel count.

I bought a whole box of old inks at an auction a few
months ago that were used for painting black and
white photos......
Some day I will get around to using them......the
colours are still vibrant.......