Comments on: New Artist of the Week Series #3, rouge rouge, Back to Film http://thomashawk.com/2008/11/new-artist-of-week-series-3-rogue-rogue.html Sat, 20 Mar 2010 20:33:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Danno http://thomashawk.com/2008/11/new-artist-of-week-series-3-rogue-rogue.html/comment-page-1#comment-299 Danno Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:42:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/thomashawk/?p=68#comment-299 I may not be part of the "cool club" for photographers, but I don't mind admitting that I'm glad film is on its way out. Oh, it may never die, but it's definitely becoming a niche art thing. Frankly, I don't get it. I shot film for years, and I feel liberated to be without it. Yes, it is expensive and you are "committed" to every shot. But IMHO, you need to be committed if you think that's the best way to do photography. I don't understand the comments of "great colors" when I see a film shot that has its color balance out of whack. There's the retro nostalgia of photography with grainy & imbalanced/faded/weird colors that somehow makes the photo special when it would otherwise be a boring photo. Rather than praise the artist for his content and skill at producing a great work, we pat him on the back for using a Polaroid, something anyone could do for pretty cheap for like the last 30 years. I just think that a lot of photographers get undeserved credit for being "artsy" when there is nothing artistic about using old tools that don't perform as well as modern tools. Hooray, you took a crappy photo with a broken camera using film technology that has been around for a century! Big freaking deal. None of these photos really jumps out at me, and there's nothing about their look or quality that couldn't be reproduced digitally. In fact, without their "look" most of these photos would be pretty damn boring.<br /><br />Sorry, if this feels like a grumpy old man rant, but I just think this retro bandwagon that photogs are jumping on these days is a bit silly. It's ironic that we've finally achieved a revolution in photography in the past 5 years and now it's suddenly popular to go back to the technology everyone was so eager to get away from. I think some people have spent too many nights in darkrooms with poor ventilation. I may not be part of the "cool club" for photographers, but I don't mind admitting that I'm glad film is on its way out. Oh, it may never die, but it's definitely becoming a niche art thing. Frankly, I don't get it. I shot film for years, and I feel liberated to be without it. Yes, it is expensive and you are "committed" to every shot. But IMHO, you need to be committed if you think that's the best way to do photography. I don't understand the comments of "great colors" when I see a film shot that has its color balance out of whack. There's the retro nostalgia of photography with grainy & imbalanced/faded/weird colors that somehow makes the photo special when it would otherwise be a boring photo. Rather than praise the artist for his content and skill at producing a great work, we pat him on the back for using a Polaroid, something anyone could do for pretty cheap for like the last 30 years. I just think that a lot of photographers get undeserved credit for being "artsy" when there is nothing artistic about using old tools that don't perform as well as modern tools. Hooray, you took a crappy photo with a broken camera using film technology that has been around for a century! Big freaking deal. None of these photos really jumps out at me, and there's nothing about their look or quality that couldn't be reproduced digitally. In fact, without their "look" most of these photos would be pretty damn boring.

Sorry, if this feels like a grumpy old man rant, but I just think this retro bandwagon that photogs are jumping on these days is a bit silly. It's ironic that we've finally achieved a revolution in photography in the past 5 years and now it's suddenly popular to go back to the technology everyone was so eager to get away from. I think some people have spent too many nights in darkrooms with poor ventilation.

]]> By: Anonymous http://thomashawk.com/2008/11/new-artist-of-week-series-3-rogue-rogue.html/comment-page-1#comment-300 Anonymous Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:30:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/thomashawk/?p=68#comment-300 Oooh, good one!<br /><br />-fireinthesky Oooh, good one!

-fireinthesky

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