It’s Another Video … Of Me … I’m Not Kidding!

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And now for something different! Last week I wrote about the wonderful and inspiring film Don McCullin – Looking for England. I hope you were able to watch it. Staying with the video theme, I thought I would provide a link to a video summary of my presentation at the recent Photo Arts Xchange (PaX) I previously wrote about. In it I talk a little about my thinking and the stories behind the photographs I showed. Thank you Steve Sherman for posting this, along with videos of other PaX participants!

You can find it on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yyFbLb-Bgw

I thought I would share this so you might get a little better idea about what makes me tick photographically. To be on the safe side I watched it again to make sure I wouldn’t completely embarrass myself to those that are kind enough to visit this outpost every week. I hope you enjoy it, and despite having watched it, decide that you still want to come back for more!

You Need to Watch This … Don McCullin – Looking for England

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Last week I happened upon a marvelous film entitled Don McCullin – Looking for England. Made this year, it takes us on a tour with McCullin through his old photographic stomping grounds and other fascinating locations to make pictures. It also brings us into the sanctuary of his darkroom to watch him print. At 83, McCullin is one of the great living photographers and he is still passionate about black and white film and the silver print.

The film is truly inspirational. I came away from it not only learning about how the man works, but perhaps more importantly I gained an understanding of what has enabled him to truly live a full and active photographic life into his eighties. To illustrate this I thought I would share some notable things McCullin says as we follow him from place to place.

“I use photography to find myself in this world.”

“Photography has given me not so much an education, but a lifetime’s experience.”

I couldn’t agree more or say it any it any better, even though I have written about my own similar feelings several times here.

Thank you Don McCullin for all the great pictures and stories you have given us over these many years … and thank you for sharing in words how to live a truly photographic life.

So set aside hour when you won’t be interrupted and watch this great film. You can find it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOTedHe-_lg

Enjoy!

More Good News About Film Damn It!

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A friend and reader of this site sent me an article written by Stan Horaczek that was recently published on Popular Photography’s website entitled Films Worth Shooting With Before They’re Gone. The tag line read “Give your digital camera a break and shoot these rolls while while you still have the opportunity”. The article goes on to state:

“Film photography is not dead. Although a few years ago it was hurting, with old film stocks being lost every couple of months, but in the last few years there has been a resurgence of new film stocks hitting the market and a companies bringing back once discontinued films. Although the remaining selection is a small fraction of what we once had, there are still plenty of films out there worth loading into a camera. The second hand film camera market is also having a bit of a revival. But who knows what the future holds? We’ve put together a collection of films you might want to try while you still can.”

How’s that for a good news/bad news story? Come on. No need to be a Debbie Downer here! While there is no doubt we have lost some great films as a result of the digital onslaught … Plus-X, Pan-X, Verichrome Pan to name a few … we are very lucky and still have a large number of wonderful films such as Tri-X that we can use in confidence (not to mention a great selection of tremendous papers to print them on and all the chemistry you will ever need!). A number of them are mentioned in this article – both black and white and color.

Like vinyl, film is back. A small amount of film cameras are still being manufactured and a number of vintage camera models have seen their prices steadily rise on the used market. Thankfully many can still be had at bargain prices and their use is helping to feeding the film resurgence.

So I am happy to see this article but the sense of it is almost like hey, we’re all digital users, but once in awhile it’s fun to try something more old word and charming. I have run into a number of photographers that still print digitally but have given up on digital capture completely. They love the experience and love the look of film. Think Tri-X. I have met others that have come back to analog completely.

Look, film is not going anywhere and there is an abundance of cameras to use them … believe me, I know! Maybe what we really need is an article that discusses using your mobile phone to snap a picture when you are out an about and don’t have your film camera with you!

July Photo Chat Get-Together

National Camera Day and More!

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On Saturday I spent a good chunk of the day in my darkroom catching up on the large number of rolls of film that had been sitting on my worktable waiting to be developed. The last roll was made a week ago. Before I got started the phone rang – it was my friend Tom calling from Ohio to let me know that it was National Camera Day. He heard about it while watching the Weather Channel.

Thanks Tom! But wait, there’s more – after a little research I found out that June 29^this truly special – not only is it National Camera Day, but it is also National Almond Buttercrunch Day as well as National Waffle Iron Day!

Yes, the trifecta!

I make a real effort with these writings not to dwell on picture making gear but as I have previously admitted … damn it I love cameras, especially the older fully manual mechanical ones. I enjoy and appreciate the tactile pleasure, the craftsmanship and feeling that they transport me to another time when I use them. In short, I love everything about them. But, what it most important is that they enable me to make photographs. Of course any camera can make a good picture. Maybe some are more fun to use, or maybe built better, or have more features. Who cares! The point is grab whatever you own, dust it off if it hasn’t been used in awhile and make some photographs … in belated honor of National Camera Day. Maybe you might even decide to make some interesting photographs of almond buttercrunch, or waffle irons. Maybe this will be the beginning of a whole new creative phase! Maybe by next year’s National Camera Day you will have used your trusty old/new friend to create some work that you are truly proud of! Your immediate reward will be that you got out there, had some fun, maybe got a keeper and can now have some tasty waffles (I like mine with butter and syrup) and great candy bar (my wife loves Butterfingers) for a treat! The long-term rewards will be more profound.

So mark June 29^thon your calendar for next year, set some goals and see what you have accomplished when you get there!

Another Special Offer From DLG Electronics – Their New Enlarger Timer!

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Hot on the heals of the Fuji Acros announcement I get a nice email from Dave Gooding, who runs DLG Electronics in the UK. You may remember last year he kindly offered my readers a 10% introductory discount on their new Compensating Development Timer. Now he’s back with another great offer! Here is what Dave sent me:

“Michael,

If you are interested we are now producing a brand new enlarger timer. This is designed as a no-nonsense and robust, yet fully-featured unit with switched outputs for enlarger and safelight. Timing 0-99s at 0.1s resolution or 0-999s at 1s resolution.

It was your latest blog post on film photography being very much alive that reminded me to let you know.

https://www.dlgelectronics.com/enlarger_timer.html

I will provide the same 10% discount to your readers if you think this is of interest. Free shipping in UK, EU and Australia.

There’s also a US version with US-style outlet sockets marketed under the CatLABS brand.

https://www.catlabs.info/product/cet01

I hope this is of interest!

Dave Gooding

DLG Electronics

david.gooding@dlgelectronics.com

Thanks Dave for another generous offer for our readers! But more importantly, thank you for designing and manufacturing important new products for today’s darkroom enthusiasts!

Together, with the recent Acros announcement, this is further proof that black and white analog photography is indeed alive and well. Even some of my dedicated digital user students are dusting offer their old 35mm film cameras and jumping into the pool!

Far from gloom and doom, these are exciting times for all of us!

It’s a Sign … It’s Back … Fuji Acros 100!!!!!!

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That’s right. Rising from the ashes of a sad and unfortunate corporate decision by Fuji, the film will be reintroduced this Fall as Fuji Acros 100 II. I won’t rehash most of what has appeared elsewhere on the Web, but suffice to say this is great news for film users!! It wouldn’t be happening if there were not a demand or that Fuji saw it in their corporate interest for some other reason to produce it (e.g., transference of good will to other products). Whatever the reason; who cares?

The black and white analog community is the winner. Film is NOT dead!

Fuji claims new Across will be an improvement over the original. Finer grain, better sharpness, long exposures (Original Acros was the fastest film around when it came to making long exposures!) and “three-dimensional tonereproduction”. Not sure what to think about the last point. All in all a pretty tall order and only time will tell how it turns out, but start the countdown! Old Acros 100 was an incredible film … invisible grain, beautiful tonality and phenomenal reciprocity capability. I made 8×10 prints from 35mm negatives that people swore were from medium format or 4×5! If the new film merely matches the original we’ll all be raising our glasses.

Hey Kodak, now how about bringing back Plus-X and Verichrome?

Telling A Story With Your Photograph

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In an interview published by the London Guardian on January 28, 2018, the street photographer John Free discussed the differences between social documentary, photojournalism and street photography.

“I think that the difference between them is rather simple to understand. In photojournalism, six photographs with captions might be required. Social documentary photography requires 25-50 photos, which are each supported by a caption or short story. In street photography, it all must be done with one photograph and with no caption to help explain what cannot be seen. No caption and no posing, make street photography the most difficult form of photography that I have ever been involved with.”

Free is right about telling a complete story with each street photograph and I certainly try to do that in my own work. But I think all great photographs should tell a story that draws in the viewer to closely inspect the image and seek what is being displayed … and said.

Perhaps my favorite photographer is Paul Strand. He really could do it all. Every photograph he made told a story, be they landscapes, street, architecture or portraits. I own almost every Strand book and have seen his work exhibited many times. There’s a reason — every image makes me think about the subject matter and transports me to a different place … a different time. They cause me to imagine.

We need to make every picture count, make every one stand on its own two feet, whether it is a part of a larger story/project or not. What are we trying to say and why are we saying it?

The great ones do this as a matter of course. Their pictures contain irony, they cause us to dream, to laugh or be sad. So what can we do to make ours try to do the same? Concentrate and see more intensely with greater focus. Make only those photograph that speaks to us. Think of why we are actually making the photograph in the first place. And study Strand … it can’t hurt.