Digital dilemas

For a lack of anything more imaginative to dicuss on a Sunday morning here’s a rather worn-out dilema of a digital ditherer finally faced with the financial realities of continuing to photograph. I know, yawn. Get a life. However, buying a lightweight digital camera – probably a Fuji Xpro – isn’t my only financial or creative concern: what else will I need? A transportable lap top like a MacAir with at least one external hard drive which would cost as much, or more, than the actual camera and end up weighing as much as my Mamiya 7? Which brings me back to comparing that with buying over priced film and seeking out vanishing processing labs. I worked it out that with my Mamiya’s 10 frames per 120 roll, or even my Holga’s 12 – film and processing included – I was paying approx £2/$3 per frame – hit or miss, and the Holga was mostly miss even if it is more painterly than anything I see on high definition digital. Of course I could use a filter or play for hours on Photoshop but that’s not my idea of fun. Yeah, dilemas.

by Nigel Amies at 2013-03-17 11:17:08 UTC | Bookmark | | Report spam→

The most basic set-up?

IPhone 5 or 4s with battery pack, an internet connection and maybe a small net-book.

by Tom Van Cakenberghe | 18 Mar 2013 04:03 | Kathmandu, Nepal | | Report spam→

Thanks Tom. That’s an idea worth some thought. Skip the whole camera focused obsession. However it’s actually more of an existential dilema – you know, to be or not, etc., partly related to being in a new environment which so far hasn’t tweeked my creative instincts. Not only have I lost my process, I’ve lost my inspiration. But maybe investing in some digital hardware is a good option right now before my savings, such as they are, get hit by another euro zone bank heist like what’s just happened in Cyprus.

by Nigel Amies | 19 Mar 2013 11:03 | Ludwigsburg, Germany | | Report spam→

“You should never use camera to make your pictures. You use yourself, your experience, to make the pictures with the camera. Not the other way around.” -Antonin Kratochvil, interview for Canon.

“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” -Ansel Adams

“But I tell you, for me, each photographer brings his own light from when he was a kid — in this fraction of a second when you freeze reality, you also freeze all this background. You materialise who you are.” -Sebastiao Salgado, worldcrunch interview.

“We recognize an artist by the background in his picture, made apparent through depth of focus and atmosphere and we recognize each other in friendship and love by this same background— the background of light.”
—Edouard Boubat
fr. Fi McGhee, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THEIR IMAGES

by Hernan Zenteno | 19 Mar 2013 12:03 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | | Report spam→

By the way Nigel, if you want a good option for your savings is not a good option purchase hardware devices or cameras except you purchase leica optics. After a few years all will have a lot less value.

by Hernan Zenteno | 19 Mar 2013 13:03 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | | Report spam→

Nigel, Hernan is correct in that Leica optics maintain their value. However to use the Leica optics you also have to buy Leica cameras and the digital ones do not maintain their value (has anyone tried to sell a Leica M8 recently?) Furthermore, the digital bodies may not even maintain their functionality. As John Vink points out on his blog, " And who can guarantee me that that sensor will still be available 4 or even 2 years from now? Buying a Leica today is NOT the same investment as 10 years ago…"
It is worth reading this post on his blog for an informed perspective and a possible alternative to the Leica digital cameras:
http://johnvink.com/news/2013/02/gear-talk-sony-rx1/

by Barry Milyovsky | 19 Mar 2013 15:03 (ed. Mar 19 2013) | New York, United States | | Report spam→

Thanks for the feedback. However, financially as well as creatively I’m more in the Holga category right now. But I do find the camera I just posted on LS Alerts – Radical camera concept – interesting. Yes, get rid of that damned screen on the back and keep creative controls!

by Nigel Amies | 21 Mar 2013 09:03 | Ludwigsburg, Germany | | Report spam→