Post by Ken Riley on Nov 15, 2013 9:15:11 GMT -5
Used in the Nov. 2013 newsletter
The Overlap of Technology ~ Film to Digital
- by Ken Riley
I remember the overlap of mono records to stereo ones during the 1950s-60s. It took a few years but stereo won and became universal. The second time this occurred in my life was when we made the transition from vinyl records to CDs in the 1980s. Once again it overlaped for a couple years but CDs won their battle. And don't even mention tapes. Tapes. There were reel-to-reel, 8-track, cassette, video, stereo and mono recording machines... They have all gone the way of the ones before them- And vinyl seems to have made a small come-back keeping the record player makers in business. There are even those who claim that music played from vinyl sounds better (flows better) than digital CD. You be the judge.
This brings me to film. We are, right now here in 2013, experiencing that overlap between film and the digital camera. Actually, we have been overlaping for a few years now. It won't be much longer before the end of film. I like film. I like the way film "renders" pictures I take. I have film cameras and I enjoy using film. The loss of film as a medium will also be the loss of a very fine art tool. Maybe someone will keep it alive much like the Instant films for the old Polaroid cameras. Processing of Kodachrome has already ended.
Like a old busted silver mine that ran out of silver a long time ago so is the fate of film. From the viewpoint of a large entity such as Kodak or Fuji, they must be able to not only make a product but sell it for a profit as well. This is what keeps everything going. This is what pays for everything that a company has to offer it's customers, it's employees and, itself. When you no longer can sell that product or service you quit or you do something else.
Its funny though, these companies spent a century perfecting their films just to have it end almost as fast as the vinyl record. All that time and energy. The vinyl record was the same way. Perfected over eighty years and CDs took over within ten. Now you don't even need the CD. Just download to your MP3 player or iPod!
The same with photographs now. Just download from the camera. No messy chemicals, no waiting for development of film, no negative, no enlarger, no darkroom. All one needs now is a good printer and a good software program to run the printer. But you still need the "eye" of the photographer to create photo art. Its the art of the media [film] that will be missed by many. Each media used to "capture" an image, wheather it be paint, drawing, print, film, or digital presents its own interuperation of that moment, its own rendition. Its just another way that we captured the world, our families, friends, and all the splender of our surroundings, both good and bad. So, what comes after digital?
The Overlap of Technology ~ Film to Digital
- by Ken Riley
I remember the overlap of mono records to stereo ones during the 1950s-60s. It took a few years but stereo won and became universal. The second time this occurred in my life was when we made the transition from vinyl records to CDs in the 1980s. Once again it overlaped for a couple years but CDs won their battle. And don't even mention tapes. Tapes. There were reel-to-reel, 8-track, cassette, video, stereo and mono recording machines... They have all gone the way of the ones before them- And vinyl seems to have made a small come-back keeping the record player makers in business. There are even those who claim that music played from vinyl sounds better (flows better) than digital CD. You be the judge.
This brings me to film. We are, right now here in 2013, experiencing that overlap between film and the digital camera. Actually, we have been overlaping for a few years now. It won't be much longer before the end of film. I like film. I like the way film "renders" pictures I take. I have film cameras and I enjoy using film. The loss of film as a medium will also be the loss of a very fine art tool. Maybe someone will keep it alive much like the Instant films for the old Polaroid cameras. Processing of Kodachrome has already ended.
Like a old busted silver mine that ran out of silver a long time ago so is the fate of film. From the viewpoint of a large entity such as Kodak or Fuji, they must be able to not only make a product but sell it for a profit as well. This is what keeps everything going. This is what pays for everything that a company has to offer it's customers, it's employees and, itself. When you no longer can sell that product or service you quit or you do something else.
Its funny though, these companies spent a century perfecting their films just to have it end almost as fast as the vinyl record. All that time and energy. The vinyl record was the same way. Perfected over eighty years and CDs took over within ten. Now you don't even need the CD. Just download to your MP3 player or iPod!
The same with photographs now. Just download from the camera. No messy chemicals, no waiting for development of film, no negative, no enlarger, no darkroom. All one needs now is a good printer and a good software program to run the printer. But you still need the "eye" of the photographer to create photo art. Its the art of the media [film] that will be missed by many. Each media used to "capture" an image, wheather it be paint, drawing, print, film, or digital presents its own interuperation of that moment, its own rendition. Its just another way that we captured the world, our families, friends, and all the splender of our surroundings, both good and bad. So, what comes after digital?
