But, I still have the Camera..

One of my geeky, on-again, off-again hobbies over the years has been photography. Since I was a kid, I’ve had a fascination with cameras, and all things related to photography. I was given an Ansco Pioneer 20 camera as a hand-me-down, when I was ten years old. If you have ever seen one of the very simple, but wonderful Kodak Brownie box cameras, well, the Ansco is sort of like that. This camera used type 620 roll film, which is no longer made. But, I still have the camera. In fact, I have every camera I have ever bought, or otherwise received. Geeky? You betcha, but it’s in my DNA.

In 1970, I purchased my first new camera. It was a Polaroid Swinger, bought with paper route money. (‘It’s more than a camera, it’s almost alive! It’s only nineteen dollars, and ninety-five!’) This only took black and white pictures, and you had to coat them with the very smelly, very sticky coating sponge, which was included in every package of film. Guh-Ross! But, it was considered a ground-breaking camera, as it made self-processing photography available to just about everyone, even young lads with paper routes. (Fun fact: Polarizing filters were invented by Edwin Land, thus the name ‘Polaroid’. And yes, I do think Edwin Land was one of the most brilliant people of our time. He should have been on a ‘think different’ poster.) Sadly, the images produced by the Polaroid Swinger didn’t last long at all, even when properly coated. But, I still have the camera. I have a few others, including a Kodak Instamatic, which used 126 cartridge film. Not a bad camera at all, perfect for young guys who just want to take pictures. One can only guess at the number of these that are knocking around attics and basements. Kodak sold a lot of them, back in their heyday. The 126 cartridge film could be had in print film, or Kodachrome and Ektachrome slide films. Not a bad deal at all, for a consumer camera.

In the eighties, I got a little more serious, learning about film speeds, F-stops, metering, and finally buying my first 35mm camera. I had always had a thing for Nikon’s stuff, so I went with them, despite their higher prices. (And I use a Mac too. Coincidence?) I had heard about this ‘auto focus’ stuff, but I wanted something manual all the way. So, a Nikon FM2 it was. I didn’t have much to spend, but I wanted a lens for it that would be, well, damn good. I looked at some others, but went with a pricey, but damn fine, 50mm lens, which opens up to f/1.2. This lens collects a lot of light, and enables the use of slower speed films without a tripod, even when the available lighting isn’t so great. It also makes the focusing screen very clear and bright, a big plus for those of us with glasses. And yes, it takes some great, powerful images. With this camera and lens, and some fine films, I have taken some photos I am proud of. (And some that I totally screwed up. Even the legendary Ansel Adams made a few boo-boos once in awhile.)

On Christmas, 1996, I received my first digital camera. It was an Apple Quicktake 200. I had read about digital cameras and photography, but I had not paid too much attention to it, figuring it could not be as good, or creative, as film. In fact, I originally blew the whole thing off, figuring the only people who would use a digital camera a lot, would be college frat jerks, taking juvenile pictures of their girlfriends. I was soon to be proven wrong though. I never took that many pictures with the Quicktake. While it was a ‘fun toy’, it was truly just a novelty, nothing more. As most of you are probably aware, the Quicktakes only interfaced to the Apple ADB port, and Apple quickly left the digital camera market, as part of their cost-cutting strategy. It’s just as well, because the digital cameras of today are nothing short of awesome. (Yes, I still have the Quicktake 200. It’s now part of my collection.)

About a year and a half ago, I bought a Nikon 2100 at the Northshore Mall Apple store. Wow! What a difference a few years (plus Nikon’s legendary technology) can make! I can take some photographs with this small camera, and with its USB interface, load them to my Mac in a few seconds. Then it’s a simple matter of brushing them up with iPhoto, the Gimp, Graphic Converter, or Apple’s very fast, very simple Preview application. (Those with the bucks can opt for photoshop, but the Gimp is free, and although there is a learning curve, it’s not that difficult to use. I’m going through the learning curve myself these days.) The Nikon 2100 is really just a consumer point-and-shoot camera, but it’s compact size makes it handy to place in my cycling jersey pocket. That’s always a priority. I am amazed at the quality of the images produced.

Now, it’s time to drop the other shoe. Although digital cameras are awesome, I still enjoy shooting film with my Nikon FM2. This folks, is a real camera:

 

The only thing electronic here is the built-in meter. It takes a small, three volt button battery, which I replace about every five years. Everything else, shutter speed, lens aperture, and focus, is totally manual. (And I am not suggesting that digital cameras are not real.) The best film I have ever used is Fujichrome Velvia. This slide film, with an ISO speed of 50, is nothing short of fantastic. I understand higher speed Velvia films are now available from Fuji. Another favorite film of mine is Kodachrome, which I guess is, or was, a favorite of just about everyone. Alas, Kodachrome 25 has already been discontinued, and the number of labs which handle the unique Kodachrome processing seems to be dwindling. Anyone with information on this, please write me here, thank you. For a time, in the early 90’s, Kodak offered 35 mm photographers a color print film called Ektar. When I used it, Ektar was only available in speeds of 25, and 125. With the ISO 25 film, you had to use a tripod on every shot, so it was not that easy. But I took a fine picture of a waterfall, with a shutter speed of 1 second, producing the ghostly, ‘blurred water’ effect that you’ve surely seen in waterfall photos. During one of my ‘off-again’ periods, Kodak discontinued Ektar, and that is a shame. With Ektar 25, a 35mm negative could be enlarged to a level only previously attainable with medium format cameras, it was that fine. Ansel Adams would have loved this film, I think.

‘Ahh, the point emerges.’

Digital photography is wonderful. With a digital camera, a Macintosh, and software to fix up and manipulate your images, the need for expensive processing and the nasty chemicals associated with it, has been removed. No more waiting for your pictures ‘to be developed’. No more crummy processing from labs which refuse to change the chemicals when they should. No more christmas photos sent out for processing, then coming back with everyone looking like an Oompa Loompa. Got a really good photograph of Buzzards Bay at sunset? Print it yourself on photo printing paper, and a decent printer, all readily available to consumers. Take a bunch of bad images with those one or two good ones? Don’t bother printing the bad ones, simple as that. But what about folks who like to shoot film?

There is something about shooting film with a solid, manual camera which I cannot explain. Some of you folks out there in internet land understand that. Many never will. I think 35mm film, as well as larger format films, will be around for awhile longer, say ten to fifteen years. After that, we will have at least one generation of photographers who will never have used, or even seen, a film camera. It will be as alien to them as a 45 RPM record, or rotary dial phone is to today’s teens. I have been told that photographers at all the big newspapers, as well as the wire services, are all digital now, and why not? In a business where speed is everything, it would be silly not to use digital photography. After that ten to fifteen year period has elapsed, I suspect the last photographic film will roll of the production floors at Kodak, Agfa, and Fuji. Photographic film, once as close as your nearest neighborhood drug store, will become part of history. When that happens, I will truly miss taking photographs with my Nikon FM2, which was built to last a lifetime. (Are today’s digital camera built like this?)

Digital photography rules, there is no doubt. Soon, I fully expect to be ‘upgrading’ to yet another digital camera. And I can’t wait to get my hands on iPhoto 5, which is supposed to bridge the gap between software for plain consumer use, and people who want something with more tools, but aren’t quite ready for photoshop or the Gimp.
Happy Picture taking!