A sense of touch

[Norma Desmond]

Bob--

 

A cute tidbit there about the fire, but I don't think it says much. What it says is that you

know your journey can continue by buying another camera. You know your negatives will

be destroyed. So you save what cannot be replaced. That doesn't mean that the end is

more important to you than the journey. It means you're recognizing what will be

physically destroyed (the destination) and what can continue by using alternative physical

means (the journey).

 

A more telling choice about one's leanings might be this: If you were sort of in the middle

of your experience as a photographer (maybe having done it for 10 years or so) and you

had to choose between destroying all your negatives so far or keeping those but never

taking another photo, which would you choose?

[kristina_kraft]

In my attempts to be gentle in handling with a fragile things - such as cameras, slides, negatives, dark room, computer - it gives me a strong feeling of commitment. To have a sense of touch is such a wonderful gift specially when you create, not just photos, but everything you can in your life.

[charles_stobbs3]

There is nothing like the anticipation of opening a box of Kodachrome slides. (Years ago I used to develop and print B&W negatives and prints but it's not the same.)

[Troll]

"Bill Mitchell, Feb 28, 2008; 09:39 a.m.<P>

 

I'll bet that you don't do your own wet darkroom work, do you?<P>

 

pnina evental, Feb 28, 2008; 10:11 a.m.<P>

 

Bill, If you refer to me, I have a name ....;-)) I was working in my wet darkroom for about 4-5 years untill I started with digital

photography."<P>

Actually, pnina, I was referring to Dennis Aubrey (whom I have noticed before on the forums, and whose name always seems particularly musical to me), complaining about the lack of tactile contact between the images and the print. It seems to me that nothing could be more tactile than working in a wet darkroom with one's hands on the print in the developer and toners.

[pnital]

Thanks Bill. I switched from painting to film photography, working in the wet darkroom for some years, so I know the feeling of

" touching"or tactile( brushes, oils, toners etc.) It took me time to pass to digital,and I enjoy it not less. It opened new horizons for me, and at the end, the decision if you want to continue creating with the film and wet darkroom or digital, PS etc. is a very personal decision, individual needs ,and preferances .

[aginbyte]

Bill, actually I was not complaining about the lack of tactile contact between the images and

the print, actually just the opposite. Was wondering if the lack of that contact in the digital

photography domain was one of the reasons that film shooters resisted going to digital. I

know how important that tactile element can be in the arts. Also, perhaps the reason my

name is musical, there is a New Zealand singer/songwriter of the same name :)

[jtk]

"It seems to me that nothing could be more tactile than working in a wet darkroom with one's hands on the print in the developer and toners."

 

This is what distinguishes some photographers from humans :-)

[yeffe]

Whether digital or physio-chemical, photography demands the involvement of one's entire

body...being, if you will. My most challenging preparation for photowork is my own physical

conditioning which bears on my body's stamina, my mind's sharpness, and my eye's

quickness. Other than that, whether Leica or Sinar, I'm carrying around a small, dark empty

room, a regulatory mechanism, and myself. It's the latter that really counts and connects me

with the world.

[inoneeye]

anytime you engage your sense of touch, smell, hearing you engage more of your brain.

It stands to reason that the greater the degree you engage these senses the more

profound the impact. Does this mean you influence your creative juices, i think so. <br>

In film i see differently with a large format than i do with a 35 or with a polaroid or with a

pinhole. I take different photos with film camera than a digital camera. More to the point, I

post process differently on a computer than in a wet darkroom. Film photography is

indeed a more physiological process, predominately in the darkroom. The tactile, odors,

noises are more engaging and noxious but (as i have found) not without merit.

[inoneeye]

priceless