Middle Gray • org

I’ve added the color photos I took at the Navajo Reservation in 2000 to the Navajo Reservation gallery. Check it out here.

I’m not a big fan of these film vs digital discussions, but I still get people ridiculing or mocking me for using film. So here I explain why I still use film. I do think that I will switch to mostly digital in the near future (next two years or so) but for now am happy with my film hybrid workflow.

Reason #1: I was born in the 70’s, started taking photography seriously in the 80’s, and ‘grew up’ with film and its associated workflow. That’s probably the main reason most film users use film, whether they admit it or not. How many people born after 1985 are taking pictures with a film camera? Not many I’d guess.

Reason #2: I like the look I get with film. Yea, I know, the ‘film look’ is cliche. So what. I get consistently nice images with great tonal range and a pleasing feel to them. Getting a photograph ‘technically’ perfect is not all that it’s cracked up to be.

Reason #3: I have good film cameras. I shoot mostly with the Leica M7 and M3, incredibly awesome cameras. The M3 is over 50 years old and still as good as the day it was made.

Reason #4: High quality digital cameras that would match my Leicas are huge and expensive. I could get a Nikon D3 and produce great quality photos. But that camera is gigantic. I am used to a Leica M, a camera that fits in my coat pocket, or around my neck under my jacket, or in my man-purse. I can walk around fairly inconspicuously with the Leica M. But there’s no hiding the D3. If you have that with you, you are out to take pictures. I could get the Leica M8 or an Epson RD1, but these are quite expensive and…

Reason #5: I feel like if I buy a good, expensive digital camera, then I’d end up buying another one in a few years. The technology will get better, the electronics will break down, something. And the camera will lose almost all of its value very quickly. If I made money from photography, then I could easily justify $6000+ every few years for a new body, but I don’t make any money from photography. I feel like I should wait for the technology to reach the next level and stabilize a bit.

Now, why do I want to use digital? Some of the reasons are the same as everyone’s, and some are not. First the digital advantages that are not reasons for me to use digital.

Not the same reasons as everyone else: I don’t want to take 8000 pictures then pick out which 20 are good. I want to take 30 pictures that I think are good and find 20 keepers. I also do not care about seeing the picture right after I take it to see if it is what I want. It seems really distracting and separates me from my photo subjects as I review. (Again, if I were making money from this, I would certainly take a lot of photos and review them on the back, as was the purpose of those old Polaroid backs.) Finally, I don’t care about Live View. I don’t even want it. I enjoy looking through a viewfinder, where (if taking pics of people) I can interact with the subjects, not with a computer screen. Live View is like using a TLR, where the person being photographed is looking at the top of your head while you take the picture.

Same reasons as everyone else: It’s faster and cleaner (no dust!). These are significant advantages in workflow. Also, I believe a digital file *can* be more archival. Of course the computer may die, or a file format in the distant future will not be supported, but theoretically, you can back up the files and have them converted in the future if needed. Okay, so if something wipes out the human race and then aliens land in 1000 years, they will find the film but likely not the digital files. So what.

I finally scanned some photos taken in Buzios, Brazil. I went there for a few days on a short vacation while in Rio for work. Thank you Denise and Roberto for taking me there. I took a bus back to Rio, which shocked some of my coworkers. The photos are here.

With my new film scanner I’ve been going through all my old negatives and scanning at least a couple of rolls a day. This hybrid workflow is great because there are some pics I would not have noticed on a contact sheet before and therefore never printed. Check out this gem from the Louvre of a guy painting a replica.

I’ve added a collection of photos taken on a walk from my home in Windsor Terrace to Manhattan. I walked through Prospect Park, down Flatbush Ave, over the Manhattan Bridge and up Elizabeth street to Nolita House. The gallery includes color film. I brought the M3 and M7 with the CV 21 and the 35 cron asph. The B&W is TMax and the color is kodak Gold 100 (I’ll use a better color film next time). It is an interesting walk over the Manhattan Bridge with great views of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. You also get to see a lot of rooftop graffiti on the Manhattan side. Check out the whole collection here.

For the last four years I’ve been earning my MS in financial engineering. I finished in December ‘08. Nice timing eh?
Anyway, now that I’m not occupying all my ‘free’ time with schoolwork, I’m picking up my cameras more often and getting caught up. I bought a new film scanner as well, a Nikon LS5000, and am scanning negatives from the past 20 years. I also have an Epson V700 flatbed scanner, which I will use to scan all my medium format film as well as those hundreds of ancestor photos that I inherited.
So, here’s my first post on a blog that I hope to update regularly (once or twice a week?) with photos I’ve taken recently, photos I’ve scanned recently, and random thoughts.

Welcome

Erich Wood