Wednesday, July 11, 2007

" a converstaion about photography with matt "

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new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
...meaning you have many opportunities to take pictures of anything

sometimes i love the street

sometimes the subway

or the clouds

Matt says:
yeah, NY seems to have an endless opportunity

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
it's a toss up whether to take my camera everywhere

it's about developing your eye for what interests you more than the location

although yes, nyc does offer a wide gamut of potential images

Matt says:
yeah, I assume you have a extremely large bulky camera

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
well, yeah. it's a handful and not that subtle

Matt says:
what kind is it?

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
nikon d80

Matt says:
wow, well reviewed

so it's a good camera?

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
i dig it...it's still evolving as a camera for me

just yesterday i learned something super awesome about its capabilities for flash, so it's been pretty good so far

especially for me hating on digital for so long

a great investment for sure

Matt says:
do you print them out or mainly keep them digital?

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:

haven't printed any of them out yet

just a few headshots for brent and a couple other people

that's the test though isn't it?

haha

Matt says:
hehe, true enough, so you've gone over more or less completly to digital or do you still do a lot of film?

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
all of my more personal work is still on film

lot's more medium format than i would've expected though

i haven't picked up my film 35mm camera since i got my digicam

it feels unloved

wouldn't trade it away though, it feels too good to shoot film

something physical

mindful

organic

Matt says:
true, and developing it also

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
you have to take your time with it, and it means more because of the waiting

it creates anticipation and that makes photography an experience rather than an exercise in trouble-shooting

Matt says:
it's true, but who knows, with more development in the technology it may become more of an experience again

we have to work forward to the point from which we came

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
they're inherently different methods and systems of image-making

i'm not sure i still feel the same about digital as i did before i had a digital camera, but the experience of using and utilizing it is still very much a different pace

it's interesting the vast differences in the pace of it

i get agitated and eager when i'm shooting digital
because i'm not "getting the right photo"

Matt says:
how is it different with film?

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
you have to trust your eye

and trust your judgment of the composition

there is more time spent of those things which really focus your intent

focus your reason for taking the picture in the first place

Matt says:
it seems like you can shoot digital with the attitude you shoot film, it's all a matter of perspective isn't it?

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
it give you a pause and allows you to create something transcendent and independent of the inherent scene

you can, but with the organic nature of film it seems more permanent

there's less of a chance of success and i personally shoot them in a completely different manner

Matt says:
hm, so you have two very distinct styles with each?

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:

i'm not sure

i mean, i certainly feel differently towards the way i implement the act of photography with each camera, but i sort of have to believe that whichever camera i used, i'd more or less take a similar photo

there is an imperfection in film though that lends itself to the sort of photos that i like; those ones that invoke a sense of memory and instantaneous nostalgia
the grain, the pattern of diffusion around the edges of the frame
it's an interesting physicality to it

but with digital, it always feels very final, at least until the post production of it

it feels very "fixable"

Matt says:
that's true, but aren't there a lot of things you can do to film as well?

I agree there are differences, major ones at that

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
this is not to say you couldn't take another frame of film to do the same, but digital allows you the virtually endless freedom to readjust on the fly

Matt says:
but I think a large difference is simply in your perception and attitude, it's similar to the difference between records and mp3s

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:

well yeah

but for kids that didn't grow up with records, they of course seem like 18th century relics

there is an attitude of "well why the hell would you consider that?"

Matt says:
well, that's a normal attitude connection with "progress"

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
and i see that rapidly becoming the norm as digital media as a whole permeates the fiber of the way we see the world

true

then again, national geographic is more or less 98% digital and they have kept their level of quality very high in terms of the sorts of images you expect from them
it's very impressive the skepticism, then the eventual wave of digital and how it completely became the standard

Matt says:
it's true, I wonder if professionals take many more pics with digital than with film

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
oh i'm sure they do

any wouldn't they? if they have the confidence, they'd be provided the most opportunity to be able to do their work

over 300 GB's of images to be conservative

hell yeah

why not exploit the technology?

Matt says:
it's true, more freedom, why not?

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
it just makes editing hell

Matt says:
if film and development was free they'd have taken just as many

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:

that's why there's a fight for companies interested to come up with the best and easiest to use software for post production digital image workflow

yes

you can't overlook the plain fact that digital allows for a greater image count with 100% less the cost

Matt says:
haha, we've sold our souls for processing fees mayhap

new york is hottt!!! summer is here! says:
there's always a trade off somewhere

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