SAD MAG goes digital-free!

The quarterly, Vancouver-based SAD magazine decided to source their images only from analog photos, by this year. While I applaud such a decision, I must admit I didn't fully understand the explanation Kevin Kerr gave about that decision in this article. It 's somehow an alchemistic point of view, in my view (sorry for the pun). But a good point about that decision, in my opinion, is this: "I think a cer­tain amount of sat­is­fac­tion of knowing that Sad Mag is going to be return­ing to film is imag­in­ing the qual­ity of the expe­ri­ence of not only the viewer, but of the pho­tog­ra­pher." Good point, Kevin! Considering the magazine is dedicated to young artists, that will be a good way to nurture the appreciation for film.

The basics

Dear readers!

I'm for now the second contributing autor to this blog, witch it is, you allready know this, dedicated to film and analogue photography. To be clear. I'm not hard core film or analogue photographer. Mitja already wrote that I started as a so called “digital” photographer, at the dawn of commercial digital photography. I’m still am today. I steadily learned the basics and then I started to discover the basics of photography with old all manual analogue cameras found at home. More about this in some post in the future. I was attracted into the classical film and manual cameras (older they are the better) and the aesthetics of analogue image, and the feeling of authenticity that only film photography can give you. I quickly learned to develop a BW film and make my own prints in the darkroom. Then I started to discover the history of photography and now alternative techniques to get the picture. Then I started to look at the masters of photography. I’m still learning the aesthetics and inherent meaning of their photographs. Then the next logical step was to go to photographic school to get the new insight about the photography. 

In the future I want to live from the thing I love to do, photographing. No matter if it is analogue or digital. But I also want to learn the old techniques of making photographs (ultimate goal for me is Daguerreotype) and master the language of the old masters of photography. I embrace many possibly contradicting poles of photography simply from the love of the photography. No doubt that I will remain a “digital” photographer it’s so more practical. But when we are talking about the soul of photography it is no doubly analogue.

 

me, pinhole - 2010

Now let’s talk about the basics. The picture is pinhole self portrait. Exposition was 16 min! I was at the lunch break at my, at that time regular job. What’s basic about that?  The pinhole camera from a cardboard box. That’s the real basic of photography. The camera obscura (the box with a pinhole), the light and the time. That’s all you need.

Matjaž

About Monday columns

Dear Readers,

It is my pleasure to announce one of our "staple" contributions to our blog! My fellow photographer and friend Matjaž gladly accepted the invitation to write a weekly column on Mondays about his own work, experiences and other film-photography-related stuff. I gave him carte blanche, so he will be a co-editor as well. I am not going to write down his whole biography in this post-it would take too much space and it would be quite complex to do, I think. Instead, you will easily get a grasp about his bio by reading his columns, and I am sure it will be a pleasure for you. I will point out only some basic facts about him: I highly regard him, also because he is a »new breed« of analog photographers. That is, he began with a digital camera, but soon realized the superiority of film medium. (I have seen too many »old breed« photographers being totally succumbed by digital). Thus, the transition to film for him was easy, quick, and logical. And what's more, he also quickly »upgraded« the 35mm film format with medium format, by ending with a large format (18x24cm) camera. He mastered film cameras-regardless of their format-in no time. He also took the study route, doing his bachelor degree course in photography. He's really fearless, a true die-hard guy!

Mitja

 

Random Quote

"To keep from going stale you must forget your professional outlook and rediscover the virginal eye of the amateur."  

Brassaï

The substance is crystallizing!

Dear Readers,

Our blog is beginning to get its shape! The main issue for us was not about its content, there are many ideas about  the "substance" (and new ones are emerging), but also the "package" is important in order to make you happy. So, some things became clear now, after a week. On Mondays, there will be a column written by my fellow photographer Matjaž (more about him in the following post). On Wednesdays, as already promised, we will feature a portfolio from one of us (a.k.a. the analog community). On Fridays, there will be a short technical article, a technical news, a camera review, or something in between. Most likely, there will be other contributions as well. Of course, these are no rigid rules how the blog will appear in the future, but you get the idea. We will be more than pleased and thankful if you send us suggestions and preferences, it matters very much in order to fulfill our mission-connecting our analog community.

Mitja

Random Rant: "Polaroid Z2300 hopes to rekindle the glorious days of instant photo"

Polaroid has undergone a certain rebirth with their digital line of products, probably also with the advertising help of LadyGaga. In this article, the Polaroid Z2300 is introduced, a digital camera integrating a ZINK printer. Its price will be 160 $, while the cost of paper will be 0.50 $ per sheet (the prints are 2x3 inch in size, not really impressive). The people who tested it, say "We're absolutely loving the chromatic stripe that's emblazoned across the front. It gives the camera that much more of a old school aesthetic." That's some good appreciation of vintage style cameras, I would say, especially for the "chromatic stripe". Moreover, they state "Prints take about 40 seconds to print, but when it's all said and done, the photos do seem to have that slightly blurry look reminiscent of old instant film cameras. Polaroid reps also told us that filters can be applied in-camera Instagram-style before printing, which should add some more value to the Z2300." OK, someone can call it "value", the extra upgrade options which inflate the price tag.....Hmmm...I am puzzled....really.....I just don't get it. Where's the whole point? Customer satisfaction? Sure...

One can buy a Polaroid Land Camera for something like 10-20 $ or so (the better or collectible models cost more, of course), and in a good shape-there are still so many around. One can buy 1 pack of Fuji NP instant film (10 sheets) for about 10 $, that's 1 $ per shot. Even the cheapest Pola cameras give the "instagram-like" look by default (the lenses are just right for this-only 2 plastic elements), without any "upgrades". Yes, they are bulkier than the newest Pola Z2300, but surely greater eye-catchers, too. They have bellows, after all. If you want to break even with both cameras, you need to make about 300 shots with each. Not really likely to happen very soon. Probably, most people would make maybe a hundred shots and then forget about the camera or dispose it somewhere for a long time. My point: these "glorious days of instant photo" can be rekindled anytime by anyone, without buying the newest gadget. And the Pola Land was just one example!

silver regards
Mitja

About the Rants

Once in a while, anybody gets hit by some weird news-for a product, application, whatever. Most of the times, I just ignore it. But sometimes it just happens to be so irritating I just can't help. You know, in those irritationg, frustrating moments, one just needs to speak out loud! This is the very reason I decided to add the Random Rants category as well. I must state that I really try to avoid the typical Film vs. Digital debate (or viceversa) by any means. But sometimes, things just go beyond the average outrageousness, so to speak, and sadly involve this very same topic...So here we are. I hope you'll read the very first rant and comment as well. Please, take it with a bit of irony and don't be shy to comment! Criticize, but don't be offensive to anybody (the comments are not moderated). If you think that somebody, including me, is an as***le, go express your opinion, but please, use some more polite (or at least anatomical) terms :)

Mitja