Lost Art?

[sabianq]

I got to thinking the other day, back in the days of film, it took time to create an image.
The set up, composition, hitting the shutter and not knowing if the exposure was correct so the aperture was changed to modify the DOF and the shutter speed was adjusted, the shutter was hit again, composition was rechecked, focus, exposure… again.
35 shots later, the film roll was stashed and taken to the dark room… in complete darkness, pulling apart the film cartridge and loading it into the developer was an art in itself.

Then using the enlarger for prints and final composition burning the image to the photo paper, dunking into the developer and watching the image appear under the red glow of the darkroom light completed a feeling of accomplishment.

With digital, the darkroom had gone and seems only used by students of photography and chemical heads. Simply hitting the shutter and seeing the image taken instantly on the back of the camera body feels like a shortcut. It seems that the process is to quick to happen.

Where is the art?

I have found that longer exposures help a bit to bring back some of the lost space.. a dark neutral density filter can allow for an amazing capture at dusk or dawn.

Do you feel like digital photography has taken away the magic of photography?

[Bluenoser]

The drakroom is still very much in existence, just in a different format. It's now in software. People still "dvelop" their images in PS or LR or whatever software they prefer.

I also don't think shot setup has changed much other than you can see (somewhat) the results quicker. Sure, there's the ability to see it right away, but those small previews still hide a lot of detail you can't see until you get it up on the big screen (monitor).

No, imo, it's not a lost art.

No, imo, digital photography has not taken away from the magic of photography. If anything, it's added to it.

There is a lot involved before you "click" the shutter button.

It's just a lot quicker to see/obtain your results with digital.

[CheaperKings]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

The drakroom is still very much in existence, just in a different format. It's now in software. People still "dvelop" their images in PS or LR or whatever software they prefer.

I also don't think shot setup has changed much other than you can see (somewhat) the results quicker. Sure, there's the ability to see it right away, but those small previews still hide a lot of detail you can't see until you get it up on the big screen (monitor).

No, imo, it's not a lost art.

No, imo, digital photography has not taken away from the magic of photography. If anything, it's added to it.

There is a lot involved before you "click" the shutter button.

It's just a lot quicker to see/obtain your results with digital.

I totally agree. PS and LR are not the easiest things to master for a lot of people. It's an art in itself. Granted, if you mess up in PS there's always CTRL + Z but, it's still an art.

Just as in a darkroom, you have to be careful in PS. You can make or break a very good exposure if you're not careful.

So, as the previous poster said, I don't think it's a lost art - it's just in a different format...

[sabianq]

thinking about it more, i am in agreement, the art is not lost rather it seems to be changing, and with a lot less chemically induced headaches.

i have been using a point and shoot sony for several years before i purchased my DSLR, the image quality is very nice and building images with the point and shoot is truly an art. 35mm full frame digital cameras are bringing the art of using a 35mm film body back.

I was contemplating the quickness of the image return on a digital camera and i could not shake the feeling that having such a short cut to an image feels a little like uhh. well.. cheating.

[zona5101]

...and my fingers don't smell like fixer.

[sabianq]

Originally Posted by zona5101

...and my fingers don't smell like fixer.

lol you are so right, i forgot how that "scent" lingers..

it was interesting, i could smell that smell at work the other day and i knew i reconized it, but for the life of me could not place it.

now with your mention of the scent, i totally placed it.
thanks for reminding me.
cheers!

[RichardTaylor]

I feel for a lot of people, including myself, it has gone to a new level.

Even though did some developing & making contact prints I never had an enlarger or proper dark room.

Now I have almost total control from shooting to publishing.

As far as "cheating" goes, it just means that for some forms of photography we can achieve results, as a keen amateur, that we could only dream of achieving in the past.

Due to camera improvements over the years achieving technically ok results, for 90% of pics, is not an issue for those who just want to capture family/friend & vacations. Compare the results from a box brownie/instamatic to todays P&S cameras.

[sk66]

The only negative I see is that for many the "care" has been lost..(or is never learned)

Back in the days of film every decision you made was "permanent" and it cost you money. Shot setup was critical...you had to have an idea of what "changes" to make in order to get the results you wanted prior to pushing the button..Pretty much the same when working in the darkroom...

Now you don't have to have any idea...click-chimp-adjust-click-chimp-adjust-----until you get it close...then dink with it all you want in PS.

There's good and bad to this...

[Sterling]

Have you ever read about the process involved for the original photographers using wet plates, etc.? I'm sure those pioneers would look at 1970s era SLR and darkroom equipment and womder about the "lost art" of photography.

[LeeR]

I think the opportunities for creating art are greater than ever. Things that used to be very difficult in the darkroom are now nearly effortless plus, there are a whole host of things that can be done in PS that could never be done in the darkroom. The challenge for most of us is to slow down a bit, to take our time and think through what we are doing and what we are trying to say. The loss, if there is one, is that everyone with a cellphone camera or point and shoot thinks they are an artist. My wife recently returned from a six week trip to Cambodia and was bragging about her photography skills with her pocket sized Nikon. In her mind, the fact that she carefully arranged her images to include the things she thought were important made her an artist. The fact that the elements she had used could have been arranged in a much more powerful or meaningful way did not occur to her. Make no mistake, my wife is a brilliant woman; a university professor with a long list of letters after her name. But in her mind, there wasn't much difference between the images she made with her camera and those I take with mine. Is that her fault? Not really. I think we all need to be doing a better job of explaining to the general public what makes a good image and the effort that goes into great work. If not, we may find that the next wedding we attend is being photographed with a cell phone camera and the pictures uploaded on the fly to the couples website!