death of film

The Final Word – A Rebutal to END ALL Rebutals

by EveNSteve

Schaub Y StrapIf you spend as much time as I do on the web (drinking espresso) you come across some pretty interesting assertions by photographers from all walks of life. I have posted this audioblog in an effort to ameliorate and perhaps provide a bit of “middle ground” for a conversation between the Luminous Landscape and Ken Rockwell. (To read each original article just click on the links below:)
 

Luminous Landscape Article – Your Camera Does Matter

Ken Rockwell Article – Your Camera Doesn’t Matter

AudioBlog LogoOk, now that you’ve been outraged by the silly, over-the-top claims on all sides, and are searching for some clarity in your photographic life give this audioblog a listen….it’s therapy time. In the end we can and should all get along!

Polaroid – The End of an Icon?

by EveNSteve

PolaroidJust in case you haven’t heard…that wonderful instant Polaroid material you’ve used for years is about to be no more! That’s right: Polaroid has announced that it will stop production of its instant materials at the end of this year. There have been rumors that Fuji and Ilford may be interested in the technology but to date nothing has, er, developed. Here is a link to a great interview from NPR on Polaroid and reflections by several artists who use this material for the artworks including Chuck Close. (Just click on the AUDIO logo.)

AudioBlog Logo

Having worked with Polaroid materials for several of my own artwork projects from my Through A Glass Darkly series and Book, The Haiku Series, The Sakura Porfolio and my Encaustic Cycle as well as also being collected in the Polaroid Permanent Collections  as one of their featured artists I find this news of a once-great icon in photography closing shop very, very disturbing for the future of our creative medium.

Thought for the Day.

by EveNSteve

Abe“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”

                                –  Abraham Lincoln

This is a key underlying concept of the Figital Revolution…if we as photogrpahers band together and speak out about what we want in our industry, the industry will be compelled to listen! So over the next few months I will be conducting brief surveys (3 yes or no questions each) on what the photographic community really wants. So click on the survey link and and make your voice heard! I will post the results on The Figital Revolution and also use this information in meetings with industry (aka The Photo Industrial Complex) to illustrate what Real Photographers- that’s you- want! Please note you must enter your email address at the end of the survey to keep voting honest… please only VOTE once… it’s how Lincoln would have wanted it.

Link To Survey!

 Via La Revolution – Stephen Schaub

Please note that by completing this survey your email address will NOT be shared and you will NOT be added to any email mailing list. If you would to receive our online newsletter just click here to subscribe as it is FREE!

The New Kodak TMAX 400 (TMY-2) – Pushed to 1600, Processed in XTOL!

by EveNSteve

New Tmax 400 Box

As promised here is a sample image (my wife Eve Ogden Schaub of Life=Art) in Puerto Rico pushing the new TMY-2 (Tmax 400) to an E.I. of 1600 and processed in Xtol Straight using Kodak’s suggested time/ temp . The light was very, very low as even at an E.I. of 1600 my exposure was still 1/8 at F1.4 (hand-held.) The image was made with a Leica M7 with a 50mm Summilux.

So what are my thoughts????

EveFull_1600EveDetail_1_1600EveDetail_2_1600

Please note: click on the thumbnails for a larger view.

1. Of course there is more grain than the 400 speed test I posted a few days ago (click here) but not a lot considering this is a 2 stop push! It is not as crisp and lacks some fine image detail as the other test image had due to the increased grain and I am sure the slow shutter speed and the f1.4 working f stop ( I do the best I can, but on 10 shots of espresso a day what do you expect?)

2. Good shadow detail and the highlights still have nice separation especially considering the light source.

3. Easy to scan- no problems with excessive contrast or anything…the scan was as easy as my last test scan. (Scanned on an Imacon Scanner at 3200 dpi, 16 Bit, wet mount, no sharpening.)

So what does this mean??? Where do we (I) go from here?

Well I for one will shoot this film as my NEW primary film at box speed (400) – but it is nice to know that in a pinch I can push this film to meet my needs no matter what they are… I am going to continue my exploration of different developers (stay tuned!!) for this film, but for now- Xtol works fine. Once again in my opinion – Kudos to Kodak! (It’s been a long while since I’ve been able to say that twice in one week!)

Image Copyright Stephen M. Schaub 2008

Thought For The Day.

by EveNSteve

Our Fearless LeaderSadly enough, it bears repeating (and repeating…): digital and analog are different and choice is good. Why does one have to win? I just came across oh-yes-yet-another-article in which the author in the very first paragraph states that digital is better than analog. “There. I said it,” opines self-described “fussy pro” Jim Richards in NARFE magazine.

Nice, of course, to see the huge ad for a SONY digital camera-whoops, I mean “illustration”- inserted in the article as “content”…who do you think is paying for this fake article, eh? We are, as the flood of mis-information continues to poison our industry.

Merry #@$%^ ing Christmas!

Fake Film!

by EveNSteve

Just came across some new software that will give your digital files the look of many classic films with respect to color, contrast and yes, even grain.

I mean, what? What?

Want film? Want the film look? Here’s a crazy idea: shoot film!
Shoot- Scan- Print…it’s that easy. So much for the death of film. Imitation- even digital imitation- is the highest form of flattery… don’t ya know.