Ramble.
Current mood:
aggravated
Why am I such a zealost for Traditional Photography?
Perhaps because it feels like it’s a dying art, or because it’s something I still struggle with. Most people who have photography as a sole part of their lives these days are all digital-digital-digital. And it makes me almost angry. Maybe the reason I’m so up in arms, and defensive about traditional is because it feels like it’s being overlooked and replaced. It’s the foundation. It’s beautiful. It’s difficult. It’s art. You have to work for the image you’ve created, and I think that labor is the right of passage in calling those images... photographs. I feel like you have to smell of fixer, and find yourself surrounded by test strips in order to achieve photography as an art form, and not something that leans more towards commercialism.
The advantages to digital photography are obvious, it’s a great relief to the impatient. You see your images instantly and can work more thoroughly because of that. Color is more managable in digital. Photoshop enters the picture. An easy way to make the unbelievable believable. The Depth of field is almost surreal in some cameras.
BUT- Me personally... I feel like in order to call an image mine, I have to set it up, I have to create something for it, I have to place things out of placement, add to what’s already there. No point and shoot, that’s great for capturing moments. But for creaaaating art, the photograph needs to be built. And after the building of the photograph comes the conveyance of that. The darkroom is the translation room. It’s the final coat on your new structure.
-I’m bad at printing my photographs. It’s hard to walk away from the translation room when you don’t note what’s been translated. (Which I’m begining just now to do). But despite my technical handicap, I still love the form. I want to overcome this, and get to the point where it all comes easy.
My teacher told me that I won’t make it in the program if I don’t do some digital. I’ve shot like 2 shoots.. so it’s not exactly like I’m neglecting the new form. But I do have a negative attitude towards it because it’s pushing away the form where my heart really resides.
So, in order to make myself and the overwhelmingly digitalized society content, I’m going to have to make my shoots even more tidious. I’ll bring both cameras! I’m not about to wear myself out for a digital shoot, but if I’ve already done so for a traditional, then what the heck, I’ll shoot a few on the new contraption as well.
Ugh. I have no enthusiasm right now. All this digital nonsense is draining. That or it’s my allergies.