As an aspiring model and photographer it always helps to be there on both sides of the camera to help and encourage a compilation of a piece of artwork between the model and the photographer, all with the use of a small machine. That small machine being the only object that catches that brief moment in time. Sure if you have a digital camera you can sit and always take the photo again but what about with a film camera? Do you think with the film camera industry dwindling that film photography will no longer have a place in this modern on the edge world?
I myself love to work with film and digital media. I really love to sit and reproduce my film images within my control. I feel there’s a greater quality of control but there is also a more chance of risk or mistake if you are over ambitious with trying to achieve the effect you want. There is no Undo button with film developing. Then I wondered if other photographers I knew felt the same way. I rallied the forces and polled a few different photographers from different age’s backgrounds and careers to see what their thoughts were on the subject at hand.
I compiled a few questions and answered them for you which I will share with you before we continue:
How long have you been doing photography?
SW: I have been doing photography for as long as I can remember. From the moment I had a camera in my hands I’ve never been able to put it down.
What kind of photography do you think is your favorite by far?
SW: I Love to shoot emotive photography when people are being themselves. Just have to catch that right moment. Then it’s mine forever to share.
In your experience do you prefer film or digital?
SW: In my experience I love to work with both because I get the best of both worlds!
With the transition from film to digital do you feel lost in the progression of photo editing software or are you on a comfortable level with it?
SW: Being in this day and age I think the transition has been fairly smooth.
I started the Interview off with Courtney Ingersoll a friend of mine who I have been trying to plan to shoot with for a long time running now.
SW: How long have you been doing photography?
CI: About 5-6 years.
SW: And you would say you enjoy it?
CI: I definitely like traveling and photographing new places.
SW: Film or Digital?
CI: I prefer digital because it’s a lot more convenient nowadays, but I still love to use my grandfather’s old film cameras.
SW: With the transition from film to digital do you feel lost in the progression of photo editing software or are you on a comfortable level with it?
CI: Luckily, I’m pretty comfortable with editing software because I took a class for it at a technical school while I was in high school. I usually like to leave all my editing to the camera, but sometimes I will use programs such as Photoshop to touch
Next Up I interviewed Chris B. who runs the website DCHeavyMetal.com.( http://www.DCHeavyMetal.com) I ran into him on Tuesday night at the Rams Head Live while catching Katotonia and Opeth in action.
SW: When did you start?
CB: I didn’t start taking photography seriously in any meaningful way until early 2007
SW: Since you run DCHeavyMetal.com would you say concert Photography is your favorite?
CB: Concert photography is my favorite!
SW: Do you prefer digital or film?
CB: I prefer digital for several reasons, not the least of which is that film is expensive
SW: How do you feel about your post process on your photos?
CB: It really has to do with how high of resolution you’re scanning at, and what you are aiming for your finished work to be/look like. Also, I’m a computer nerd and complex software is something I enjoy getting to figure out. It also doesn’t hurt that my mom runs a blog focusing on tips and tricks to do with Photoshop and Lightroom, so I’ve always got an expert I can ask for help with any questions I might have.
Lastly I spoke with William Stockman who I have been working with quite a lot since our first shoot together. William has also been shooting Sai Sankoh’s outfits for the fashion Blog Because I’m Fabulous (http://www.becauseimfabulous.com).
SW: How long have you been shooting?
WS: I have been shooting for about half a century. Took pictures of airplanes takings off as a kid, Took family and vacation pictures for years, then one afternoon while on a bridge aooriach the corner of my left eye caught the rooflines of the homes and buildings flanking the river. I stopped, wheeled and shot. And in that instant, I realized that my photography had become art- not just where I was what I saw but pieces and interpretations of that. The rooflines shadows and textures had become the subject. It literally sucked the breath out of my lungs. I was now seeing the world as an artist. I couldn’t wait to see how I might perceive and record/interpret it. So for several years I focused on landscape and nature imagery – which I loved and did reasonably well. Most recently I have been shooting in collaboration with models.
SW: Do you enjoy these collaborations?
WS: I very much enjoy my collaborations with models. These collaborations run gamut from headshots to fetish imagery. Unlike landscape, portraiture requires both parties to contribute to the image. The model must present herself properly – hair, makeup, wardrobe, poses. And the photographer must have the proper lighting, settings, points of view and post processing in order to create decent images. It’s an interdependence and synergy that can produce results far greater than either individual can do on their own – indeed it literally cannot be done. A model posing on her own cannot create a record of what she did and a photograph without a model is a landscape!
SW: In your experience do you prefer film or digital?
WS: I prefer digital for its creative control. I can shoot in color then convert the image to monochrome, and even there by controlling which colors convert with what degree of saturation and vibrancy, I can manipulate the degrees of grey. Film can sometimes record a greater degree of detail, but as cameras capture more and more mega pixels, that detail has been added. Moreover, digital cameras can capture greater detail in low light then even the fastest films, thus extending a photographer’s reach. Finally, the image manipulation software gives the photographer a degree of artistic control that Ansell Adams would have killed for!
SW: So my last question for you is how comfortable are you with a computer and photo editing software such as Photoshop?
WS: To be sure there are thousands of tools out there and I can only stab at a few of them. But I’m fairly comfortable with the digital process. I sometimes feel that we are in the “Model A” version of digital photography. Back in the day, the first automobile owners had to be their own mechanic. Well photographers today need to get all of the moving parts to play nicely with each other in the sandbox (to mix a few metaphors!). You need to master digital capture and then know how to manipulate it in post processing software. Then you need you make that software talk to the printing process and all of that requires knowledge of color collaboration. To make matters worse, we often use, for example, canon cameras, Adobe Photoshop, Red River Paper, and Epson printers. With this proliferation of processes and products a photographer must be as much as a techno-geek as an artist. I’m not a geek, but I’ve come up with my share of work-a rounds. So yes, you could say I’m fairly comfortable navigating the photo software.