Adam Kimball (akimball@finebrand.com)
Sat, 17 Apr 1999 16:33:40 -0700
Patrick & all,
I love looking at the world through a ground glass as well.. though my
5x7 is
about as big as I am willing to go now. However, I do take issue with
one
comment - many of us who are working on digital negs have found that it
is not
*easier* in all regards. Spotting, cropping, and image adjustments are
infinitely easier- yes. However, getting output from an imagesetter
that behaves
in a given process perfectly (if not perfect, why do it?) is MUCH more
difficult. The average large-format beginner can go shoot an 8x10 and
process
the negs by tray in HC-110 Dilution B and come out with some negs that
print very
well in Pt or some other alt process. However, a computer novice would
have to
progress through a very steep and long learning curve in understanding
image
manipulation, half-tones, scanning, output, and still have to know how
to print.
Digital is not the silver bullet. Sure Watkins had a great physical
labor - he
had logistical problems that I would never dream of taking on. But that
isn't
what makes his photography great for me. There are digital artists,
some on this
list even, who have pushed the boundaries of 'alt' quite far in the
digital arena
and have attained awesome results. The logistics they encountered were
not
broken wooden wheels, but things like white-lines, newton rings, and
gamma
adjustments. One sort of obstacle is physical, another intellectual.
Digital, I
am convinced (being a programmer by day) is not evil - it is an attempt
to work
with our analog world in a way that frees us from the mechanical faults
and
inadequacies of our current crop of tools.
What concerns me about digital technology is not any inherent
limitations, it is
the public's willingness to embrace technology which is a step down in
quality,
and a step up in cost savings. This is what keeps the quality of
digital
technology low. If you think a CD sounds good, you should seriously
listen to a
record again sometime.
-Adam
Altview@aol.com wrote:
> And to those who have foregone this
> experience in favor of a computer because it is easier, remember Carlton
> Watkins and his wet plate mammoth plate camera pulled by a mule driven wagon
> and the visionary quality of his work. Sometimes being "easy" is not best.
> But I don't want to get into a rant about the evils of digital. I'll save
> that for another time. Anyway, I say indulge yourself. The experience of
> large cameras is not one to be missed.
>
> Patrick Alt
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