“Photo labs are closing down all over the country.” The owner of Agfa Photo Lab in Ponsonby told me when I asked how many films he sold. As a child of the digital age I became interested in learning about photography beyond the automatic mode so invested in an old manual SLR and went film shopping. Instead of a film, I got a download of vehement ethusiasm for the downfall of photo labs. Surrounded by 90′s fixtures and noticing only small pile of film tucked away on a shelf behind the counter it was obvious this was not a big enterprise.
“But don’t people still need to print off somewhere?” I asked, mentally counting the number of times I’ve sent off photos to be printed from my digital camera. He went on to explain that digital cameras have resulted in people not printing off. The instant fix, (perhaps a reflection of our buy now culture?) of seeing the results of your clicking tend to be enough, and while most people may download to their computers, the next step of taking their photos into a lab is lost. While this may not seem to be an issue it does mean that should your computer fail, or the CD you downloaded onto get lost or disintegrate, then so to do your photos.
Digital may have taken over the camera world, but film still has its place. Find any analogue group on Flickr, the world biggest photo website, and you will find avid film photographers by the thousands. Hardcore film lovers are still holding on, while experimenting with digital, but will it be enough for film companies to justify continuing production? Monocle’s favourite photographers still believe digital cameras do not produce good skin tones, and the late ninties and early 2000′s are known as the pale period, where inadequate digital technology has blunted skin tones, making most of us look like we have a vitamin deficiency.
Recently I brought two cameras:
1- Panasonic Lumix 10 megapixel – $420 brand new:
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2- Pentax Asahi Spotmatic 35mm film SLR (34 years old) – $90 on trademe:
Which do you prefer?
Over the past decade digital cameras have steadily taken over the camera market. While this has made photography more accessible and cost effective for the average amateur, it has posed an interesting change in our cultural catalogue of time. Photographs are moments in time. Single captures defined by expression, landscape, or more. Nonetheless, they only capture time if they are shared online, or are printed. If you don’t share online, or don’t print, what moments will be lost from your catalogue?
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