Post TWELVE = So, where is my speciality going?...

So, where is my speciality going?...

So, where is my speciality of photography going?...

As a photographer, I can look back over the history of photography so far, very easily, with the aid of the internet and the wonderful library and it's books don't forget!




From both of these, I can easily pick up a book or look on the internet to read about Fox Talbot; daguerreotypes; pinhole cameras; camera obscura; Kodak; film and then digital cameras.

BUT, can I predict where photography and the whole process of picture taking and printing will go in the future? This is a totally different question.

Recently, we have seen the world famous and much used Polaroid instant film process come to an end. Someone in the company thought that there was not a big enough market out there any more to make it worthwhile continuing with it... Only for the process to be resurrected by some enthusiasts, who bought up the old Polaroid machinery and have started to produce a very similar product, under the name of  'The Impossible Project.' They decided to carry on with the production of Polaroid instant film, that a lot of people around the world love and still want to use. Starting off by reproducing the smaller Polaroid picture packs that so many of us (of a certain age) remember, their most recent introduction has been the 10" x 8" instant black and white film / print for the professionals out there that asked for it's return.

In the mean time, Polaroid have moved on and joined the digital camera market. Taking their 'instant print' branding ideas with them, the company have evolved by introducing cameras that again print out instant prints from them, but this time with new technology, that uses dry machinery rather than the wet chemical ones that they became famous for. So now the public have the choice of both processes. Check out the new 'dry printing' Polaroid camera here.







Even though the quality at the beginning was not very good at all on camera phones, they still became (and still are) very popular with a lot of people for taking photographs and videos on. This low quality has got better recently but the recent announcement by Nokia, that it is bringing out a 41 Mega-Pixel (MP) mobile phone soon, surprised just about everyone! Take a look at Nokia's page to read about it. Remember, this pixel count is a much, MUCH higher pixel count than even most current professional cameras! BUT, with such a small lens and aperture, I personally can't see how it will give the same sharpness and definitely not the same amount of overall control as a good DSLR can give you, even if it has LOADS more pixels.

To put it into proportion, I still have and use, one of the early DSLR's that first came out from Pentax, which at the time in about 2002 had a RRP of about £1600 for THE BODY ONLY! A really good lens for it, added about another £600 on to the price tag. I bought the camera body when it finally came down to £1100. It ONLY has 6 MP's, which was quite a lot back then. BUT even today, in 2013, I still use it as my main camera as it gives extremely sharp pictures up to about A3 size. Would I swap it for the much smaller, fit in your pocket phone? A resounding NO! Why? Because I (just) know before I even see the camera, that it won't do for me what a good old fashioned camera will do.

Of course there will be a HUGE market of people out there who can't wait to buy it, whatever the price, based solely on the large amount of MP's quoted!

Other items of interest that have made the news recently include the LYTRO camera, a small elongated camera that captures EVERYTHING in focus, from near to far at the point the shutter is pressed. It is after you have uploaded the pictures to your computer that you then decide what you want in focus! Amazing or what?! Looking at the company website here, I still can't get my head around how it all works, but if you just forget all about that and just have fun using it, all I can say is WOW!

What would I like the future to hold? Much the same as what I've already got really but LIGHTER in weight and NO more camera and lenses with 'plasticy' outside shells please; weather resistant everything is good and is slowly becoming the norm on most DSLR's now, as PROPER photographers DO like to go out and do stuff when it's not JUST sunny!

AND ONE BIG bug bear of mine, is the total lack of good old fashioned cable release, screw in buttons on the newer cameras! I wrote to Pentax about this years ago, after spending a small fortune at the time on an upgrade to my then current FILM camera. (Remember that people? Film?!) Well I got a reply from the company at least, which basically said that '...there's no market for them anymore...' So manufacturers, it's got nothing to do with selling us mini remote control units that constantly get lost in our gear bags then, meaning we have to purchase new ones on a regular basis? Why not give us photographers a choice and put BOTH the cable release button and the remote control sensor on future cameras and let's see if there's a demand or not by the amount of these small remote units bought compared to now? 

I mean why did you really have to take them off in the first place?!? As far as I know, only DSLR's made and branded by FUJI with a Nikon mount still provide them. (Good on you Fuji!) If I wasn't so branded up with Pentax gear, which I love so much, I might have even gone Fuji just for that one little thing!

To end, all I can say is, just like the next guy I LOVE a new gadget to play with every now and again BUT to be honest, that's exactly what most of them are = GADGETS!!! A bit like all of the kitchen ones that come out and end up at the back of a cupboard, so many photographic ones just end up at the bottom of a camera bag or in a draw never to be used again.

I love the equipment I have and unless something miraculous comes along, I can't see me changing much of what I've already got.

One recent exception was in the darkroom, when Ilford brought out a new type of darkroom paper (all the fancy inkjet papers don't do a lot for me, I'm quite happy with Satin RC 99% of the time.) This was a new 'Art' paper and was called ILFORD MULTIGRADE ART 300, because of it's weight of 300gsm. It has a lovely eggshell sheen, a watercolour paper type surface to it and is of a lovely weight with NO resin coating in sight. I've bought a box, at a premium price to all of their other papers, but to be honest, I haven't used that much of it  yet. Why? Because it really is special and is saved for certain prints that require just that something different out of a paper.

But thinking about it again, the latest Pentax DSLR models have much better noise control over the much higher ISO's that I love using so much... but apart from that, at the moment at least, I am happy with what I've got... until the next thought comes along!