To be clear: I'm not saying that if you don't aspire to be Ansel Adams, your wasting your time... There are many reasons to photograph and all are valid, just be sure that what you're trying to accomplish is accomplishable on the path in photography you have chosen.
As a photographer and seeker of the light for me it's about passion, love, commitment and finding the light. Ansel Adams was a gifted artist. Photography was his medium for artistic expression.
I'm so glad you were inspired to make this video. You touched on more points than I could cover in what was really a product review. The whole concept of what your tools are capable of, and what we choose to do with them, has been with me since Quark XPress 3.0 released (very old publishing software from the 1990s). I don't know where I heard the phrase, but it still stands today: just because you can, doesn't mean you should. The palawa people (Tasmanian aboriginals) believe that it is the journey that gives the destination meaning. Take the long way.
The whole point is the journey, not the destination. The photos I make using 4x5 are very different from what I do using medium format which is different again than what I do digitally. Most of the time, the most rewarding images are 4x5.
Carleton Watkins is a major american photographer, underrated my opinion. I cant remember if I told you: I was seeking for an US 8x10 camera. I got a Deardorff (ca 1923) from a guy in Pennsylvania. Im so happy. And it is because of you. So thank you.
Those Deardoffs have become amazingly expensive these days. It's a great camera so no excuses... The Chamonix film holders are worth the money because they are so lightweight. When I return from my trip I'm going to start working on the darkroom remodel. I already have the materials to build the sink, I just need the time! I just printed a 16x20 on my Canon Pro-1000 from a 4x5 scan of Zion. It turned out great. Digital just can't match the LF tonality.
@@EdwardMartinsPhotography I got an early V8, it was cheaper than a more recent one. Front end has not the swing but I dont mind. I dont print much, darkroom asks for a lot of energy and I have only weekends for photography. Anyway thank you for your feedback and your great videos.
Thank you! Yes, the darkroom is a time eater for sure. 3 hours every weekend and you might get a few prints done in a month... Scan and print with a computer. You always have the negative to prove the provenance of your shot. The Epson V850 works well for 8x10. I just throw them onto the glass and it seems to work. Of course you could always get a Photographer's Formulary contact printer from B&H. They work great and would make some stunning 8x10 prints with little effort!
Very deep video. I believe in the digital age, you very much can be a fine art photographer. I think slowing down, using just the camera and using physical equipment on the digital camera (filters whether purchased or what I have done by using physical materials over the lens). I totally get your unending pursuit of what you believe should be fine art photography. The biggest thing, in my opinion, is getting everything right in the camera and NOT using any post processing with a computer To me, that is pure art digital photography. Just my opinion sir.
I guess the truth is I do both. My digital work is now confined by a more Michael Kenna approach and is a lot of fun. My film work is the work I respect more. Though the truth is my film work suffers because digital is so easy. Why cook a gourmet meal when Taco Bell is down the street?
You can go to large format film for that, or even medium format or 35mm will get you results that don't look like everybody else's. At present, I'm interested in getting maximum quality from 35mm black and white film. Imagine a book of 4x6 black and white prints, which are like little jewels. Yeah, you're right, though. Everybody and his brother has a digital camera and a UA-cam channel. Meanwhile, Adams remains unsurpassed for landscape. Nice work with Punchbowl Falls. I have a 4x5 of that.
@@EdwardMartinsPhotography No such book yet, just the idea of it. I need an organizing idea. I've been impressed by what is possible with fp4+ and d-23 replenished. I'll send you a couple recent images from around Timberline Lodge. I need a more advanced editing program for dodging and burning. The fumes from my dark room are hard on my lungs.
I am getting more sensitive to the chemicals myself and that's what made me redo my darkroom with some serious ventilation. I really like DXO photo lab and use it for my 4x5 and 8x10 scans with no issues. Works great.
When we entered the digital camera world the standards changed. When I went fully digital in 2002 I never once thought my photography "art" or my results were less than what they were when I shot film. For me it was just obtaining the same results using a different photographic tool. I still had to get out and search for that visual and composition and get the shot. For me, getting out and capturing the image and seeing what it looks like on a big screen or in print is what's it's all about. Now AI photography, like many other things in these times, is just fake, not real, a lie, and trickery. Just like many other things in todays bass-akwards world, deception rules the day. To make a photo of a great landscape without ever leaving the house is in my opinion quite stupid and has no meaning to what people like us (a dying breed) understands what photography is. The viewer may think differently due to not knowing or caring if the image is real or not. The satisfaction of a real photography experience, regardless if it's film or using a digital camera will likely be unknown in 70 years from now. As we have entered the age of what's up is down, what's right is wrong, etc., sadly photography falls victim to this also.
If a tree falls in a forest and nobody gives a damn did it make a sound? We make art for ourselves, because we can, and for the 5 people on earth that still have the capacity to appreciate it.
@@EdwardMartinsPhotography Yes, other than the few images I share on facebook, youtube, or post on my website, I have thousands of photos on hard drives no ones ever seen other than myself. When I'm dead and gone hopefully my son or daughter will find them and perhaps occasionally look at them and get some smiles from them, or all these photos will be just like me, gone forever.... I very rarely ever sell prints, if someone wants a print I usually just give it to them as a gift. My photography is very personal for me.
Just a hobby and maybe hobbies are a waste of time but I'm retired and want to do stuff. Anyway I shoot 4x5 and occasionally make ok prints in the darkroom and if scanning with inkjet printing they are much nicer. I also draw with graphite which is a lot cheaper and harder and it's also a hobby. Probably family photos are important and the rest is just doing stuff. Nothing on-line or in the cloud. I do not aspire to be Ansel Adams. I think Christopher Burkett makes the best prints currently with his Cibachrome technique. No particular opinion about AI and all that. I just do my best not to look at it and let others do what they want.
I feel like this is a bit of gatekeeping. It's fine for anyone to be able to get a nice camera, take some photos that makes them happy and edit them the way they like. I think those interested in fine art will be able to distinguish between high quality and low quality. Just because the barrier to entry for these hobbies and pursuits is lower doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to be the best you can be if that's what you want to do. Isn't it even the same for video? Back in the day, who was able to make videos? Very few people. It was prohibitively expensive to create and distribute at scale. I don't think the advancement of technology making it easier to capture and publish videos makes us worse off. UA-cam is a pretty sweet platform. You're not stanley kubrick but there's nothing wrong with you pointing a cellphone at your face and telling us your opinions.
The only gatekeeper is the process of large format film photography itself. You can fake being a photographer with a digital camera. You won't get too far without actually knowing how photography works with a large format film camera. In all pursuits, you should strive to be the best you can be? Though these days a lot of people would argue against that. There is a philosophical vacuum that persists in much of our culture.
@@EdwardMartinsPhotography I dunno this still sounds like gatekeeping to me. Who says you need large format film photography to make fine art photography? That was the best technology of the time, but now we can achieve that level of detail probably with something as small as a K3 monochrome aps-c sensor. Detail in an image isn't even the main criterion of a good image in my mind.
I don't think I said you need large format film photography to make fine art photography. But the fact that for @ $1500 you can buy all the gear you need to make Ansel level prints remains if the goal is to make Ansel level quality prints. The only thing other than having $1500 is talent, skill and knowledge which would be "gatekeeping" that from happening. So then the question is can you make Ansel level quality prints with other methods, equipment, and processes? I don't know. But I do know you can with 4x5 film (and 120 film) because that's what Ansel used.
Ask yourself: Did Ansel Adams do what he did because of the money? I doubt it. If you do it for the money, it is a job. If you do it because you love doing it, then maybe, not definitely but maybe, someone else might like it too.
Why bother? Well, you've got to do something, right? Entertainment, maybe.Do it for yourself like Ansel probably did. I doubt he was thinking about Sotherbees (spelling?). There is art everywhere, even at the bottom of your trashcan. Art doesn't necessarily mean another cliché photo of a sunset. Art communicates; and, as long as there's a message, it's all good, even AI. What you'll find with AI though is that it's quite dumb, doing the same cookie-cutter formulas that humans do, only AI doesn't appreciate anything because it can't. At least we can be entertained.
To be clear: I'm not saying that if you don't aspire to be Ansel Adams, your wasting your time... There are many reasons to photograph and all are valid, just be sure that what you're trying to accomplish is accomplishable on the path in photography you have chosen.
As a photographer and seeker of the light for me it's about passion, love, commitment and finding the light. Ansel Adams was a gifted artist. Photography was his medium for artistic expression.
Absolutely agree.
I'm so glad you were inspired to make this video. You touched on more points than I could cover in what was really a product review. The whole concept of what your tools are capable of, and what we choose to do with them, has been with me since Quark XPress 3.0 released (very old publishing software from the 1990s). I don't know where I heard the phrase, but it still stands today: just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
The palawa people (Tasmanian aboriginals) believe that it is the journey that gives the destination meaning. Take the long way.
Yes, Thanks! And the destination defines the journey as well. There is something Zen happening here for sure!
The whole point is the journey, not the destination. The photos I make using 4x5 are very different from what I do using medium format which is different again than what I do digitally. Most of the time, the most rewarding images are 4x5.
But some of the roads don't lead you to where you may want to ultimately go...
I shoot digital and enlarge on silver gelatin. Best of both worlds!
Carleton Watkins is a major american photographer, underrated my opinion. I cant remember if I told you: I was seeking for an US 8x10 camera. I got a Deardorff (ca 1923) from a guy in Pennsylvania. Im so happy. And it is because of you. So thank you.
Those Deardoffs have become amazingly expensive these days. It's a great camera so no excuses... The Chamonix film holders are worth the money because they are so lightweight. When I return from my trip I'm going to start working on the darkroom remodel. I already have the materials to build the sink, I just need the time! I just printed a 16x20 on my Canon Pro-1000 from a 4x5 scan of Zion. It turned out great. Digital just can't match the LF tonality.
@@EdwardMartinsPhotography I got an early V8, it was cheaper than a more recent one. Front end has not the swing but I dont mind. I dont print much, darkroom asks for a lot of energy and I have only weekends for photography. Anyway thank you for your feedback and your great videos.
Thank you! Yes, the darkroom is a time eater for sure. 3 hours every weekend and you might get a few prints done in a month... Scan and print with a computer. You always have the negative to prove the provenance of your shot. The Epson V850 works well for 8x10. I just throw them onto the glass and it seems to work. Of course you could always get a Photographer's Formulary contact printer from B&H. They work great and would make some stunning 8x10 prints with little effort!
Very deep video. I believe in the digital age, you very much can be a fine art photographer. I think slowing down, using just the camera and using physical equipment on the digital camera (filters whether purchased or what I have done by using physical materials over the lens).
I totally get your unending pursuit of what you believe should be fine art photography.
The biggest thing, in my opinion, is getting everything right in the camera and NOT using any post processing with a computer
To me, that is pure art digital photography. Just my opinion sir.
I guess the truth is I do both. My digital work is now confined by a more Michael Kenna approach and is a lot of fun. My film work is the work I respect more. Though the truth is my film work suffers because digital is so easy. Why cook a gourmet meal when Taco Bell is down the street?
You can go to large format film for that, or even medium format or 35mm will get you results that don't look like everybody else's. At present, I'm interested in getting maximum quality from 35mm black and white film. Imagine a book of 4x6 black and white prints, which are like little jewels. Yeah, you're right, though. Everybody and his brother has a digital camera and a UA-cam channel. Meanwhile, Adams remains unsurpassed for landscape. Nice work with Punchbowl Falls. I have a 4x5 of that.
I'd like to see that book. What a great project!
@@EdwardMartinsPhotography No such book yet, just the idea of it. I need an organizing idea. I've been impressed by what is possible with fp4+ and d-23 replenished. I'll send you a couple recent images from around Timberline Lodge. I need a more advanced editing program for dodging and burning. The fumes from my dark room are hard on my lungs.
I am getting more sensitive to the chemicals myself and that's what made me redo my darkroom with some serious ventilation. I really like DXO photo lab and use it for my 4x5 and 8x10 scans with no issues. Works great.
@@EdwardMartinsPhotography Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out.
When we entered the digital camera world the standards changed. When I went fully digital in 2002 I never once thought my photography "art" or my results were less than what they were when I shot film. For me it was just obtaining the same results using a different photographic tool. I still had to get out and search for that visual and composition and get the shot. For me, getting out and capturing the image and seeing what it looks like on a big screen or in print is what's it's all about.
Now AI photography, like many other things in these times, is just fake, not real, a lie, and trickery. Just like many other things in todays bass-akwards world, deception rules the day. To make a photo of a great landscape without ever leaving the house is in my opinion quite stupid and has no meaning to what people like us (a dying breed) understands what photography is. The viewer may think differently due to not knowing or caring if the image is real or not. The satisfaction of a real photography experience, regardless if it's film or using a digital camera will likely be unknown in 70 years from now.
As we have entered the age of what's up is down, what's right is wrong, etc., sadly photography falls victim to this also.
If a tree falls in a forest and nobody gives a damn did it make a sound? We make art for ourselves, because we can, and for the 5 people on earth that still have the capacity to appreciate it.
@@EdwardMartinsPhotography Yes, other than the few images I share on facebook, youtube, or post on my website, I have thousands of photos on hard drives no ones ever seen other than myself. When I'm dead and gone hopefully my son or daughter will find them and perhaps occasionally look at them and get some smiles from them, or all these photos will be just like me, gone forever....
I very rarely ever sell prints, if someone wants a print I usually just give it to them as a gift. My photography is very personal for me.
Just a hobby and maybe hobbies are a waste of time but I'm retired and want to do stuff. Anyway I shoot 4x5 and occasionally make ok prints in the darkroom and if scanning with inkjet printing they are much nicer. I also draw with graphite which is a lot cheaper and harder and it's also a hobby. Probably family photos are important and the rest is just doing stuff. Nothing on-line or in the cloud. I do not aspire to be Ansel Adams. I think Christopher Burkett makes the best prints currently with his Cibachrome technique. No particular opinion about AI and all that. I just do my best not to look at it and let others do what they want.
I don't think hobbies are a waste of time at all. There are many pursuits, and pleasure is probably the best one of all!
"The time you enjoy wasting, Isn't wasted" But, forgot who said it ?
I feel like this is a bit of gatekeeping. It's fine for anyone to be able to get a nice camera, take some photos that makes them happy and edit them the way they like. I think those interested in fine art will be able to distinguish between high quality and low quality. Just because the barrier to entry for these hobbies and pursuits is lower doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to be the best you can be if that's what you want to do. Isn't it even the same for video? Back in the day, who was able to make videos? Very few people. It was prohibitively expensive to create and distribute at scale. I don't think the advancement of technology making it easier to capture and publish videos makes us worse off. UA-cam is a pretty sweet platform. You're not stanley kubrick but there's nothing wrong with you pointing a cellphone at your face and telling us your opinions.
The only gatekeeper is the process of large format film photography itself. You can fake being a photographer with a digital camera. You won't get too far without actually knowing how photography works with a large format film camera. In all pursuits, you should strive to be the best you can be? Though these days a lot of people would argue against that. There is a philosophical vacuum that persists in much of our culture.
@@EdwardMartinsPhotography I dunno this still sounds like gatekeeping to me. Who says you need large format film photography to make fine art photography? That was the best technology of the time, but now we can achieve that level of detail probably with something as small as a K3 monochrome aps-c sensor. Detail in an image isn't even the main criterion of a good image in my mind.
I don't think I said you need large format film photography to make fine art photography. But the fact that for @ $1500 you can buy all the gear you need to make Ansel level prints remains if the goal is to make Ansel level quality prints. The only thing other than having $1500 is talent, skill and knowledge which would be "gatekeeping" that from happening. So then the question is can you make Ansel level quality prints with other methods, equipment, and processes? I don't know. But I do know you can with 4x5 film (and 120 film) because that's what Ansel used.
Ask yourself: Did Ansel Adams do what he did because of the money? I doubt it. If you do it for the money, it is a job. If you do it because you love doing it, then maybe, not definitely but maybe, someone else might like it too.
Photography is like aviation. You don't do it for the money. I shot weddings for money. I shoot landscapes for much more than that, in theory.
Why bother? Well, you've got to do something, right? Entertainment, maybe.Do it for yourself like Ansel probably did. I doubt he was thinking about Sotherbees (spelling?). There is art everywhere, even at the bottom of your trashcan. Art doesn't necessarily mean another cliché photo of a sunset. Art communicates; and, as long as there's a message, it's all good, even AI. What you'll find with AI though is that it's quite dumb, doing the same cookie-cutter formulas that humans do, only AI doesn't appreciate anything because it can't. At least we can be entertained.
It's pretty clear historically that Ansel championed Photography as a fine art for most of his life.
It’s about enjoyment. Your hypothetical about generating AI crap doesn’t sound like enjoyment, it sounds like a true waste of time.