Nostalgia about Old Photographs

I was reading a blog about the non-noticeable difference between the output of today's digital cameras & yesterday's film cameras. A photographer had taken photos from the past 30 years of one location, and compiled them into a book for a publisher. The output difference between the film & digital are really no different. The one thing digital has brought is a form of convenience in taking photos.

This got me to thinking about old photographs and what they mean to us, as well as the plethora of digital images versus printed photographs.

Photos are what help us connect to the past and see the future we had before us. Photos help us relive who we were and the moments we had at that same exact time. Our memories might fade, but photos can last for a long time capturing a single moment in all of eternity. I have older photos of my grandparents, and I see their younger selves (probably in their 20s, newly married) and the future that was ahead of them. Sometimes, I go over my old photos, and remember past outings, conventions, trips, dinners, etc, and recall what I had forgotten.

Anytime there is a natural disaster, people grab their photos first or later bemoan not being able to take their photos. For the most part, I have almost all of my personal photographs in only a few binders and a photobox that are easily grab-able in case of emergencies. Growing up, my family had dozens of photo albums with photos celebrating various events. I remember sitting as a chid, and looking through them on a regular basis.

Since cameras became widely commercially available, many have carried cameras. But, film was expensive, and most people always shot images that had people or events to be remembered. On a trip, 1-2 people might have a camera. Nowadays, technology made cameras cheaper -- by making cheaper version, disposable cameras, and, now, digital cameras.

Nowadays, you'd be hard-pressed to find something *without* a digital camera in their pocket/purse either as a dedicated camera or as part of their phone. But, I suspect that most people keep their photos on their computer, without ever bothering to print them or put them on a digital frame. Or they put them up on public websites (FB, flickr, etc...) for others to enjoy.

I think the people who actually "print" photos will dwindle considerably over the next few years....even with the plethora of available home photo printers. (I've known many a person who bought a digital printer, printed only a few images, and now it sits in the corner, for the time they might decide they want to print something, which seems unlikely the less they use it.)

I wonder if the inundation of photos will mean the same thing to the people who take them more frequently now than ever? (You can't go anywhere without someone having a digital point-and-shoot available.)

What happens when photos are simply a commodity to be taken, put away, then forgotten?

Will they hold the same meaning 10 years from now when you've taken 20 shots of the same exact situation within a 3 minute span? How do you separate the wheat from the chaff?

What happens when you have Gigs and Gigs of photos that never see the light of day?

What happens when you're in a disaster? Do you grab your photo albums / hard-drives? Or will you forget that your precious photos are there?

Oh, I understand that online sites are easier to keep & view your photos; and I do rather enjoy being able to see different portfolios and albums. The online method can often be a foolproof way to keep photos safe from a natural disaster (although loss of data is another question entirely.) And that data storage is often cheaper and easier to accomodate than actual physical objects (i.e. a photo album). There are definitely pros and cons to either situation.

But, for me, there's something tangible about the printed photo that's a lot more satisfying than seeing something on screen. Its like holding a good book and turning a page (although I know that a Kindle can be more "convenient"). It's the sight, sound, and smell of paper and emulsion that somehow appeals to me. Or maybe I'm just a luddite at heart?

And yes, I do still print out a lot of photos. And, yes, I do keep them also online :-)

Playing it Safe

This coming up weekend, I have a set of corporate portraits for a client who is updating their website. Their current portraits are a bit dated (i.e. at least 5 years ago), and look like high school portraits. Plus not all the new employees are on that site as of yet.

But, the client wants something *like* what they have now with the mottled background and such. I have a small collapsible background that I'm bringing, but I would definitely like to think outside the (soft)box for a second and take better, more-up-to-date photos that also showcase the business.

Consequently, I've been looking at various photographer blogs & websites for inspiration and guidance. Portrait work can get boring and monotonous, depending on the client.

Insofar as lighting, my old standby is: one big softbox to the left of my camera and a fill to the right, along with hair light(s) and the necessary reflectors. But I'm thinking I could use 3 lights with umbrellas instead -- one for the key, one for the main, then another one about 5-6 feet back to fill in the background.

I'll definitely take the "safe" shots with the mottled background and the lights as described above. Then I'm pretty sure I can get the folks to play around a bit.

When I took a walkabout of the building interior when I went to meet up with the client for details. There are *plenty* of places for a good backdrop that would look awesome when shot with a longer lens to blur the background. I'm sure the owner & employees won't mind too much, as they slated for me to have the whole of the afternoon.

Still, I need to map out a plan of attack for this shoot, which makes it easier for me than just winging stuff on the spot without any forethought. (Often times, 'winging it' and thinking fast on your feet can help save the day).

I often find that diagrams help when I'm busy running around setting up. It's easier to point to a diagram and have an assistant follow the diagram of what I have in mind.

Travelling Light with New Airline Fees

I have to say that the Think Tank Airport International has made travelling a lot easier on airplanes as I can really fill it with gear.

However, the recent changes to airline baggage fees have made it a little bit more difficult, and requires a lot more forethought. No longer can I easily check in my regular baggage and carry-on my photo gear without incurring expenses. And, being injured and unable to lift heavy things (i.e a bag filled with camera gear) makes it doubly hard. (And this wasn't a big production wedding requiring assistants, additional lights, and the ilk, but really small scale).

So, on my upcoming trip to shoot a wedding in a very enclosed location required a bit of thinking and pre-planning.

Normally, I would bring several camera bodies, a general zoom, a longer telephoto zoom, 3-4 flashes, Pocket wizards, and assorted accrutements, including a tripod.

This time around, I planned on going a lot lighter on gear. Luckily, the wedding locale (a local pub) had a website with gallery photos that allowed me to get a handle on what exactly the situation was going to look like. And it wasn't good -- extremely low ceiling (less than 7'), yellow tungsten lighting, reflective surfaces everywhere, several big screen t.vs in several locations, etc. And it was going to be a small intimate wedding (insofar as weddings go) and there was going to be a lot of movement. The tripod might be a deteriment.

so, I decided that a flash bracket and a cross fill light would probably be my best bet. The wedding was small, so I didn't need the longer telephoto, but opted for the (much) smaller and lighter primes instead. I also decided to chance one single camera body.

All of this fits neatly in the Think Tank along with my clothes (not taking much), and weighed half it's normal fully-packed weight. Then, my small carry-on could just be filled with the bare essentials for a long plane trip.