Grainy Days Sunshine

I used to get physically nauseated by the debate that goes on between the film and digital freaks. It's an overplayed series of diatribes that I had heard enough of. Something like this...

"Shampoo is better. I go on first and clean the hair. No, conditioner is better. I go on and leave the hair silky and smooth. Oh really fool?" Yes. Really, fool.

and SURE, I'll effing admit it. We shoot digital for all our jobs. Despite learning with film, jus' like in tha good 'ol days, we use the digitron because it's fast. It pleases the clients. It washes my car for me and takes out the trash! Alright. It definitely does not do either of these things. But it does save us shitloads of time.

I always told myself I'd never enter the cringe-inducing film vs. digital debate arena. Why? Because, "It's liiike, totally played out, man." I bet you are vomiting just from reading this crap already ("Great, this asshole again? Quit biting other peoples rants and discuss something original"). Well feel free ta take a step down from the grumpy train little fella, 'cause this is our personal little epiphany, and you're along for the ride. Now get in the little car and hold on, because I'm about to announce the said unoriginal, boring, epiphany in 3... 2... 1....

Digital really doesn't stand up to film. There. I said it. In fact, digital b-l-o-w-s. I don't give two shits if you're shooting a Hasselblad 89,000 megapixel HD3 with training wheels and histograms. It tethers and the client loves it and you rock, man! In the end your shadows are never going to look like those that you'd find on a roll of Portra, or VC or UC or whateverC. C me. I'll tell ya. The truth is, photo sleuth, film rocks, and you know it.

Look at a couple'a people who shoot and love film... special attention to the... you guessed it. shadows. ... for example:

Michelle Laurita
Irving Penn
Patrick Hoelck
Seliger

just to name a few... Did you notice? Yeah, their shadows rock. They are rich and deep and superdopaliciousyouwishyouhadthemocious. So there.

It's funny. I was talking the other day with a buddy we went to school with (who also assisted Seliger). I remember when he got his first digital, a 20D, he was so quick to push film to the side. Digital, it seemed, could save the world. I laughed out loud yesterday when he ended his description of a shoot with "...and screw my Canon! I'm over crappy digital cameras. Next time I'm shooting film."

Me too. And we will.