A Photographic Dilemma
Last week, I started taking a digital photography with PhotoShop Elements course at the community school. Right out of the gates, I felt I was at a technological disadvantage as I have a point-and-shooter while the majority of my peers are hefting pricey single lens reflex (SLR) cameras. Though, my handy dandy Panasonic Lumix DMC FX-07 has been undoubtedly fantastic to me, I can’t help but wonder if I am truly at a disadvantage with my current hardware. I am one of the many denizens who follow Geek*Sugar on the Sugar Network. Being less techno-savvy, I value and respect her ability to mainline the pros and cons of tech stuff for her audience without drowning us in jargon.
Intentionally Lo-Fi? Enter Lomography!
When I was living in Tottori, I frequented some of the little shops along the main shopping drags in Tottori City and Yonago City. There was Chambre Ample inTottori City and Johnny Appleseed in Yonago. Both focused on kitsch accessories, home interior goods, and clothes. They have a diverse of “European” goods, namely higher end stationery and trinkets. Among the lush kitsch jungle of shabby-chic, I discovered the assortment of Lomo cameras, especially the FishEye and SuperSampler. Though I never had the courage to actually march up the counter with one, I find them truly fascinating.
I bought my first digital camera prior to my move to Japan in 2003. During university, I frequented the photo labs at Wal-mart and Publix until a peer introduced me to a “proper photography shop” near 34th Street and University Drive. I loved how this particular shop did matte prints with white photography borders. It was hard for me to part with my old 35mm camera. I found it in a box the other day, untouched for almost six years with film still in it. For some reason, I opted to leave the film in it. Now that I have been a digital girl for nearly six years, I have almost a fear of returning to ‘lower’ machine.
It is really a ‘lower machine’? Gosh, that sounds completely opposite of what I mean. Perhaps, I’ve gotten too comfy with how good digital photography makes me appear creatively. No need to worry about f-stops, ISO, shutter speeds, lenses and all the adjustments necessary to make to make the pictures happen. My point-and-shoot has to an extent, made me lazy about the photographic process. It doesn’t require as much thought as I thought– or so I thought. Through the course, I’ve learned that I know very little about the little gadget which responsible for recording my exploits abroad since 2003.
Technologically speaking, Japan is a bit more ahead of the game than the US, hence we import their electronics from cameras and gaming systems to televisions and automobiles. Bigger. Faster. Stronger. How much bang can I get for my buck, yen, (insert currency here)… Whenever I finally hunker down and make an investment in an electronic appliance or device, without fail the newer generation pops out within a few months of purchase. The phrase “its not what you have but how you use it,” has been cycling through my mind as I write this. People apply it to countless things: cars, houses, electronics, an individual’s ‘performance’. There has been a long running (pardon my crass language) pissing contest to see whose going to emerge the top.
I hate to admit it, but I think that my reservations of purchasing a lomo or ‘traditional’ camera, stem for my insecurities as a photographer. I’ve seen the amazing work people generate though the bragging rights don’t come without a hefty price tag. As a novice photography this can be quite daunting to the point that I feel I should just slip my P-n-S in my pocket and just shuffle on home. Perhaps I am searching in the wrong communities, but I just don’t know where to look. I would love to learn from the elite, but I get the nagging sensation that my ‘greenness’ isn’t eco-friendly in their high art environment.
So why should I try to compete? Would my inexperience be met with the same raised brows, patronizing commentary, and jargon filled conversations if I straddled the fence and just picked up a lomo to satisfy my curiosity? Would I be breaking some unspoken rule or “us versus them” mentality of the purists on either side? Shouldn’t it be just about the pictures? Am I over thinking the entire situation and depriving myself of a potentially entertain medium to work with?
This year is the 25th Anniversary of Lomo, Though the shiny silver and chrome editions are quite shiny, my eyes have been drawn to the Diana F+ Clones: Mr. Pink, Tokyo Rising, and The Diana F+ Deluxe Kit. Their shop has so many different things to choose from. With a digital camera, these lenses are ridiculously expensive or non-existent. Many of the photographic options can be mimicked in PhotoShop, but would detract from the playful experience of these cameras. Wouldn’t it?
Mixed Media Alert! PSE 6 Conflict
Now, this conflict could be partially circumvented using my computer, a tablet, and a program like PhotoShop Elements. I previously used PhotoShop on my retired Sony Viao and finally got the hang of it after a while. Though I worked hard at tweeking my works in a ‘digital darkroom’ many pretentious artists and non-constructive critics in online art communities discount digital photography as genuine art as problematic items can be ‘photoshopped away’. I disagree with this, largely in part to the amount of work and finesse is necessary to make the work presentable for display.
In my final year at university, I studied the impact of electronic writing spaces had on creative writing as an independent study. Prior to this, I took a course focusing on Creative Writing Online, and another about Women and the World Wide Web. Both classes explored the pros and cons of computers and the internet as it pertained to the writer which completely fascinated me. I think photographers, digital and analog alike, are posed with similar conflicts.
I have many questions. Possibly too many…
- Does digital photo manipulation carry the same artistic weight as manual composition or composite lomography? Which artists receive more credibility as photographers or artists?
- Is it better to relinquish creative control and allow the device (lens, film, filter, etc) to take some creative license? Or should an artist keep their reins tight and maintain control without waiting for ’surprises’?
- Should paying for films and developing weight heavy on the decision to invest, or with the ability to get digital records (CD-R) not prevent the opportunity as additional manipulations could be done later without the need for a photo lab?
- Would it be a worthwhile investment in a lomo camera if only for the fun of going to back to one’s roots with uncomplicated photography which requires greater creative imagination?
I’ll stop the thought train for now. Its late and I want to do thinking that doesn’t require staring at a screen. Don’t think I am not thinking up follow-up questions. I am most certain that I will have more