Yesterday I got an Email from EricNed@spidersoftheworld.com saying this: “Hello, please remove me from your photo or me. I am a huge metal spider.”
Dear Eric, I would gladly oblige under a number of conditions: 1. You would have to supply me with a valid return email address, 2. I would like some proof that you are indeed a huge metal spider. After all, you could just be a prankster making a joke! In any case I’d be really really interested in a video of a huge metal spider trying to type, that would be awesome! 3. I’m totally for equality of all sentient beings, but I think there would be a few legal problems involved if we were to just award legal rights to every inanimate object on this planet just like that! Please provide me therefore with a court ruling that has declared you a sentient being. Thank you!
And to think that this wasn’t even the funniest thing that happened yesterday!
All pictures taken with: Olympus Pen E-PL3 and Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 ASPH.
I couldn’t really straighten the picture … too many crazy slanted lines everywhere.
Independent dog.
A bear hitching a ride.
This guy was left to roam too.
This little one was prancing and dancing all the time.
Very athletic!
They rather use the door for the big people.
Not the way to cross a street safely even if there is tons of southern glare!
Enjoyed this instalment very much; thank you. In time, i’m hoping you too will come to the conclusion that though you enjoy playing with film, your digital (E-Pl5 + 20mm f1.7 Lumix) output is by far the superior of the two, in all respects.
Ah, Subroto, I’m glad that you enjoy my digital output so much, but I’m afraid it’s all very subjective. I’ve also had people complaining when I only show digital output for a few days. It’s hard to please everyone when tastes are so different!
Some people like grain, others don’t, some people like high contrast, others go for smooth tonality. It’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges – digital is a completely different sort of animal with other advantages and disadvantages. In analog I personally like a bit of structure and therefore shoot classic grain film and I like a sort of vintage silvery tonality that doesn’t necessarily have to have a lot of pop. For digital on the other hand I insist on sharpness and like a lot of contrast, so I edit my stuff accordingly. The outcome will of of course be two different looks that I wouldn’t want to equalise at all, mainly because I like both.
I personally couldn’t say whether my digital or my analog stuff is better. I have some very good analog pictures and some very good digital ones with different looks and styles that all have merit. Generalisations like “your digital output is superior” disregard the many good analog pictures that I take as well. The same is the case the other way round – and I get those discussions as well. Also, isn’t digital and analog just the “form”? Shouldn’t we rather be focussing on “content”? Aside from having no preference as to the general look of the output, I actually prefer the *process* of shooting analog though, which I suspect is mainly a matter of gear. Shooting my Rollei involves all sorts of wonderful aspects, like the big waist level finder and all the positive reactions from people, and then on top of things the negatives are big, which means that I get seemingly infinite zoom too. I hope you don’t think from the small pictures on my blog that a little consumer affair like the E-PL can ever hope to compare with a Rollei! Once you look at the full resolution or at a print there is just no comparison between the two.
And of course let’s not forget that shooting the E-PL is quite sad too, if we’re completely honest here. It has no finder and the screen becomes impossible in bright sunlight – I do live in a sunny country after all! It’s ok if you mainly shoot from the hip like me, but then the autofocus is actually an absolute mess with the E-PL + 20mm combo …! I discard at least 1/2 to 2/3 of the pictures because they’re out of focus. At that rate it really is no wonder that I prefer my analog gear. Maybe with a manual focus lens this wouldn’t be a problem, but at the moment I just don’t have 500€ to spend when I’m saving for my *analog* Leica. No way that I’m ever going to afford a digital one unless I win the lottery.
You see, I gave this a lot of consideration as I value your support, but in the end we might just have different tastes. There is nothing wrong with that at all though. As you see, others even have the completely opposite opinion. In any case, don’t worry, for now I’ll keep the digital stuff from my E-PL coming as long as I have no way to exclusively shoot film. And this situation might persist for a very long time actually.
Love your blog and enthusiasm,as for digital well sterile, no depth, and no involvement for the taker and a good negative is worth a bar of gold, just my opinion.. love the Tri-X 120 combination. The guy sitting on the wall you have to go up to him and take the picture Lilly.You have to steal it from him you just take it, take the insult take the picture and just smile your a street photographer.
Girl melon is my digital pick.
Hey, three is ‘real’ Lilly. But 6, 9 and 10 have a new quality. Where 9 is really (sorry, I don’t want to compare) a HCB-like ‘decisive moment’.