17.11.09

ITS NOT MUCH TO ASK....


There was a time in the life of Doyle when I would never dream of going anywhere without my camera. That was back in the days when I shot 35mm and always had a roll of Tri X black & white film or even a roll of colour. It wasn't about looking for a masterpiece or something for the portfolio, it was more to record those fleeting moments. Snap shots of life.. Now and again though I would get something worth printing up larger than a 6/4" print and was able to do it with ease, especially with my skills as a printer. Recently I have been hankering after small carry round capable of doing what the oldie 35mm cameras used to do but in the form of something digital. Not a flaming chance. I have tried all sorts, Richoh, Olympus, Leica (compact), Lumix etc.. None of which produce anywhere near the quality of what I used to get. Take that baby over 10/12" and it looks like a colouring book.. (I'm talking about the print and not how it looks on a monitor). I am open for offers but in my mind theres not much point in trying to produce something from digital to look like film.
I think where those film cameras used to have the edge was that you could 'snap' quickly and the film had such a wide latitude you could pull it out in processing and printing. With digital you just get blocks of noise, banding etc.. Well whatever, maybe I will go for that orange leather clad Leica after all....

The image above was shot on an Olympus Muji (remember those) and printed up to a 30/40" print (image size 36/22" or there abouts..! And yes it looked great..)

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