This is the first of a series of posts on analogue photography.

First an introduction. I am a retired professor of physics living the life in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I started shooting with film as more than documenting vacations or family get-togethers in 1966 - my freshman year in college. I progressed to developing my own film, then printing my own photos in the college darkroom. I have not taken any formal photography courses but have been to workshops and worked with professional photographers, assisting them and learning from them as time permitted. I currently use a full frame DSLR, iphone, and several 35mm film cameras. The DSLR and 35 mm are Nikons. The films I use are Ilford HP5 Plus, FP4 Plus, Pan F Plus, and Kodak Tri-x, all black and white films.

The posts will consist mainly of articles, or sections of articles from Black + White Photography magazine, published by The GMC Group,

Address:- The Guild of Master Craftsmen
166 High Street
Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1XU
United Kingdom

This is not to be confused with Black & White magazine out of Ross, California.

Black + White Photography is, obviously, about all things black and white in photography. They have articles about photographers using film, digital, iphone, direct printing, and anything else you could imagine.

This will not be a diatribe that film is good and digital is bad. In a previous post from LoneRangeFinder, 35 mm film cameras? What do you use? most replies were stating what film cameras and films were used. There were, however, those who felt the need to tell us they did not use film, why they didn't still use film, and why nobody else should either. Film was compared to taking a horse and buggy to work, using a rotary dial telephone, or using a CRT television. I feel these folks are more concerned with technology and less about art. Latest camera, most pixels, latest version of Photoshop, ... you get the idea, but they are not concerned with the art of photography.

Taking their views and expanding them, painters using oils or water colors should switch to using a Wacom tablet. This way there wouldn't be just one original viewed by a few, but they would have the ability to show their work world wide, almost instantly. They would not be limited to one size of canvas for a particular work, but any size they wanted. If someone liked the piece but the color was wrong for their space, the "artist" could use the color picker and change orange to mauve so the colors would blend in with the client's environment.

Photography is an art, and the choice of medium is up to the artist. There is no right or wrong, good or bad.

If you are a film hater, or think that film is out of fashion, or you just don't like the idea of film, then I would suggest to you that you avoid reading, or responding to, any future posts under the heading Analogue Photography is Alive and Well.

Remember: a good photographer with a bad camera will always take better pictures than a bad photographer with a good camera.

Tim Clinch
A Fortnight at F/8
Black + White Photography
September 2015

Thank you. I hope that what I post is informative or at least interesting. I agree that Kodak is not selling a million rolls a day, but they are going to bring back Ektachrome, or already have. I know there are many photographers that would like them to bring back Kodachrome, including Paul Simon. I like the "film look" that post processing can't really duplicate, at least from my point of view. I do like taking a photo and seeing if the exposure is good and the composition is what I wanted as soon as I press the button. And I do shoot more digital than film, for the time being. When I find good access top a darkroom, or get one built at our home, then I think film will be used more.

I welcome comments and constructive criticism. Also, anything anyone sees that I am missing please add it to this series.


"Success is not found in what you have achieved, but rather in who you have become."
- Larry Bertlemann