8 responses to “PODCAST: A Photographic Life, Episode 375 ‘Three-Name-Photographers, Why Analogue? and Listener Letters’”

1. 

   Chris

   July 21, 2025 at 7:56 pm

   Hi Grant, there is a lot of guff talked about analogue photography. Is it more social? Is it more real, genuine, honest? Does it look better, cleaner, grittier, original? Is it more or less reliable, easier or harder to manipulate? Will it make me a better photographer? Maybe, maybe not. Probably not.
   That’s fine. In an amateur, strictly for the love, so I’m aiming to mainly take bad photos in the hope that every now and then I fail and produce a good one. For me there process informs the practice. That is the results flow from the interaction between what you thought and what you did. In my case, I hate sitting in front of the computer in my spare time, that’s too much like the job I do. I love being in my little dark room, I love winding film and the way the shutter sounds. I don’t believe it has much impact on the photographs I take, it just affects how much I enjoy the process; and it is the process that I’m engaged with.
   That’s it really. Just some thoughts. If I had to make money at this, I’d do it another way, probably, but film works for me.
   Thanks for the show. Regular and appreciative listener.
   Chris

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   1. 

      gscott2012

      July 25, 2025 at 8:44 pm

      Pleasure and thanks for sharing your thoughts

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2. 

   Rob Campbell

   July 16, 2025 at 11:14 pm

   Just occurred to me that I’d completely forgotten about where I first heard the term “street photography”.

   It was back in the fifties, and it was used to describe the work that some photographers used to do in holiday resorts: they would stop people walking down streets, on seaside promenades etc. and offer to take their picture for a small fee. The trick was to pretend to make a shot of the subjects, and then if they fell for it, take another shot – for real this time – and take down the mark’s address on an order book with receipts, collect the half-crown or whatever, give the buyer his receipt, and then a couple of week later, mail on the snaps.

   The photographers were supposed to buy a peddler’s license from the town hall, or wherever. I suppose that association with peddlers tells one all one needs to know about the then social standing of much photography…

   I discovered all of this when I was an apprentice engineer: a fellow apprentice had a weekend job processing for one such snapper, and it was he who took me along to the darkroom to watch the process. I was enchanted and couldn’t wait to learn to print. I eventually set up a darkroom in the family loft, where I cut my teeth with black and white. However, the real learning happened in my fourth year of apprenticeship, when National Service was scrapped and we were freed from the threat of wasting two vitally important years of our lives doing something many of us hated. I was lucky: I was able to get myself transferred to the photographic unit of that engineering company, where my working life then actually began.

   Anyway, that street photography had nothing to do with today’s notions of it, nor even with the older concept of candid photography.

   Regarding your three photographers: she was very good; the one guy I’d heard of I didn’t find interesting, and the third, Lynes, I couldn’t watch the trailer to its end. Truth to tell, I wish that sexuality had remained private, all the way from red to violet. I have also hated pornographic photography all my adult life: it somehow, through mistaken public perceptions, tainted my calendar pin-ups with the same goddam stench. Needless to say, I do not watch movies very much these days… if I do, then it’s likely to be along the lines of John Wick: fantasy action and amazing choreography. Oh well.

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   1. 

      gscott2012

      July 17, 2025 at 6:13 am

      Thanks for the feedback and memories however I wouldn’t agree that Lynes work is pornography. The naked human form photographed does not always deserve that label.

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      1. 

         Rob Campbell

         July 17, 2025 at 1:36 pm

         No, I didn’t say that it was pornography; I said that I couldn’t watch the clip to the end. His subject matter turns me right off. So did Mapplethorpe, but his flowers weren’t too upsetting. 😉

         Yes, I agree that the nude, per se, is not pornographic, hence my annoyance when my own pin-ups were confused – usually by those who never saw them, but only knew that I photographed girls – with porn. You know, the nod and the wink.

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      2. 

         gscott2012

         July 17, 2025 at 4:04 pm

         My apologies. I have looked at your work and I see what you mean. The images of BB are my favourites.

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3. 

   Bob Humphreys

   July 16, 2025 at 8:13 am

   Enjoyed your Rant on analogue Photography. My interest is wildlife Photography. I always appreciated the practical benefits of digital photography. I remember travelling to Alaska with over 60 rolls of film and on my return the hours I spent viewing the images on the lightbox before deciding on what to print. Life is so much easier now although the number of images have got bigger.
   One final thought on analogue Photography. Several years ago I was lucky enough to meet the Finnish wildlife Photographer Hannu Hautala at an exhibition. His Photography was fully analogue and although this resulted in “imperfections “in the images, his ability to capture nature and The “raw” feel to the photographs resulted in some inspirational images. I remember comparing his work to that of some Young digital photographers in the same exhibition. Their images were technically perfect but emotionally sterile.
   I wouldn’t want to go back to analogue Photography but in staying digital I do wonder whether We end up seeking perfection resulting in losing certain qualities from our Photography

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   1. 

      gscott2012

      July 16, 2025 at 1:27 pm

      I couldn’t and can’t achieve perfection in either! Perhaps that is the secret. Technical incompetence! Best Grant

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