Question about the old guys who still shoot film

I was chatting with a regular customer, a retired newspaper photographer, and he said 'you kids fix the box, but we learned to fix the picture with our hands in the darkroom,' which really made me value the mechanical skills we keep alive even more.

4 comments

4 Comments

william_jackson651mo ago

idk, digital lets you take way more shots and get it right without the guesswork. seems like people romanticize the struggle a bit when the new tools are just better for most photographers now.

dianas501mo ago

Honestly that quote is spot on. Read an interview once with a darkroom tech who said dodging and burning felt like sculpting with light. They'd spend hours on a single print, literally holding their hands under the enlarger to block light on parts of the photo. Makes you appreciate the craft.

james_singh71mo ago

Reminds me of a buddy who tried it once. He said his arms ached for days after holding those little cardboard tools steady. Really was a different kind of skill.

the_riley1mo agoProlific Poster

My arms ache just from reading that, and I was just holding a coffee mug.