photography

Darkroom Woodshed, or How VSCO Beats the Film Companies At Their Own Game

VSCO Film recently released their newest set of film emulation presets, a lovely set of slide film reproductions that model classic Fuji, Agfa, and Kodak positive film.

And while the digital version of those classic films doesn’t exactly mimick the original, it’s enough to feed into the back-to-our-roots photographic trends that Instagram, Hipstamatic, and VSCO itself kick-started. Pros, amateurs, iPhoneographers – a lot of us are using film-style presets these days.

That got me thinking: why does it take a company like VSCO to come out with these film simulations? Why the hell didn’t Fuji, Kodak, and Ilford – with their diminishing film stocks and questionable financial future – come out with this kind of product?

Why leave it to a digital competitor to develop a copy of your signature films?

No, VSCO-style simulations won’t keep New York cities humming with manufacturing, but they could’ve helped film companies ease into the digital realm.

I take it that Fuji is doing okay with its new X-Series cameras. They’re supplementing their film business with a great series of cameras – cameras that, yes, are simulating Fuji films like Velvia and Astia.

But Ilford? Kodak? Agfa? How are they doing in this modern photographic age? Are they comfortable with staying a hyper-niche product for hobbyists and the declining number of professional photographers who still use film?

Why not say, “Hey, no one knows our film better than we do. We’ll help photographers simulate our classic films with a set of presets that we can sell for real money.”

It used to be that film stock, with quality glass, was how you achieved a certain look. Velvia was different from Portra was different from Polaroid. Now, in the digital age, it’s a combination of camera, software, lens, and (for those who use them) presets.

For film companies, their role in that process should be in the software/presets realm.

“Great photo!” an imaginary film company representative says. “Now make it look how you want it to look with our specially-engineered family of film simulations.”

Instead, companies like VSCO swoop in with the right mixture of finesse and quality and eat the film companies’ lunch. They also offer options for today’s photo enthusiast: desktop and mobile software.

Kodak? Their mobile app offerings look like a messy discount aisle in a dimly-lit drug store: nothing but apps for purchasing film(!) and printing photos (that last one is pretty handy – at least they’re encouraging people to keep printing photos).
Fuji film Velvia
Fuji is at least doing a bit better in this space. But still. Why keep those X-Series film simulation modes exclusive on the cameras? Why not make a few bucks selling a mobile camera app with those simulations, and beat VSCO at its own game?

I love Camera Noir and Hueless for my iPhone. But where is the Ilford app?

Don’t get me wrong. There are tons of photo filter apps – more than one could ever want or use. But shouldn’t the film companies be in this space and doing it better than anyone? Shouldn’t they have been here first, for crying out loud?

Developing software and apps doesn’t replace the film business. I get that. But what else are the film companies going to do? Wait it out like some passing phase?

When the world switches, you switch with it. As it stands, disrupting upstarts like VSCO are taking the film companies out to the darkroom woodshed.

(Photos courtesy Bryan Costin, with my “VSCO” addition, and Kevin Dooley on Flickr)


8/4/13 – Red to Black

8/4/13 - Red to Black

Early- to mid-June is raspberry season in Michigan. Everyone knows that.

But I didn’t know that blackberries ripen in late July. And there they were. Smaller than the kind you usually buy in the store, and not quite as sweet. Finding a bush full of free ones, though, was all right.

My grandmother’s house growing up had one of every kind of berry: red, white, and black raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and grapes. Diving into the pricker bushes was so worth it, just to get at those suckers.


8/3/13 – First Big Crop

8/3/13 - First Big Crop

It took a while, but this year’s garden crop is finally starting to produce.

The plentiful rain, the sunshine – a totally different than the hot and dry weather we had last year here in Michigan.

Tomatoes, squash, green beans, zucchini. All the usuals. This year’s new edition is cucumbers. I’m not a huge fan, but it’s fun to grow something new.

Nice to see my vegetable budget pretty much disappear during these months, too.


8/2/13 – Waiting for Action

8/2/13 - Waiting for Action

I pass almost nothing but farmland on the way into work. Vast soybean and corn fields.

Not sure exactly what this machine does, but it looks like it’s waiting for something.

Really, I liked the colors of this scene on my way into work Friday morning. Stop in the middle of the road, check behind me for approaching cars, snap the photo, and drive on.

Bingo.


8/1/13 – Driveway Grass

8/1/13 - Driveway Grass

Today’s photo was a quick one – I hadn’t pulled out of the driveway for my morning commute when I saw the sun reflecting (as it so often does) on my front lawn grass.

There are lots of pretty views on my way into work each morning. Usually the sun is rising over some mist-covered field, or the sky is painted with dawn colors. It’s one of my favorite parts of the day, my morning drive.

It’s getting to that time of year where the sun wakes up a little later each day, so by September the mornings will be perfect. Just perfect.


7/30/13 – Tagged

Sure, the big stuff in Detroit is great. The bridges, the Renaissance Center, the athletic fields, the Fox Theatre.

But so is the stuff in the alleyways between those great monuments. Everything is tagged. Right down to the dumpsters.

There’s not a surface that doesn’t have spray paint on it: from billboards to the stands that hold them.


‘On Taking Pictures’ Project

OTP Project

This Friday, I started the photo-a-day challenge from the guys at On Taking Pictures.

One photo. Each day. For at least a month.

This shot, from Woodward Ave in Detroit, isn’t the first. But it’s the first one I’ll share, along with some catch up from this weekend.

I’m in Detroit for some Google Adwords training, and spent my time after the seminar to do a little photo walk around downtown – something I’ve been meaning to for ages. And with the unseasonably cool temperatures here in Michigan this week, it made for a nice walk.

On the project: Taking a photo every day shouldn’t be too hard for me, usually. Usually I have my iPhone on-hand to grab an Instagram shot while I’m out and about.

What will be hard is taking some time and putting some thought into each shot. If I grab a bunch of photos, like I did tonight, which one will I share? What will I do if I’m not somewhere fun like Detroit?

The way I see it, this project will give me a perfect chance to play with my newest toy: the fire-sale’d Canon EOS M (only wish they hadn’t discontinued the white model!) with the 22mm f/2 lens. So far, so good, as you can see above.

It’ll also give me an opportunity to flex some creative photography muscles. Maybe try some different things.

When I get a chance, I’ll also share the photos on Google+ – and to the OTP Community.

Here goes nothin’.