A Hardware Lament

[johnastovall]

"One of the greatest ironies of the last photographic decade, and there are any number of them, has to do with the treatment of some great cameras. Anyone under 25 probably has no idea what the hell I'm talking about. But if you began taking photographs when film was the medium of choice, you will recognize and remember that fleeting moment, at the beginning of the new century, when things got extremely unfair..."

Essay by David Burnett...

 

[Ranger 9]

As I just posted in his comments, I think I've read basically the same lament about 50 times under about 50 different film-era photographers' bylines. I feel his pain, but sooner or later you have to decide either to stick with the traditional craft -- which is still a perfectly viable option, if you're willing to say "no" to people who've gotta have it now -- or move on.

The permanence arguments are a straw man; no photo medium is permanent unless it's well-cared-for, so indifference is the real enemy. All of Atget's work, for example, was about to be thrown out as rubbish until Berenice Abbott intervened.