Pestilent congregation of vapours

Pestilent congregation of vapours could remind me of my old darkroom, but no.

Shakespeare had never seen aircraft trails, but what a pestilent congregation of vapours they must be for any landscape photographer. I have never been out to the Pennines with a 5x4 , so I wouldn't know if the sky is scarred by these things in the morning, but it may be useful to know the flight paths of planes one day, just in case I acquire a nice rose wood view camera and decide to head out into the real country with it.

My darkroom experience goes no further than black and white roll  film , chemistry, and paper. I read my Ansell Adams, and I remember that a simplified version of the zone system was taught for 35m at the photographers workshop here at Oxford when I used the facility in the 1980's and 90's. There, people were very keen on black and white, and there were some very fine photographers producing mono prints  that so did arrest my gaze, causing me to think about black and white. I knew there was a method in what they did, so I set about to find it.

These days everything is digital. Seems anything which can be digitalised will be digitalised. I'm not impressed with my digi cameras, or any media I posses to produce the final image. For me, film, paper, and chemistry are tangible things, which are part of the process and enjoyment of photography. I haven't taken a real photograph since the battery in my Canon AE1 packed up, which must have been about fifteen years ago. Some of the pics I have on this site are scans of my old slides or prints, while others were taken with low budget digi things, I don't even like  plastic electronic cameras.

But a pestilent congregation of vapours; surely goes to shew what a sorry state the fellow had fallen into, for it was Hamlet, rather Amleth, who said unto  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern thus

“I have of late--but
wherefore I know not--lost all my mirth, forgone all
custom of exercises; and indeed it goes so heavily
with my disposition that this goodly frame, the
earth, seems to me a sterile promontory, this most
excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave
o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted
with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to
me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours”.

Well I would not agree, there 'ave been plenty of skyscapes that made me feel alive in the morning and evening. Didn't always have a camera with me though, but there are always those who did, whose pictures would inspire me to carry a camera too, but it would have to be the bulk of a least a medium format film camera if not 5x4, but I can't afford one. I had thought that with the advent of digi that film camera prices would have gone down, but it is not so, as a perusal of Nikon 35m FM2N's has shewn.

Hello, Thehermit, and Welcome!  That was a very interesting post, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be very conversant, because I'm totally clueless as a techie when it comes to photography. 

As for B&W, some of the best shots I've seen are.  That's one advantage of digital - you can test any of your pictures to see what they'd look like without color.  I do it often, especially on shots I"m not pleased with.  Sometimes they become passable if I "convert to grayscale."

I hope you enjoy it here.

Hello Mr Hermit and welcome- I have enjoyed your shots. I must say I prefer digital photography but I never had my own darkroom. I used to develop my own photos at art school in the dark room and really enjoyed it so if I had a darkroom I might feel differently. For me it means I can take more photos with my digital SLR and I like to take lots of photos! As a child I went to the zoo and used a whole 36 picture film and my mother was horrified at the developing costs of all my photos!

You really do write in a poetic manner - hope you get full use of the site as we can submit articles and poetry on here as well as photos.

Hi, I agree with Stephanie on this, I love digital, I have developed hundreds of my own black and white shots, yes there was something magical about an image appearing in the developer, but if you wanted more contrast or less contrast then you would use different types of paper or you could push or pull the length of time you developed the film, Ah the good old days I don’t miss them one bit, I can now convert a digital colour shot  to black and white change the contrast and even use the colour channels to lighten or darken the sky or foliage. As for colour shots you are cutting out the middle man (the processor) so, you can change the temperature colour casts / cropping /brightness shadows etc,etc,  then you can print your own shots or put them on a disc to view on a TV, brilliant.     

Each to their own, we need the balance, but one thing that has never been stopped is progress, whether it be good or bad, things will always change.

I too like film, and have an old SLR and other film cameras, but just as my vinyl has been sent to the nursing home, so have my film cameras. They still have their place, and are taken on the odd day trip, to see the sights and take in the views, my vinyl still sings from time to time, but i'm afraid they'll never be as popular again, time marches on, and new things are happening, exciting things to if you don't fear them and let them guide you!

LOL @ Toby!

Oh for the days of darkroom fug & Newton's Rings. All kept me out of mischief though!

My lungs love fume-free digital photigraphy, but I do miss seeing an image forming in a dish of Acotol or whatever "soup" I favoured at the time. Also miss cutting out card masks to dangle in front of the projected light on the paper & making strange shapes with my hands as I "held back" & "burned in". It was pure magic.

Must get my old Yashica Mat out!