Paul Bobkowski is considered among the finest wedding photographers
in the city. So why is he chopping down trees for a living? “It’s decent
wages,” says Bobkowski, who has been shooting photos for about 20
years. He says he still tries to shoot some weddings on the weekend, but
having to work a fulltime job makes that difficult. “What would I
ideally want to be doing? I’d be a photographer with a fulltime studio.”
Bobkowski is one of many longtime, traditional film photographers
whose careers have either been sidelined permanently or significantly
diminished as digital photography and ever-advancing technology create a
whole new generation of shutterbugs.
“Everybody with a nice camera thinks they’re a photographer and
people will think they’re a professional,” says Bobkowski, who points to
the economic downturn post-9/11 as the start of a decline in
traditional photography. “A lot of people weren’t spending a lot on
photos and everybody who had a camera thought they were a photographer.”
With the emergence of cell phones and more advanced cameras and
computer software, there has been less demand for professional
photographers and even less need for processing labs. While a trip to
the neighborhood lab or studio once was a must, now even the most
inexperienced enthusiast can produce decent-quality photographs. Throw
in digital apps and social media tools like Facebook, through which you
can “share” your favorite shots, and what you have is a completely new
age of photography – the digital age. Scrapbooks and family albums have
largely been shelved for computer discs and memory sticks. Darkrooms are
almost a relic. Digital photography even took its toll on Kodak,
forcing the company that invented the digital camera, to file for
bankruptcy earlier this year.
Digital photography has put its traditional partner on the ropes and
landed some sharp shots, but can it deliver the knockout punch? Opinions
vary, but there is evidence that, if not quite on the canvas, analog
photography is standing on wobbly legs.
LOCAL BUSINESS PINCHED
(PHOTO:
Paul Bobkowski, left, talks with fellow photographers as they pick up
final orders and square away accounts at PCS. Steven King/Worcester Mag)
As owners of Photographers Color Service (PCS), Patrick O’Toole and
Joe Perra have been working with some of the area’s finest photographers
for the past 22 years from their space in the back of the building at
10 Harvard St. More than a place to drop off negatives, over the years
it became a welcoming haven where like-minded photographers could talk
shop, share tricks of the trade or just shoot the breeze. On the last
day of July, however, O’Toole and Perra processed their final order – a
collection of 20 prints for a 5-by-7-inch photo album. They were victims
of both a flattened economy and a digital boom that took much of the
work out of their hands.
“It’s a lack of work, a lack of income,” says O’Toole. “We just can’t
make a profit. Business has steadily declined since 1992. We’re lucky
if we do 300 or 400 rolls of film a year. We used to do that in two
days.”
Consumers, he says, started buying digital cameras when they first
came out. “By the time professional photographers were convinced to go
digital, some customers were already on their third or fourth digital
camera.”
As digital cameras grow in popularity and users become more
proficient with them, some have started looking beyond the recreational
advantages and are seeing the potential of benefiting from them
professionally.
“More and more consumers started shooting weddings and calling
themselves photographers,” says O’Toole. “When a professional
photographer shoots a wedding, he’s using a $4,000 or $8,000 camera. The
consumer is using a $500 or $800 camera, but it’s still a pretty good
camera and image. The customer doesn’t know the difference. To them, an
image is an image.”
Shrewsbury’s Henry Grampietro, another area photographer and longtime
PCS customer, says the digital camera has convinced many people they
can take quality photographs and not spend the money on a trained
professional. “They’re willing to accept lesser quality,” says
Grampietro.
WEDDING BUST
Wedding photographers, in particular, have suffered in the digital
age. In many cases, the bride and groom are content with a disc with all
the images on it. Much to the photographer’s chagrin, the happy couple
is more likely to keep the disc and not even bother to have any images
printed. Or they will download what they like and correct the photos
themselves. Worse, they might order only a fraction of the images taken.
“For wedding photographers,” says Perra, “the bottom has dropped out.”
Kim Ramsdell shot her last wedding about 10 to 15 years ago. She and
her husband, Charles Poole, own and operate Natural Color, a photo lab
in Stoughton. It was one of the first labs to shift completely from
optical to digital printing. Optical printing was the rage before
computers and the digital age. Moviegoers might not have known it at the
time, but when they watched “Star Wars” or “Indiana Jones” they were
seeing the work of optical printers.
“When I would photograph a wedding, I’d shoot 350 exposures,” says
Ramsdell. “Those would have to be exposed perfectly. Expressions and
lighting is what it was all about. Now you can have 5,000 images at one
function. That creates a lack of respect for the file, for the negative,
for every time you push the button. Now these guys just hold the
shutter down and spend an enormous amount of time editing and throwing
away junk.”
THE DIGITAL AGE
Despite their opinions, many traditional photographers bear no hard
feelings toward digital cameras and the new wave of photographers.
“We’re too old to be resentful,” Perra says. There remains, however, a
love/hate relationship between some photographers and the digital age.
Jessica Strom, an accomplished newborn and family portrait photographer in Kansas City, Mo., acknowledges as much on a blog on mcpactions.com,
a site dedicated to photo editing. “I love how ‘digital’ has exploded
the possibilities of all types of photography, how much control it’s
given me over my images, how much it’s allowed me to share and promote
my work,” Strom writes. “It’s really made me love photography even more
than I already did, which back then, I didn’t even think was possible.
But when it comes to my business, to my livelihood, to the manner in
which I put food on my table, my love/hate relationship with it really
comes into play.”
Strom started noticing she was practically giving away her digital
files. Helpful tools like Facebook became an enemy as clients would use
the “sneak peeks” Strom would post on her page as their profile pictures
and almost never included those photos in their actual orders. The
orders themselves were never as big as Strom had anticipated.
The age of digital hasn’t brought all gloom and doom to the
photography business. Even the traditionalists acknowledge many positive
changes. In fact, even the things they dislike about digital
photography, like being able to dramatically alter an image, can also be
appealing.
“What I like is how you can manipulate the photo,” says Perra, who
also notes you no longer have to spend time processing film. Bobkowski
says one huge benefit is being able to see instantly what you just
photographed. “There’s no waste,” he says. “What you see is what you
get.”
(PHOTO: Patrick O'Toole holds a photo that shows what PCS use to look like. Steven King/Worcester Mag)
O’Toole admits he finds things to like about both the traditional and
digital format. “I like traditional photography for its quality,
digital for the manipulation. You used to need all this equipment, now
you do it on a computer. That’s a big plus. You can restore a picture
much easier now.”
Instant gratification has given the photographer greater creative
freedom, according to Mary Newman, professor of the Applied Arts Program
at Quinsigamond Community College. “It is instant, no darkroom or film,
and printing is easy,” says Newman. “One may immediately e-mail or
place on the Internet. However, knowing how to take a good photo is
another story. One must understand compositional principles. Personally,
I had a small digital camera (Lumix) that I used while in India on a
mobile hospital tour and was able to shoot photos and videos without
making people self-conscious, and was able to capture beautiful and
poignant moments.”
More recently, Newman says she was at a 10K race and a woman called
out for anyone with a digital camera to catch her husband crossing the
finish line in record time. “I caught him crossing the finish line on my
cell phone and e-mailed it,” says Newman. “It was a great photo – from a
cell phone.”
ADAPTING TO THE TIMES
As a professional photojournalist with Worcester Mag, Steven King’s
equipment is higher end – and, of course, digital. He wouldn’t have it
any other way. “I love it. Cameras are so much more intelligent than
they used to be,” says King. “It’s made it so much easier to come back
with a consistent product. Our job is photojournalism. We tell stories
and this enables us to tell stories quicker.”
King considers himself a photography traditionalist in that he
practices no digital manipulation beyond cropping and slight exposure
changes. He doesn’t see digital as having changed what photography
means. “It is the same,” says King. “The means for getting the
photograph has changed.”
The digital age has also given a reprieve to those whose strengths
didn’t lie in the darkroom. “I was never a superstar in the darkroom,”
King admits. “Now, with the inception of digital cameras, everything is
linked together. You shoot your photo and put it right on the computer
to correct it. That saves a lot of time.”
Just as King and other professionals have had to adapt their ways, so
too have those in the photo business. And while PCS succumbed to the
digital age, the news isn’t completely dire for local photography shops.
(PHOTO: Steve Pond at L.B. Wheaton Camera & Supply. Steven King/Worcester Mag)
L.B. Wheaton Camera & Supply at 259 Park Ave. has been in
Worcester for 119 years, opening in downtown Worcester in 1893. It
relocated to Lincoln Plaza in 1956 and has been at its current location
since around 1996. President and owner Steve Pond has been with the
company for 30 years and he knows that, had he not made some adjustments
along the way, his shop could just as easily have suffered the same
fate as PCS.
“If I didn’t invest in the equipment at the time I did,” Pond says,
“I might be in their shoes. There used to be 10 camera shops in
Worcester, now there’s one. We’ve survived. We kept up with the
changes.” Pond installed a digital lab last year, but he has not
completely abandoned the traditional form. He still has a C-41 developer
that processes 35mm color negative film.
IN THE DARK
There are, in fact, still darkrooms to be found – and traditional
film photography is still taught and practiced. The Bancroft School here
in Worcester still has a darkroom, as do several area colleges,
including Clark University, where two of the best in the business teach
their trade.
Stephen DiRado, a lecturer at Clark who specializes in
black-and-white film photography, says many students attending the
school for art do so because it has a darkroom. He believes teaching the
analog method provides students a better understanding of how to build a
good digital image. “Because of the limitations of film, and discipline
needed to make a good black-and-white print, students have to think
through a number of levels about their intentions— previsualize the
resulting photograph,” says DiRado. “By the time they enroll in a
digital class they adapt quickly to its set of technical standards. It
is within our intermediate classes that we open the field for whatever
camera or material is needed to best express one’s vision. Students can
mix analog with digital freely, at this point it is all about the best
tools to get the job done.“
DiRado’s colleague, Frank Armstrong, echoes his sentiments, saying
time spent in the darkroom only enhances the understanding and
appreciation of 20thcentury photographs. Armstrong does not see film
photography going into the dark just yet. “While analog photography is
diminished, it is not dead,” he says. “My guess is it will continue for a
couple more decades. I strongly feel that learning the processes of
analog photography put people in touch with how photographic images have
been made essentially since photography had its beginnings.”
(PHOTO: Frank Armstrong in the photo department at Clark University. Steven King/Worcester Mag)
Before they get to college, some area high school students have the
opportunity to work in a darkroom. The Bancroft School and its art
department offer both traditional film and digital photography. As
recently as last winter, one student won honorable mention at the Boston
Globe Scholastic Art and Writing Awards show for her work with
black-and-white film. Her teacher, Richard Dec, who heads the school’s
art department, agrees with Armstrong that the traditional form of
photography is not dead, but offers a caveat. “I have been to several
training workshops and have had several instructors who said color film
photography is dead,” Dec says. “Digital is much faster and easier and
you’re not using any polluting chemicals. But there are still
professional photographers doing black-and-white film. They still say
you can’t get the quality of tone in digital that you can with film.”
Dec believes digital has pretty much caught up with black-and-white
photography and considers himself a true convert to the digital age,
even though as a college student in the early 1970s he was exposed
strictly to film. Despite falling in love with digital photography, Dec
sees a benefit to teaching traditional film.
“Our philosophy is to teach our lessons through art history,” he
says, “and, of course, that includes film. What better way to teach all
forms of photography than working in them?”
BREAKING INTO THE BUSINESS
Whether they favor the traditional or digital form, most
photographers can agree on one thing: the art of photography should
continue and new photographers should be encouraged. Just as today’s
old-school photographers started somewhere, new camera bugs will
emerge–maybe from schools like Bancroft and Clark University. They’ll
just be learning some new tricks of a drastically changed trade.
The key, according to Strom, is to learn the craft. “Starting a
photography business seems easy enough and the inexperienced are doing
just that at a record pace,” she says. “People will soon realize,
though, that true photography isn’t the editing; it’s the shot you take
in camera and unless you can nail that, you may as well call yourself a
photoshopper, not a photographer. Take the time to learn your digital
camera, to distinguish light and read histograms to determine exposure.
Create images that look outstanding blown up to a 24-by- 30 canvas, not
an itty bitty image on the computer that you may think looks amazing.
You only realize how much or little you’ve learned once it’s blown up
and staring at you in the face.”
Old style or new, the photographer should never stop learning, says
DiRado. “Never forget what inspired you to pick up a camera,” he says.
“If you go the art route, never stop working. Learn from all of your
mistakes. And study the visual arts. Photography is not an exclusive
club; it uses the same language as all of the other visual arts. If you
are going the commercial route, do all of the above, and intern for
somebody you admire for a few years, work for free if you must, and
keenly study and learn everything they do. In time, you will eventually
make it your own, and do it better. And never stop being a student.
Continue to be inspired by many resources.”
Armstrong offers one more, crucial piece of advice: “Make sure you
have a broad educational background, a good beginning photographic skill
set that can be matured and a good business plan – and lots of money
because digital photography is expensive. It is expensive to obtain the
necessary tools and to maintain those tools.”
When the fledgling photographer finally does step out onto the stage,
he or she shouldn’t be surprised if someone like Bobkowski is there to
lend a helping hand. Like O’Toole and Perra, Bobkowski isn’t a digital
hater. Even when he is out shooting a wedding and several other people
are snapping photos with their pocket cameras and cell phones and iPods –
and even though he knows that will likely cut into his earnings –
Bobkowski isn’t about to pull an ego trip and tell the bride and groom
no one else should be allow to take pictures.
“I’m getting paid to shoot. If there are other people shooting, why
should I tell the father of the bride he shouldn’t take a picture of his
daughter? I would even tell them how to set up the camera.”
NOT DEAD YET
The question remains: Has the digital age scored a knockout punch
against traditional film photography? By virtue of the fact that there
remain an army of dedicated photographers outfitted with old-fashioned
film cameras – and the fact that students still flock to high school and
college darkrooms – it seems premature to write up an obituary.
But people like Strom see it as inevitable. “There will come a time
in the near future where it’s next to impossible to find a place to buy
film let alone develop it,” she says. “The world is in a state of
instant gratitude and isn’t stopping. Even kids barely able to speak
want to see their picture on the back of the camera as soon as it’s
taken.”
Strom’s opinion doesn’t have a lot of company on the local camera
scene. O’Toole, for one, thinks there will always be a place for the
hard copy of a photograph. “I don’t think it’s going to die,” he says.
“There are still people that value the photograph.”
Armstrong, too, is not ready to sound the death knell. “In some
ways,” he says, “asking that question is like asking will oil painting
die off just because acrylics came along. I see them existing
side-by-side for some years to come.”
DiRado is even more emphatic. There is, he says, a counter-culture of
youngsters who have taken to older cameras. And there are still enough
people who don’t want to live life in the fast lane. Traditional
photography, says DiRado, will be around for a while. “It is alive and
well within groups of artists who want to slow down,” he says. “Hipsters
seem to have found it to be part of their identity. I have never seen
so many teens and 20-somethings on the street as in recent times
carrying around 35mm cameras. These are the same people signing up for
our analog classes at Clark. Ten years ago people ran up to me on the
streets, mocking me for still carrying around such a beast of a camera –
40 pounds of bellows, film holders, lens and tripod. Now, people stop
me in awe to inquire about the camera. I am very amused by it all.
Analog is here to stay for some time to come as an ‘art thing.’ Free
from the stress and expectations that digital covers all so well in the
commercial world.”
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