History Must Remember This

Unprecedented times. Anyone else sick of that phrase? I know I am. Maybe I'm not sick of it. Maybe it makes me uncomfortable. These are unprecedented times, and that's just the way it is.

As a photographer and a filmmaker I have an irrational urge to document everything. Go on a trip? Documented. My dogs are doing something stupid? Documented. Everything around me inevitably gets photographed or filmed and shared with the world.

That's not as easy today as it was just one short month ago. We are in the middle of a global pandemic that shows little sign of slowing down. Stay home! Wash your hands! Don't touch your face! Essential outings only, as infrequently as possible.

So who's telling the stories? Who's documenting what life is like around the world right now? The media? Sadly local papers are dropping like flies due to their ad revenue disappearing almost overnight. TV news? Also no, there's so much going on with the actual pandemic that it's hard to cover anything else. Add politics to the mix and the stories on the ground, regular people like you and me, we get lost in the shuffle.

Last week I grabbed a couple of cameras and some telephoto lenses and headed out to shoot some portraits of people stuck at home. Proper social distancing, personal protective equipment, no stops other than the outside of people's homes. Harmless, but very important.

Important not only for the participants, I'm probably the first person they talked to in weeks, but important historically. Will people remember what this was like in 10 years? Or in 20? 30? Sure, it'll be on Wikipedia or whatever crowdsourced website we use to record history (that's a terrifying thought).

It's things like documentary photography and filmmaking that show what things were like on the streets and in people's homes (or a safe distance from people's homes). In wartime, during economic downturns, famine, documentary photography and filmmaking are vital.

There's been some chatter, especially in Canada, that photographers should avoid doing this type of work. I think that's absolute garbage. Should people be doing hundreds of “porchtrait” sessions over a weekend? Probably not. Should photographers and filmmakers be documenting daily life right now? Yes, 100% yes.

We have a responsibility to record history. We have the tools and the ability to tell the stories that aren't being told. Boarded up cities. Empty streets. People living apart like no other time in modern history. History must remember this. Our children's children need to see what the global pandemic of 2020 looked like through the eyes of real people.

Don't tell me to stop, because I won't.

Scott.

Why I'm Done Reviewing New Cameras

There seems to be a new camera announced every day. Fujifilm, Sony, Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Leica, SO MANY CAMERAS.

My channel started as a camera review channel. I love cameras. I love them almost as much as I love taking pictures. But I’m at a point where nothing that's being announced is exciting to me. As someone who reviews primarily Fuji gear, the X-Pro3, X-T200, XC35mm f/2, and the soon to be released X-T4 and X-T40 just aren’t doing it for me.

Some other brands have some interesting options but there’s nothing that makes me want to reach out to them to get my hands on any of it.

Why?

My primary cameras are the Fuji X-T30 and X-T20. Between the 2 of them they fulfill all of my needs as a content creator. I own a bunch of other bodies, an X-Pro1, an X-T1, an X-A1 and an X-A10. I have an original X100, a Sony A390, a Canon EOS M5, and a boatload of film cameras. Honestly, it’s too many but whatever. Some people collect stamps, I collect cameras.

Let’s talk about some of the older gear. The X100 and A390 still take amazing photos. The raw files are gorgeous. The auto-focus is totally usable on both of them despite their age. For video? Hahahaha, no... The Sony doesn’t even have video.

I picked up the X-T1 for a very good price because I wanted a body with weather sealing. The X-T20 and 30 are incredible all around cameras. They do everything I need effortlessly. The M5 was supposed to be a flip but I kept it because its great for vlogging. Not to mention my GoPro Gero 7 Black, that thing has gotten WAY more use than I thought it would. As a travel video camera it’s very underrated.

The thing about the latest cameras is sure, they have some pretty big improvements, but cameras are at a point where those improvements are only beneficial if you have the equipment to take advantage of them. The files, both photo and video, are so huge that anything but a top of the line computer struggle to handle them.

Then there’s how people consume media. If I look at my YouTube analytics The vast majority of you are watching on smartphones. When you start talking about photos, a 2-3 megapixel file is more than enough for a mobile screen. I think for editing and enlarging purposes anything above 12mp is fine, 16-25 is just about perfect. 40? 50? 100?? unless you’re shooting for billboards, or some other huge format, that much resolution is completely useless. This is the part where someone brings up cropping. You can crop a 16mp photo, trust me, it’s fine.

4K video? 6K? 8K?? Come on... 85% of you watch video at 1080p or lower. Are you shooting a feature film? If so, great, you need that huge file. Do have have unlimited finances? Cool! Get all that super high spec gear. For the average person, that’s me, 4K is more than enough and in most cases overkill. With 1080 you can use a decent mid-range laptop, smaller memory cards, smaller hard drives. People, save your money.

So... If something comes out that’s earth shatteringly new and different, maybe I’ll have a look. But the gear I have will last me many years. It’s gear that can grow with me as I move forward. If or when 4K becomes the standard I’m good to go, but right now it isn't necessary. The endless forward march of consumerism and marketing does a great job telling you what you have isn’t good enough, but that’s just because they want your money.

As someone who’s fed that fire for a few years now It’s time for me to stop. We’re at a place where there really aren’t “bad” cameras anymore. You can Pick up a used X-T20 with the XF18-55 kit lens pretty cheap, and can add a couple lenses to make a great all around photo/video kits that will be relevant for years to come. Same goes for the Panasonic GH5 or G7, The Sony A7II or A6300, the Canon M5, M50 or SL2. There are so many great cameras that are a couple of years old that’ll save you a ton of money over the latest and greatest gear.

SAVE YOUR MONEY.

Scott.

What is Digital Emulsions

Digital Emulsions began as a way to free myself from likes and followers. The more I post on Instagram and Twitter the more I realize I’m not doing it for myself. I’m posting for likes, posting for follows, posting to try to get my work past an algorithm that has become pay to play.

As I start this new chapter I’m going to focus on the images that make me happy. The places I’ve been that bring me joy. Maybe I’ll even write a few words along the way, something I haven’t done in far too long.

My photography is both digital and analog and I plan to share both formats through this medium. There will be camera information and basic locations attached to each image, as well as film stock used (if applicable.)

Scott Graham

Expired 126 film in a Rollei A26

A few weeks ago a friend gifted me a Rollei A26 in mint condition. The A26 is a 126 format camera. 126 film, or Instamatic film, hasn’t been produced since the late 1990’s. There are options to spool 35mm film into custom 126 canisters but that sounded like too much work for me.

I had a look online and quickly found some Kodak Gold on eBay that was “fridged” for 20 years. It sounded too good to be true but I didn’t have any other options so I plopped down $20 on a roll.

I headed to Victoria BC for the weekend for some R&R with the little Rollei tucked into my back pocket. It’s a beautiful camera. A boxy clamshell with a 40mm f/3.5 sonar lens that pops out when the camera is opened.

The film canister is about as easy to use as a light switch. Drop it in. Close the camera and the film advances half a frame. Open the camera and it finishes winding the film to the next frame and cocks the shutter.

The camera has zone focusing. The viewfinder isn’t coupled to the lens so you need to choose 1 of 3 focus zones. They’re the typical head (close up) two torsos (sort of close up) and trees (infinity).

My close focus results were… not good. And to be honest most of the shots I took were touristy snapshots. The expired film has all the old school tones of old instamatic shots. The only thing that gives these away as modern photos are the cars. Other than that these could be my parents photos from the 1970’s.

This is what Instagram was going for when it launched. Square photos with vintage tones. Nostalgia dripping with more nostalgia. I scanned these on my tabletop scanner after the local photo lab processed them. Processing is simple C41 if you want to tackle it yourself.

Will I ever shoot with this camera again? Not unless someone starts making 126 film again. Maybe Lomography? Who knows, but it was a blast shooting with this thing. Come on Lomography, make some 126!

Scott.