The darkroom is transformed: from chemical reactivity to virtual proactivity.
The long voyage from Brownie 616 through Kodak Starflash, Starmite, Kodak Instamatic, a couple of simple 35 mm cameras, a couple of 35mm Nikkormat and Nikon reflex cameras with incorporated light meters.........and then the digital revolution in image-making. One of the technological trips of a lifetime.
We no longer fork over good money to a lab for Kodacolor lab prints; we can gear up our trusty HP with color cartridges. D.I.Y. printing lab. Or simply keep them on websites, memory chips, backup drives to be accessed at will.
So how do we take photographs now? With a different eye? in huge numbers, since cost is not an issue? Greater ease behind the viewfinder? I think all of these.
Here's one of the thousands of azulejos in the Alhambra, taken with an iphone 4, (6 megapixels), a bit of adjustment of the glare on the right and slight increase in the virtual exposure:
This was dark in the wrong places and with far too little contrast. I was able to highlight the warm colors and add contrast without compromising foreground visibility.
In this photo of a keyhole door, a darkroom would probably have been better, but it's acceptable. I see I have to workshop it a bit more to eliminate the glare on both sides.
Rank amateur, but loving all of it!
