RE: [Leica] Would you start a wet darkroom today?

[Paul Chefurka <Paul_Chefurka@pmc-sierra.com>]

>-----Original Message-----
>From: Douglas Herr [mailto:telyt560@cswebmail.com]

>) I hate to say it but digital cameras will replace our analog 
>equipment sooner than we expect.  The transition will be 
>easier for him (and for you) if you're already familiar with 
>part of the workflow.

Two months ago I'd have disagreed vehemently with this.  Today, after
reading Michael Reichmann's comparison of the output of a Canon D30 to an
EOS shooting Provia 100F, I'm inclined to think it's going to happen a lot
sooner than most of us think.

I'm firmly in the digital camp when it comes to darkrooms, and I say this as
someone who spent years breathing Bromophen.  I've never seen darkroom work
as some kind of mystical enabler for the "compleat photographer" - I think
the regard given to good darkroom work is an example of making a virtue out
of a necessity.  Digital processes of all sorts are advancing so fast right
now, that that they will decisively supplant traditional darkroom skills in
a couple of years.

This is not to say that film and wet darkrooms will disappear - after all,
people still play LPs.  But if someone went into the recording buisiness
these days, what technology would you have them learn?  Same goes for
photography, in my opinion.

Paul