There is no such thing as a perfect picture. But is there such thing as a good one? A better one? objectively speaking it’s probably hard to define. But subjectively of course there are. I’m reading a book called Your Brain on Art. I’m just getting started but it’s introducing me to the research field called neuro-aesthetics or basically how our brains are affected by art. It of course also discussed neuroplasticity and neural networks as a baseline so that’s fascinating to me from a mental health perspective as well.

But I thought I’d start there today because I recently received some films which I scanned and compared them to some digital photographs I took over the weekend. I was literally taken aback. The digital files seem to be false. They are TOO sharp, TOO clean. They look artificial.

Here are 2 of my favourites from the roll of film. These are from a Canon point and shoot with Kodak Gold 400. (i’ve done very light post work to clean up)

Here are 2 images taken scurrying back to my car from a photowalk event. It was -20C so I was in a hurry. My main camera is the Olympus (now om-system) EM1 m 3. This is with the 12-45PRO f4 lens.

So here’s the thing. These are different in many fundamental ways. Time of day, light, subject matter etc. So as a rule, they really ought not to be compared to each other. But what struck me was simply the texture. The nostalgia for “film grain” is informing my idea of what a natural picture ought to look like. An opinion I never really acknowledged until I started to receive my own negatives back.

I recently attended a photography exhibit at a local art centre call cSpace Marda Loop here in Calgary. It is, after all, Exposure Photography Festival. What struck me there was the the 4th floor film/dark room exhibit had print of images that did NOT exhibit this level of rustic grain. Using high quality cameras, lenses, and careful intentional exposure - those images were clean.

Maybe I’m just looking to express some authenticity. I’m reading a fascinating essay by a Communist Intellectual named Walter Benjamin called The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. That’s a mouth full. But it’s generating a lot of thinking and note taking over here. I bring THAT work up because this chase for authenticity is something ineffaceably tied to photography as an art. I’ll have more to say on that soon.