Digital vs Analog Photography

A recent article appeared on Business of Fashion talks about photographers who are returning to film photography, in particular in fashion.

I wanted to tell you and give you my opinion about it, but on Facebook I found a comment on the article by Polish-born Milan-based photographer Piotr Niepsuj. So I decided to contact him to ask him about his statement – and much more. He kindly replied and this is the interview that came out, maybe more interesting than my opinion. 

Piotr Niepsuj (via Facebook)

#1 I saw the post on your Facebook page and I would like to know what part of BoF's article you disagree with? And why?

This isn't about agreeing with that or not, I actually think it's absurd to be still talking about the dichotomy between analog and digital photography in 2016. I thought this debate had been over for years now. I haven't seen this article as an analys of the phenomenon of the rebirth of film photography in fashion, but rather as a clear stance against digital photography by excluding and labeling it as “not right”.

I have nothing against who takes pictures with film (that I like and consider “relevant” in photography), but if they weren't balanced with digital ones it could be ridicolous, because we no longer live in the '90s. It's 2016 and there are more tools for taking pictures than in those days, so why shouldn't we use them? When, in 2065, we'll talk about today's photography, what will we say? What will be left? If everybody would use film exclusively, we would only have a poor imitation of the past years. Why don't we want to go on? Look at Juergen Teller, since he moved to digital photography he has made a big step forward, artistically speaking. The new camera “has refreshed” his style, but not damaged his identity. It's a perfect example.

Olivier Zahm

What made me sad, even almost angered, of Bof's article is Olivier Zahm's opinion about how much anti-capitalist film photography is. But Really? If it was so anti-capitalist, so why does everybody try to imitate its warm tones, soft contrasts and grain with Photoshop's filters? This is what sells fashion products best in 2016. We should consider the decision to take a picture or not, and then the decision to publish it or not, more anti-capitalist than the fact it was taken by film or digital camera. I'm also disappointed that it was Oliver Zahm who said that - a person who I respect and admire a lot and who in the past paved the way to some great photographers.

But then, does it still make sense to talk about anti-capitalism today? I It seems that people have changed the way they fight it, and it no longer appears so “anti”.

#2 Could the return to film camera BoF wrote about (which, for me, has already happened long ago) be considered as an old story compared with the emerging of smartphone photography?

The return to film camera BoF wrote about is actually the adoption of a phenomenon that has been there for years, but only now has been accepted by the fashion system. And yes, this may happen to smartphones too, but I think it will take some time.

A by Piotr Niepsuj

#3 Some months ago your first book “A”, which tells about a trip from your hometown to Berlin with a girl through some pictures you took with your iPhone 5c, was published. How did the project evolve? And why did you choose to use this camera?

The idea for the book has come when I went back to Milan and went trough all the pictures of the trip. It has been a very very important holiday and I felt that a Facebook album wasn't enough to express it. 

#4 I can think of some other photographic projects in this regard (for example Giorgia Malatrasi's “Land of Sunshine” (2012), that collects some pictures she took with her Nokia 2630) that make me suppose that smartphone photography could be “requalified” and considered as a form of art. What do you think about it?

I think it was a very important event for those days. We also have to think that today finding a way to download pictures from a Nokia 2630 could be difficult, so today it's almost impossible to do a book like that. We could develop a filter to simulate this effect with Photoshop, it would be interesting.

A by Piotr Niepsuj

#5 The other side of the coin: smartphones have "liberalised" photography and they could turn anyone into a potential photographer. Is the “liberalisation” of photography good or do we need a certain professional exclusivity?

Is anyone with Traktor a potential DJ? And is anyone with a knife in his hand a potential killer? Well, no. We have to apply the same logic to smartphones and being photographers. The problem is the widespread lack of critical sense (due to a lack of general culture) which makes people think that who owns a camera is automatically a real photographer.