2009: 21st CENTURY TECHNOLOGY

When I was in Germany and then Italy during my time in the U.S. Army, I spent a lot of time in the base hobby shop, learning the art of photography. I remember how I wanted so much to procure one of those incredible "Rolliflex" reflex cameras; the Cadillac of cameras. Those of us interested in film processing spent hours in the "dark room," with negatives, the developer bath, the fixer bath and the final bath. Then over to the enlarger, the heat drum to put on a dryer for the final finish. All that equipment was extremely expensive. A good enlarger was also only a dream for the average budget. How technology has changed over these 50 or so years! There are many professional photographers who will always stay with the old fashioned film camera; hanging on to the very end. Indeed, many of them consider digital photography without film to be a heresy. Today, digital photography has given John Doe the ability to turn a light on in the "dark room." Those three developing trays have now been replaced with a printer. Even though digital photography was not involved in the graphic above, the same basic process of enhancing and developing changed that faded, wrinkled, barley legible document into a pristine article.
As for me, I'm all for the new technology and more than willing to let the professional film guys keep their expensive and elaborate equipment.