I've not only "become my mother", I've surpassed her...

As I look at the current fad of desaturated images, "vintage processing" etc, I recall back in the day (the 80's maybe??) when black and white images came back into vogue. My mother used to look at stuff I'd roll out of the darkroom and say "Why are you doing all this black and white photography?" Her attitude stemmed from her having lived through the advent of color photography, she worked in a photo studio herself in her youth, and thought that going back to it was stepping back and it was a travesty to her mind.

"But Mom, b&w is SO cool. It frees the viewer's mind of the 'distraction' of color", I would say before waxing on about the other artistic benefits inherent in it. She would have no part of it, and made it clear that since color printing had been invented, that was what she wanted in any photograph.

So flash forward (bad photography pun intended) 25 years, and I'm channeling my inner Mother here. I see all this washed out stuff and think "why would anyone go back in time and prefer that to what COULD be?" I realize, of course, that art is subjective, to each his own, but it makes me laugh to see that it has all come full circle. I have clients (100 % young and hip) who request the vintage processing and that's how the old ball bounces. on a recent trip home to the "Old Country", I was showing my now 85 year old mother some recent shots of my hipster son, complete with vintage processing, and her first reaction was "Were you using expired film? What's wrong with your camera?" She has no concept of digital photography, still thinks I use film. And so on it goes...

Sue,, there's a lot of this desaturated look creeping into digital photography along with induced flair.. In my opinion it's being over used..

I can remember in the 1980s when soft focus filters were the go with portrait photography and the infamous Dutch Tilt for fashion photography.

And we all know what eventually happened to those techniques

I also find it funny that vignetting, grain, noise etc are all effects that can be added in post yet are all considered a negative when the lens/camera makes it. For me, I never really shot film so its interesting to play with effects I have never used. I beat up hipstimatica on my iphone but I am getting a little tired of the overdone vintage look but good black and white is timeless.

Truth is there is really only about 25 years of everything, fashion, music, tv etc it all recycles.

Some people try to create an image that captures, as accurately as possible, the moment in time.

Some people try to create art.

Some people try to create whatever the customer wants.

Now we can do all three from the same RAW file.
This stuff is so cool.

suecassidy wrote in post #12724768
As I look at the current fad of desaturated images, "vintage processing" etc, I recall back in the day (the 80's maybe??) when black and white images came back into vogue. My mother used to look at stuff I'd roll out of the darkroom and say "Why are you doing all this black and white photography?" Her attitude stemmed from her having lived through the advent of color photography, she worked in a photo studio herself in her youth, and thought that going back to it was stepping back and it was a travesty to her mind.

"But Mom, b&w is SO cool. It frees the viewer's mind of the 'distraction' of color", I would say before waxing on about the other artistic benefits inherent in it. She would have no part of it, and made it clear that since color printing had been invented, that was what she wanted in any photograph.

So flash forward (bad photography pun intended) 25 years, and I'm channeling my inner Mother here. I see all this washed out stuff and think "why would anyone go back in time and prefer that to what COULD be?" I realize, of course, that art is subjective, to each his own, but it makes me laugh to see that it has all come full circle. I have clients (100 % young and hip) who request the vintage processing and that's how the old ball bounces. on a recent trip home to the "Old Country", I was showing my now 85 year old mother some recent shots of my hipster son, complete with vintage processing, and her first reaction was "Were you using expired film? What's wrong with your camera?" She has no concept of digital photography, still thinks I use film. And so on it goes...

When I went from film to digital I was under the impression that digital was so much greater because the quality, color, and detail are so much better; more realistic!
Now people are taking digital images just so the can simulate old film photography instead. Why not just keep using film if that's the look they are after?
I don't know, maybe it's a step some people are taking to wean themselves away from film, Personally, I'm not a fan of the washed out and faded fad. I prefer picture that Pop.

Having said that however, Like so many things, when done right and in moderation it can and does look good with certain pictures. But definitely not everything.

yogestee wrote in post #12724824
Sue,, there's a lot of this desaturated look creeping into digital photography along with induced flair.. In my opinion it's being over used..

I can remember in the 1980s when soft focus filters were the go with portrait photography and the infamous Dutch Tilt for fashion photography.

And we all know what eventually happened to those techniques

Dutch tilt is still around. It works on some pictures, but then again some people get carried away with it. You see it more in advertising.

I think to a certain degree, the younger crowd think that "different" is cool. And perhaps the desaturated or vintage look is "different" from the everyday color seen on Flickr, Facebook, etc.

Insert cliche comment here: The more things change...

Sorry Sue, you have NOT become your mother, because you recognize your own thought processes and make a rational decision.

blueM wrote in post #12725797
Sorry Sue, you have NOT become your mother, because you recognize your own thought processes and make a rational decision.

Thanks for that bit o' insight, Prince of Dorkness (your self description, not mine. I'll turn my frown upside down now that you point out that biology ISN'T necessarily destiny... ha ha

I'm actually amazed that young women want to see themselves sitting on railroad tracks looking jaundiced, and guys with $50,000 cars want them photographed in a graffiti smeared alley. I'm pretty sure I'm not hip, however, if that's what they want, their money talks.

Sue, I'm probably, no offense intended, young enough to be your son and I can't stand the 'vintage' look.

To each his or her own I say. I try to remember that, but when someone presses me for their opinion, I'll do my best to not offend.

drew wrote in post #12727933
Sue, I'm probably, no offense intended, young enough to be your son and I can't stand the 'vintage' look.

To each his or her own I say. I try to remember that, but when someone presses me for their opinion, I'll do my best to not offend.

No offense taken, Drew. I embrace every birthday and share the chinese attitude about aging, I am very happy to get older. (Of course, it might be easy for me to say that as I inherited my mother's good genes, but I digress.) I have two 32 year old girls and 22 and 21 year old sons, and they all prefer the vintage look, which baffles me, but whattya gonna do? Art is subjective and fads come and go. Someone here pointed out that fads get recycled every 25 years or so, which I think is accurate. Glad to hear I'm not the only curmudgeon in the group, photographically speaking. You are an old man in a young man's body, or so would say the hipsters...thanks for the comments.

suecassidy wrote in post #12729553
Art is subjective and fads come and go. Someone here pointed out that fads get recycled every 25 years or so, which I think is accurate.

Kinda like Bell bottoms, hip huggers and tie die.

yogestee wrote in post #12724824
Sue,, there's a lot of this desaturated look creeping into digital photography along with induced flair.. In my opinion it's being over used..

I can remember in the 1980s when soft focus filters were the go with portrait photography and the infamous Dutch Tilt for fashion photography.

And we all know what eventually happened to those techniques

I very much agree. It's like people are trying to simulate errors and shortcomings of photography!

Because it is appealing to the eye, we can connect it to something that was before we existed. I don't know but I sure love to reproduce my photos according to older film styles. Then again, I do actually shoot film but I sure wish I would have lived to shoot kodachrome.