A Short Documentary About The Film Photography Group In The Era Of Digital Image

This creative research takes the comparison between digital image and traditional film photography as the background,selects the group who still insist on traditional film photography in the era of digital image as the object of research and follow-up photography,and uses case studies,participant observation and in-depth interviews to study and photograph how this group of photographers has experienced changes in the era of rapid development of digital image technology,what confusion they have had about photography art and technology,what thinking they have done,and what artistic concepts they have developed.Through the use of case studies,participant observation and in-depth interviews,we study and photograph how this group of photographers has experienced changes in the era of rapid development of digital imaging technology,what confusion they have had about the art and technology of photography,what kind of thinking they have done,and what kind of artistic concepts they have developed,thus finally choosing to become "retrograde" in the era of digital photography-returning to traditional film photography.Through my research,I found that the emergence and rapid development of digital photography has broken the traditional creative style of silver salt(film)photography.The convenience,"foolishness" and virtual nature of digital photography have brought about the popularization of image production,sharing and dissemination,and the explosion of digital image production,which is beyond the reach of traditional film photography with its specialized and niche existence.But accordingly,the materiality of film photography brings "texture" and "halo" brought by manual operation has an aesthetic value and artistic charm unmatched by digital photography.This is the reason why some professional photographers or amateurs in the era of digital imaging persist in "reversing" the choice of film photography.However,digital technology and the Internet have carried most of the communication and exchange activities of human beings,and the formation and maintenance of film photography groups,the sharing and exchange of photography works,and the collision of artistic ideas are all inseparable from convenient and virtual digital technology.In this era of digital imaging,the film photography community is moving toward digital survival while adhering to tradition.Combining the above research and nearly two years of follow-up shooting,the author completed a30-minute short documentary,"Appearing",as a graduation work.This short documentary follows a film photography group in Shihezi,with Niu Lijiang,Li Hongdong,and Wang Hengyu as the main characters,presenting the changes in technology and concepts,the confusion they face,the choices and pursuits they make,and the value that film photography itself and the "film photography group" bring to them in the era of rapid development of digital imaging technology.The film photography itself and the "film photography group" bring them values and beliefs.Through this documentary,the author hopes to show more viewers the thinking of contemporary film photographers,provide practical experience for similar documentary,and focus on the aesthetic value of film photography in the age of digital imaging.