The photokina presented a successful mix of technological and cultural aspects.
On the PHOTOKINA entered on Sunday, the digital imaging showed itself as established. Maybe that’s why the cultural aspect of photography played, especially represented by the Visual Gallery, this year a much greater role than two years ago. The already of the photokina was thus the incomparable mix of technological and cultural aspects. A knife and both worlds.
Visual Gallery with pictures of W. Schels (left) and A. Corbijn, photo: Christian Gapp
When the first photokina was opened in 1950, visitors entered the exhibition halls through an introduction show in which both presentations of photographs and as well as prefailings of films were shown. Travel Years later wrote the initiator of the photokina picture shows, l. Fritz Gruber, the photokina is a manifestation of the "Total phannomas photograph" been. Today, in a time in which long sets fall to the efficiency dictation to the victim, the term for this phenomenon has "Imaging" embarrassed.
At the beginning of the 1980s, the picture shows were set. PHOTOKINA threatened to transform into a pure industrial fair whose industrial products were necessary for the generation of contemporary culture, whose culture products, but at the trade fair itself, acted a marginal place or as advertising. Therefore, it was generally buried very much when the previous photokina was established for the first time the Visual Gallery as a cultural ingredient.
L. Fritz Renate Gruber the presentation of the DR.-Erich-Salomon Prize wants McBride. Photo: Christian Gapp
Digital imaging has established itself
The fair has clearly shown that the quality of digital images is no more controversial topic. In particular in the professional segment, technological maturation is observed. Current topics are the establishment of practical standards for communication of color over the entire process chain from the generation of an image, its transmission, up to the presentation on the Internet and its output as prere.
Measurement calibration and color management are possible with the professional monitors presented at the trade fair. Clearly the LCD has prevailed as a display technology, where the opinion prevailed before two, three years ago, only tube monitors were practicable to be calibrated.
Photo: Christian Gapp
During the presentation of color in the professional monitors has been optimized and becomes, has not changed much at the pointlessness for many years. For example, the manufacturer’s specification for the NEC SpectraView 2180 is 0.27 mm point distance. This corresponds to 94 points per inch (PPI). The often specified measuring groove "dpi" (Dots per inch), who like to carry out the manufacturers of inkjet printers in front of them, leaving increasingly to confusion, because a dot does not necessarily correspond to a pixel. Inkjet printer, for example, put together a pixel of several printing draws, which makes 1440 dpi and more necessary.
But this has nothing to do with the hearing perceptible by the human eye. Its limit is set for normal ones with 6 lines per mm or 150 ppi. In order to communicate such a structure safely, grid should be used with the double resolution, so 300 dpi. (Factor 2 is known as Q-factor from the printing system.) This is exactly the resolution of most thermosublimation printers or from office standard laser printers. However, since the ink jet printers suggest an immensely high resolution of 1440 or 2880 dpi, there is, for example, Olympus with one "only" 316 DPI supplying thermosublimation printers into real statement notes. An unjust situation, where even high-end monitors can provide poorer resolutions, and no technology on the horizon can be visible, which could change in the next few years.
In the consumer area, no end of pixel survivor is expected. Although, in technical experts, amusement of the slope of amateurs were heard to buy expensive 8 megapixel compact cameras, which mainly provide noisy images. Especially since such immensely high pixel number for the mostly chosen output formates pure overkill is. But as with the DPI, a simple multi-actual faith seems to be unprecedented in the kopf. In addition, marketing should not ignore the marketing argument so easy to ignore…
Museae Presentation Current movies at Kodak stand. Photo: Christian Gapp
Classic footage, opposed market, hazardous traditional brands
On the 11. Symposium of the "Society for Imaging and Technology" IsT Don Franz (Photofinishing News, United States) failed that the sale of color negative films and disposable cameras will fall worldwide in the next few years. However, it is expected that the ruckle will only take place mabig, from currently about 2.9 billion. Stuck to about 2 billion. in 2010.
Nevertheless, the traditional brands Agfa and Ilford are in a thread this year. Agfa has spun off his field photography. Although the new management is optimistic, yet the label silver is sold: AgfaPhoto wants to separate from his inviolable Agfa Photo Historama collection, which is previously used as a permanent loan at the Kolner Museum Ludwig. Ilford, leading manufacturer of classic black and humolm materials, has been in England and Germany insolvency. Only the work in Switzerland, in which Ink-Jet papers are established, works profitably.
Images colorful optimism: Agfa trade fair service. Photo: Christian Gapp
On the already mentioned IST Symposium that this time devoted itself to the focus on Mobile Imaging, but it became clear that the mobile phone camera market is not easy to see through. Although more mobile cams are sold worldwide this year as digital cameras. However, it is not clear, for example, whether the camera function is really used by the buyers or if they are simply one of the many unused functions.
Gerald Blessing of T-Mobile saw a serious communication problem for the mobile communications companies to convey the customer’s multiples of mobile phones overpath. A 3 megapixel Handycam supplies enough good images for the usage types to be observed. Since Mobile Images are mainly based on the use on the Internet, but monitors will not deliver higher loosures than today in the foreseeable future, this pixel number is sufficient for both screen views, as well as for 10 x 15 cm standard prints. An optimization of compression methods and improvement of user interfaces that allow the user easier to wallet of their own flood of images is more important than another pixels thrust.
Silent images on a hectic fair (right Photo of Will McBride), Photo: Christian Gapp
Pictures look
The Visual Gallery alone with its 11 solo exhibitions and 5 preamplations of requests, such as the BFF and KODAK junior price, claimed a coarse share of visitor attention. In addition, further exhibitions were found in the exhibition halls, for example from Unicef and pictures of this year.-Erich-Salomon Prize Brauers wants McBride.
In the Visual Gallery, the presentation of the exhibition originated by the Agency VII was particularly expensive "From New York to Baghdad", The above all known photographers like James Nachtwey showed. The visitors had to go through black, confusing-winding corridors, the pictures were only to look at by cut-out rectangular windows. Not only this influenced dramatizing display filed the impression of little inner distance to the medium.
Dramatic presentation of dramatic photos: Christian Gapp
Virtually all pictures were in the Bob-Capa style of the "If your pictures are not good, then you have not been close enough to it" photographed. Scenes of Baghdad Fighting and Close-ups photographed US Marines were described in the caption as almost filmically illustrated. Made to say an understatement decades of media-military interactions.
Even the British military photographer Don McCullin had described how idiotically received the behavior of US Marines in the Hue of 1968. Like John Wayne, she had fallen into the city’s binding ripening and tarns in the city, always a good destination and thus their loss rate is unnotised. In "FULL METAL JACKET" Then the Marines were shown cinematically, the marines drawing in the Iraq war patch before use "with "FULL METAL JACKET" and the pictures of them then deliver the visual templates for future war films.
Photographer photographer: Will McBride, Photo: Christian Gapp
Quasi a cultural completion of the photokina formed the pronounced awarding of the Salomon Prize on the penultimate day of trade fairs to Will McBride. With his photoessay, since the end of the 1950s, he has not only documented the societal sexual departure mood, but also articulated. After his military service remained at the US Army in Germany, his works have always been controversial. The most harmless image of his pregnant woman Barbara called the Federal Preliminary Office on the plan in 1960. Currently it becomes rough format in the exhibition "Pictures and power" shown in the house of history in Bonn. Also his declaration book "show me" Sehren in the opinion of many conservative in the journalistic poison cabinet. In times of Padophiler Paranoia, it was certainly not a publisher anymore.
All the more important that the DGPH with the award ceremony on McBride, which has set the camera aside and works above all most picturesque and sculptural, now reminded of the services of his life’s work.