Magnum Photographer Donovan Wylie Goes Digital

Mark Goldstein | PhotographyBLOG | September 30, 2005 | 11 Comments |

Beach Horses Digital is better than the naked eye”, proclaimed celebrated documentary and Magnum photographer Donovan Wylie at a recent demonstration of how he has embraced digital technology. Organised by Hewlett Packard at their central London office, Wylie explained how a recent switch to both digital printing and digital cameras had made him more productive and more profitable than ever before in his 15 year career.

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#1 GARY POGODA

Better late than never.

5:47 pm - Thursday, September 29, 2005

#2 Barbara

I agree, the only surprising thing is how long it took. And I agree with the concept that digital doesn't replace past looks, it adds a rich new look to the ever expanding world of photography. I look forward to seeing more of his work.

6:36 pm - Thursday, September 29, 2005

#3 GARY POGODA

One thing that surprised me was his exuberance over the "flat look"
of small sensor digital cameras. It is sort of like getting excited over
the uniform coloring of microwaved food.

7:47 pm - Thursday, September 29, 2005

#4 Mark Goldstein

Gary, I think it suits Donovan's way of working - he's as interested in the background/surroundings as the main subject itself. He showed street portraits taken in Estonia, in which the background was not as out of focus as most photographers prefer (due to the small sensor of the C-8080). Donovan cited this as being an attractive quality for him, rather than a negative.

8:04 am - Friday, September 30, 2005

#5 Nick

Nice blog.I like this.
Nick
http://www.yahoo.com

10:47 am - Friday, September 30, 2005

#6 GARY POGODA

Mark, thanks for the Donovan Wylie "background" info. My question
is still this. Wasn't he able to achieve the same effect with film, albeit,
not quite as easily?

6:38 pm - Friday, September 30, 2005

#7 Gary Todoroff

I was excited to hear of Magnum professional, Donovan Wylie, using an Olympus C-8080, a camera that could very well define a digital rangefinder renaissance. It's not perfect, but comes close.

I just posted a discussion of the C-8080 in contrast to the current crop of DSLR cameras at the new "Reviews and Guides" section of eBay:

http://reviews.ebay.com/Olympus-C-8080-Rangefinder-Camera-vs-DSLR-Approach_W0QQugidZ10000000000004230

I've worked for years in the "hybrid" mode of film and high-end scanning, while testing the tepid waters of DSLR cameras. The C-8080 was what made the full jump to digital truly exciting and worthwhile. Donovan Wylie's use of the C-8080 confirmed my opinion that pros will find a new world of photo creativity in digital cameras that are not necessarily a DSLR.

8:29 pm - Sunday, October 2, 2005

#8 GARY POGODA

Do you find the C-8080's maximum ISO 400 restrictive, compared to
the ISO 1600 maximum for a moderately priced dSLR, like the Nikon
D50 or D70s, or the Canon Digital Rebel XT?

9:46 pm - Sunday, October 2, 2005

#9 Bill Coulter

I think Donovan has lost the plot. I remember him spending hours perfecting an image in his GCSE photography and I would say that he will never produce the tones using photoshop that he got using Ilford Gallerie. He should remember that the darkroom is only 1/2 the photograph. He got his best photographs by choosing his location. Donovan I hope you remember the Glen Road Gypsies?

11:13 pm - Friday, November 23, 2007

#10 Gary's Parries

Bill, it sounds like you have an inside track on this Donovan situation,
but the 'Glen Road Gypsies' reference went WAY over my head.