Saturday, November 28, 2009

Dust

The other day I was in the college I used to work in and sitting on a shelf I saw an Angineux 12 - 120 zoom lens.  I immediately recognized it as the zoom lens Gerrit, my father used on Amuigh Faoin Speir.  It was clean and had been used recently as far as I could tell.  It got me thinking.  There are so many things now that seem redundant due to technology that sit on shelves gathering dust.  I think that this is sad.  I have spent the last couple of months gathering all this old technology so that it has a home.  Besides I'm sure there will come a time when I will need it.  Just because it's old doesn't mean it's obsolete.  You hear that film is no longer in use, but most times when I work I seem to shoot film.  The other day I sat in my fathers old studio looking at cans and cans of film wondering what I would do with it all.  It's been gathering dust for 15 years since he died and it's time the cans were opened, looked at, cleaned and cataloged.  I spent many years working with him.  I also spent many years working with film.  I like film, it's great to shoot and if you spend time with it the results are fantastic.  I wonder where all this data we shoot nowadays will be - whether the drives will spin up and whether all work will be intact.  I wonder whether in 50 years from now my son will be sitting in my studio looking at my work wondering what to do with it?

2 comments:

  1. Hi Finn

    I'm based in the UK and sitting at work this morning I was listening to Galway Bay FM online as they spoke to your fathers old colleague Éamon de Buitléar as he is due to head out west soon to do a talk.

    I was reminded of the wonderful work that both he and your father did over the years in awakening young and old Irish people to the bountiful wonders that mother nature left on our doorstep.

    Locked into my memories of youth are those wonderful cartoons sketchd by your dad to accompany To the Waters and the Wild. They were delightful.

    I was sorry to read of your father's passing, I'm getting to an age now where many of the formative charecters of my youth are sadly passing. But I hope you have managed to work your way through the Cans of Film that your father left behind and that they brought you some happy memories..

    Regards
    Ronan

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  2. Hi Ronan,

    I'm afraid I only saw this comment now as I didn't have it set up to inform me of comments.

    Thanks very much for your kind words. I am starting to look at all the film now having moved it to a better environment.

    Untold treasures are appearing with a lot of happy memories attached.

    Someday I hope to do something with all of the material.

    Regards,

    Finn

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