PHOTOGRAPHY -39

 PHOTOGRAPHY -39

FILM AND AFTER

The two photo giants AGFA and KODAK had lion’s shares of global film market and were keen to establish lead through exhaustuve research and development of refined filmstock, processing schedules to ensure fidelity of colours and greater latitude in performance. So, they concentrated on poto chemistry and processing equipment keenly regulated bu sensors and timers to work as automated systems for handling ‘their’ brand of films. Slowly the steps of film process and sessions of printing were handled by machines capable of servicing 30 roll films at a time and all the negatives could be printed in the next 3- 4 hours. Still, a trained technician was required to set ‘filter corrections’ for independent frames on the negatives. Yet, it was a neatly executed job – free of physical abrasions and finger prints , as the stretch of sensitive materials were transported by plastic transport wheels inert to chemical corrosion and could be periodically auto-cleaned during non–work days. The automation of photo making brought down the agony of waiting to a few hours from a strenuous fortnight plus.    The cost per print [PC] Ccame down to Rs 3/- from Rs 5/ - . Since the processing stations sprang up in Madras [not Chennai then], agencies in Madurai opened collection points for D&P [Developing/ Printing] at no extra cost ; they entered tie-ups with select laboratories who would collect material by 6.00 AM at bus terminus and complete all work by evening and retiurn the finished products to the same bus service who would deliver items on day 3 . This helped consumers to enjoy better prints at reasonable cost and promoted the taste among amateur photoenthusiasts. Madureai was not far behind in the sense already M/S Athavan studios were making colour prints manually and made quick name and money through rapid delivery of negatives and prints. They too launched their Automated facility ‘GRETAG’ from Italy with prominent wall writings all over Madurai stating

 “வந்து விட்டது இத்தாலி கம்ப்யூட்டர் உங்களின் வண்ணப்பட தேவைகளை உடனுக்குடன் நிறைவு செய்ய -ஆதவன் கலர் லேப்             கூடல் அழகர் பெருமாள் கோயில் சமீபம் மதுரை -1  A number of MNCs entered the fray with auto processing/ prnting machines , offering a variety of concessions like travel to SriLanka or Singapore to inspect and select brands/ equipment  of their choice ; besides they opened up special facilities of financing on easy terms so that more than three stakeholders stood the benefit; these included the machine marketing firm, makers of photo materials compatible to such machine, besides an assured supply chain of raw materials like printing paper and chemicals to process films and photoprints along with a commitment on technology updating –as when the parent company brought forth reforms in equipment or recommended modifications to process steps / chemicals.

Readers may recall how by 1984 and after India wirtnessed a new boom in photoshops handling amateur requirements in colour photography. That also  led to a glut in large scale involvement of amateurs in making colour photos ; earlier the effort involved sending films to overseas stations , making it less attractive also due to expenses of paying an out station processing point At times foreign exchange restrictions resulted in shelving an effort for a considerable time . Most texchnicians who have had training in photo printing reorganized themselves to handle the more sophisticated operations in making colour prints. Together all of them brought off a new drive among the then youth to take to colour photography. Necessarily, technology updating became a mandatory requirement for progress and survival

More to follow. 

K.RAMAN