The Deep Track, Ep. 108 - Film Photography, and Misunderstanding Nostalgia

This week’s episode is a solo discussion about why we find nostalgia so compelling, and why that might ultimately be holding us back. Sometimes, capturing the look of the past doesn’t quite cut it, and taking the time to find period-correct pieces can reveal the full intent and experience. Film cameras offer a nice analogy for this discussion. 

Show Notes:

The Deep Track Shop

Longines Hydroconquest Review by Devin Pennypacker

Watches of Espionage - Heart of the Beast

Rolex Sea-Dweller 16600

Tudor Heritage Chronograph

Nikon F3

Modern Leica M6

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hello and welcome to the Deep Track Podcast, an exploration of watches, trends, and culture with the few adventures in between. I'm your host, Blake Bettner. As I sit here in the middle of summer, a hot, stormy summer, and it's really that time of year where the releases kind of slow down and dry up, and you're really kind of forced to go out and maybe touch some grass or do something else more interesting, which is uh which is a good thing. And I think it's it's it's a healthy, it's a healthy part of the watch industry. I don't think there should be uh breakneck pace for for new releases and new products and new watches coming out all the time. So I always enjoy this time of year and uh really kind of trying to use it to explore some of my other hobbies, uh, which generally kind of inform uh my experience of watches. And doing that generally kind of offers uh or at least kind of brings some insights into uh kind of the how and why uh I interact with and enjoy watches the way that I do. So I thought I'd talk about that a little bit today. Uh before we get into all of that though, uh first and foremost, uh next week I will be diving on a dive trip down in Florida with the watch brand, around a new uh watch and with some some really interesting people as well. And we'll be doing some writing and some photography and some podcasting around that experience uh over the next few weeks, so you can keep an eye out for that. Uh, and second, you may have noticed if you've been to thedeptrack.com at all recently, there is a new page on the site. There is a shop section that is now live on thedeeptrack.com. And at the moment, it just has one product. And I'd really like for this to be the way uh that readers and listeners can support uh independent watch enthusiast media uh and content really in general. Uh, I really hate the idea of having a bunch of ads all over the content and all over the podcast, or doing partnerships around products or brands that uh um you know that I might feel one way about but am forced to speak another way about. Yeah, it's just really not my style. Uh and and I really don't like the idea of of having all that stuff kind of in and around the kind of content that I want to be creating. And yeah, I've got a lot of content and in even some people that I've that I really enjoy working with that I would really like to uh start creating more of this kind of content. So it's all the more important for me to preserve the experience kind of as it is and really offer another way for really readers and listeners to support uh what I'm trying to do with this thing. To that end, I have opened up a shop and I've created a very small run of hats uh for the shop. They are uh the blue corduroy hats with uh uh with some orange accents and of course the D track logo. So uh if you enjoy this, if you enjoy any of this content, this podcast, and you would like and appreciate that it doesn't uh contain any ads or partnerships or anything like that, uh that is where you can go if you feel like you'd want to support. If not, no big deal. Um, you know, I still appreciate you tuning in and listening to this every now and then and heading over to thedeepdrack.com to read all the content that is published there uh throughout the week. Speaking of which, uh the last review uh that I have live on the site is from Devin Pennypacker, and it is of the Langines Hydra Conquest uh that has uh that was just released earlier this year. Uh very popular watch, really great value proposition. Uh he has a very in-depth uh review of that watch now live. I'll leave a link to that down below uh so you can check that out. I'd very much encourage you to do so. Alright, with that out of the way, uh I guess I can do a quick wrist check here. I'm wearing a Rolex Sea Dweller 16600. Uh, this watch has been getting quite a bit of wrist time this summer. Um if you've listened to previous episodes, I'm sure you've heard plenty about it in previous wrist checks. Uh, I've actually had it on a few different straps recently, and uh, and one of them is is is kind of a hearken back to uh the this picture of Brad Pitt in production of this movie, The Heart of the Beast, and he's wearing a 14060 Dateless Submariner of uh of the same generation as this sea dweller, and he's got it on this great strap with uh this kind of khaki strap with a uh red stripe down the middle, and it's got a compass on there. It's a really cool strap, and he's wearing this you know cool camo shirt and all that kind of stuff. And uh, and I of course have a very similar strap from uh with the people over at Watches of Espionage. So I've been wearing it on that strap. I actually only just this morning uh put it back on. It's a bracelet. For some reason, whenever I put um you know a third-party strap or any kind of different strap on any of the Rolex watches that I have owned or or own, it doesn't last all that long. And I think part of the reason that I enjoy a lot of the Rolex watches that I have come across is because of their great bracelet. It kind of feels like a complete full package with the Oyster bracelet, and I really love the Oyster bracelet and and and this watch. I think it looks great on all kinds of different NATOs, obviously. Uh but uh but it at the end of the day, it you know, it kind of feels like it's it's always missing something when it's not on uh the OEM Oyster bracelet, and I feel the same way about um uh again about pretty much any of the Rolexes that I've ever owned or or come across. I just think they work better this way. Uh that said, when I see a picture like this uh here of you know Brad Pitt in this cool outfit and and on this strap, I you know, I usually stop and say, oh, that's that's really cool looking. Uh I've got all those kind of you know pieces and components laying around. Maybe I'll try and put together a similar look and then I put it on and never think uh I look uh you know quite that cool. I'm no Brad Pitt and and uh that's just fine. I'm not trying to be anything uh like that, but but it's a good way to kind of acknowledge that you know I like this for a certain reason, and you see you see images on Instagram or or pictures like this thing, and you're like, oh, that's really cool. But it makes you have to kind of compromise uh who you are, your your fashion sense, or whatever you kind of feel good and comfortable in to get a look that you think looks cool uh kind of on somebody else, and then realize, oh, that's that's just not me, so you don't feel quite as comfortable in it. I find myself doing that quite a bit, and uh, and I'm you know it's kind of quick to go back to into kind of my own comfort zone, what I feel like works uh with me and my style. Uh I'll leave a link to the uh the article on Washers of Espionage on the watch, and he talks a little bit about uh the the the story that's being told through this movie, which is about uh a real guy and uh and his dog. It's a it's a really cool kind of callback that uh uh that they've got here. So uh so I will leave a link to that down below as well. And that kind of segues into what I wanted to talk about uh in this episode. You know, we could maybe call it the uh the weaponization of nostalgia. And this is something that has kind of gripped um not just the watch space, but a lot of different areas here here over the past decade and a half or so, uh, which is really kind of digging into the past to find designs that you can leverage into new products uh because you know you want to capture an aesthetic. Obviously, this has been a really big thing in in the watch world. We've had a lot of old designs kind of recycled, uh, for better or worse. We've had some some great ones, some not so great ones. It's just kind of been um a trend that the industry has has gone through, you know, and now I think we're seeing it start to kind of transition maybe a little bit more into taking older design cues or you know, design DNA and uh and really kind of reworking it in a modern way so that so that you can see the connection between the two, but it's not a literal reissue of uh of an of a of an old design. It's not it's not like and I feel like it used to be this way early on. It was kind of like literally trying to recreate something to the T. And you know, now I feel like it's it's evolved a little bit into they take it as a starting point and then they work with it into a more modern space, which I think is a healthy thing to do, you know, and and when I look back over the past uh, you know, again, maybe 15 years or so, and I look at a lot of the watches that have come out that that I really like that have been really popular and that I think have been, you know, have sold really well, all that kind of stuff, they've gotten a lot of new people into watches. So it's hard to look back and say, you know, this was a bad thing that happened to the industry. But when I think about the the maybe the 15 or 20 years prior to that, from uh, you know, the the mid-90s and early 2000s, and the trajectory that was there was a lot more experimental in nature, and I think it was we it was you know maybe harder to find watches that that hit a broad audience and that were gonna sell you know huge numbers or anything like that. But at the same time, I think there was a lot more um just kind of pure creativity being expressed by brands and manufacturers. So when I when I think back over the past you know 10 to 15 years, I I sometimes do wonder what you know w what of what did we miss out on if we you know if if that previous trajectory had been maintained uh up to now? Like w what would things look like, what would they be like? And you know, granted, it's not like every single watch brand or has has kind of fallen into this where we're we're doing the vintage stuff kind of thing. Um but uh but it's largely been a lot of the brands that uh that I enjoy and and and like and and it certainly has resulted in a lot of watches that that I really enjoy and like and and have owned. But you know, I I feel like the last maybe five years or so I've kind of honed in on trying to understand the watches that that appeal to me and why. And you know, I find that that has generally kind of leaned into the more kind of modern original designs than anything else. And then if I want to experience something that that is a little bit older or from another era, then I will just take the time and go find a watch from that era to experience it uh as uh as it was meant to be experienced or kind of like in in its full, I guess, context. And uh there's there's there's something else that I've been into a lot lately that has really kind of crystallized this for me. And that has been kind of transitioning from from just kind of shooting uh photography pure digitally into shooting a lot more film. And you know, I think this this kind of trend of making something that looks uh old but in a new body has uh has been there in the camera space as well. When you look at like the the Nikon ZF or or the Fujifilm X100 series, like these are all kind of capturing like a look and feel of of older cameras, of older like film cameras, you know, the ZF in particular, like I own uh a Nikon F3, and uh in that lineage is kind of what is being captured here in the in the ZF, right? And it looks a lot like one of these old uh you know from the 80s and 90s, these f F3s. I think they're great-looking cameras. And uh so you you get to have the experience of shooting with a camera like that from you know from purely um from a purely like skin deep level. Like, yeah, it looks cool, but nothing else about what you're doing with it uh is is um is analogous to what you'd be doing with uh with the F3 or the or the F2 or any of the the good the great cameras kind of in that um in that era from from Nikon. And and that's really the more important part. So, you know, I think if you want to have that kind of experience, I find it generally more gratifying to go back to what it's based on and experience it as it was meant to be uh experienced. And you know, I think with with watches it's it's the exact same. And and I've I've talked a lot about this in the past, and I've written about how cases have evolved and and dimensions and all that kind of stuff. Like there's just there's just sometimes like no capturing the feeling of of a watch from the 80s or the 90s or the 70s in a modern product. And uh, and and that's you know, for for a variety of reasons. I think some some brands have done it very, very well and they get the even the dimensions just right. Um and of course with a watch, it's not like doing anything else. Like like a camera, there's a whole other dimension to what's going on there uh outside of just what it looks like, right? Like how you use it to take photographs is is also this other um, you know, that that's that's the purpose of it. You know, the with the with the watch, it it is, you know, largely does boil down to to the aesthetic of it and how it feels on the wrist, and uh, you know, it'll probably keep time a little bit better or something like that, but you know, you're not like loading film into it or something like that, or or taking a you know, light meter out of your pocket to to make sure that you're uh you you have the correct exposure. You know, there's a lot of other kind of like um uh depth, I think, to to the world of photography and this kind of stuff. But I think it applies equally as well to the watch space. And you know, when I think back about some watches that have come and gone out of my own collection, then I think about watches like the uh like the Tudor Heritage chronograph, they were based on older Tudor chronographs uh references like the uh the the so-called uh Monte Carlo and home plate in particular, those designs were were captured in these uh heritage designs. But everything else about the watch did not uh like it was it was much bigger and much thicker, and it was kind of this this visual approximation, but you know, if you held them both in your hand, it's uh you know, they would they would feel quite different. And you know, it that's that's not the only one like this. Uh you know, I think there's a lot of watches that you're much better off, and maybe that's a bad example because the original, you know, Monte Carlos and stuff are are quite expensive compared to um to the modern uh Heritage Chronographs, which they don't even make anymore, anyways. Um you know, on that note, now that Tudor has the Black Bay Chrono 39, they have the framework in place that they could maybe uh approximate a little bit closer um, you know, the those the original uh the kind of look and feel of those chronographs, and I hope they do. By the way, side note, I have uh uh a Black Bay Chrono 39 uh coming my way, and I will be doing an in-depth review on that uh here in in the next few weeks or so, so keep an eye out for that. Uh watches from watches from the era, I think, are more than just an aesthetic that can be captured and interpreted in a modern way. And I think a lot of brands have have have tried to capture in the popularity of the um of a vintage aesthetic in a way that doesn't do you know kind of pay full respect to the original watch or era itself. Some of them come very close and and they're very good and and uh you know, and I think there's a sharp watch. I've got nothing really against any of these kind of things. But but at the same time, if you if you if you go through the trouble of actually getting one of these, an actual watch of that era that it's based on in your hand, or if you buy one, or if you you you see one at a a shop or or whatever it is, then you know it's it's like it reveals something that's been lost uh a little bit. And then I think it opens up this whole other realm of like, oh, why like I don't have to kind of just live in this kind of cutting-edge modern space. There is this just a wealth of options from from all these other eras that are still out there and and that are maybe easily forgotten because you know they have a a design that maybe didn't age well for a certain era or something like that. But but I think if you find watches that you like, then say they're kind of you know from from the 80s or early 90s or 70s or whatever it is that you that you really connect with, um, yeah, I think it would be worth investing some time into researching the landscape of watches that were also of other watches that were built in that same era because you might find a lot that you will enjoy uh kind of in that realm and that is probably kind of just under the radar for most of the collector community, so you might be able to find things for better prices from brands that you like or whatever it is. You know, this uh this F3, for instance, uh that I that I that I have, almost uh you know perfect condition one. I think I got this thing for less than than a thousand dollars with a lens uh on it. Maybe not a great lens, but it's from an era when they still made a lot of them, so there are a lot of them out there, and it's the same with watches, so you can find them and pick them up when everyone else is kind of clamoring for something like ZF, right? Like the modern kind of you know hip version of the camera that shoots digitally and uh but but still looks like uh like like an F2 or an F3. So you get that vibe kind of that you're looking for, but you're kind of missing the soul underneath it in some ways. And of course, everything that I that I try to do at the Deep Track is to you know generally shine a light on um on some of these kind of pockets and eras and trends from uh from decades ago that I find cool and interesting and compelling in my own way, um, you know, and exciting in my own way, that I think other people should should be exposed to. Uh and they oftentimes represent like really kind of great value plays uh if you're into watches. And let's face it, like watches it's it's it's it's not something that we need anyway. So I think if you're gonna be into it, it's something that you should be into on on your own terms. And you know, just like photography, um, you know, obviously the the the Nikon ZF that I keep referencing is gonna take you know an exceptional picture. It's got this you know big sensor on it and it's gonna capture you know the world around you like perfectly, right? It's uh it's it's almost idiot-proof. And using it, I've got a uh Sony A7R5, and it's the same with that. Like just walking around with it, you can capture things, you can capture the world around you exceedingly accurately with all the megapixels in the w in the world. It almost trivializes everything um that uh that you had to work for with a camera like like the F3. But the process of getting there uh with the F3 is a lot more satisfying, and I think the character of the image that you end up with, depending on what film stock you're using, uh, you know, is is going to be just maybe more more satisfying uh at the at the end of the day. And when you get it right, you know, it's it's like uh you feel like you're a part of the process of it, instead of just kind of uh you know, showing up and standing where you need to stand and and pressing the button. Like you know, i i there's more to it than that when you really get into the weeds with something uh you know like like an F3 or or or there's you know there's tons of great cameras from from that era. I've also got a uh a Canon um you know AE1 program and uh uh Minolta X370 um uh Pentax MX. Uh you know, there there's there's all these great kind of frames that you know these cameras that uh that uh there's plenty of them out there and they can be had some of these for you know a few hundred bucks. Uh you know, a Canon a Canon AE1, you know, that should be, I don't know, maybe two hundred bucks or something like that. And uh, you know, it offers kind of like if you put some put some decent glass on it, and if you understand the film that you're shooting, that's gonna give you like a really rich experience uh around. So it's not like you need uh like M6 or something to to get the most out of film photography. And I think that's kind of like really what I've been appreciating about it. It really kind of forces you to slow down uh a lot and consider things that you maybe don't think twice about when when you have um a digital camera. And you know, with with the Sony um A7R5, I can I can get out and burst you know 100 shots in in an in an afternoon and and not think twice about it, and you know, you get a bunch of moving shots or or or whatever it is. Like you don't have that luxury with uh with when you when you're shooting film, like you really have to be considerate and slow down and think about everything that you are framing and capturing because you're generally limited to 36 exposures, sometimes less than that, and film and uh and the film itself and processing and scanning, all that kind of stuff is um you know time consuming and and relatively expensive, honestly, for for what it is. So when you think about the shot that you want to take, I think all these things are kind of on your on your mind, and you really slow down to to think about how you want to frame it and is the composition worth it, and you know, it's it's uh gratifying in a different way and in a far richer way, in my experience and in my opinion, than to like something like the Sony A7 or V, which is obviously a far superior camera like on paper from a from a from a technical sense. And when when I think about it that way, the difference between these two things, the relationship between these two things, and how much I enjoy the process of you know loading film even and and and making sure that I'm um that I've that I've got the light correct for for the exposure, whatever I'm I'm going for, like that process is a part of the enjoyment, uh to me. You know, it's not like an annoyance or anything, or oh why do I have to do this? It's fulfilling to me creatively, you know, so that so that's kind of why I like doing it. And and with watches, the the the thing that I'm drawn to about them is this kind of soul, or this this mechanical analog kind of soul that I can experience. And you know, when I when I think of like what a what a watch equivalent to something like like the Sony A7 or V might be, uh, you know, I think of like a like a like a spring drive from Grand Seiko, or obviously any kind of full digital watch that can that can tell time exceedingly accurately and perfectly. But you might not think twice about it, like you're using it literally to look down and get the Time and then not thinking about it after that. And I think that the experience of wearing a watch, and if you're going to go through the trouble of wearing a watch at all, which you don't really need to do, if we're being honest, like it should be maybe something more to it than that that that draws you in and captures. And maybe that is the technology in something like a spring drive. I think it's really cool as well. But is it, you know, are you connecting with it on that level that is beyond, well, yeah, I've got it and I'm using it to tell the time. Great, it's a tool. Um no problem. I use my watches like that as well. Uh, but also the reason that I want to wear it is to have this other experience uh uh around it. And you know, when I wind it and set it, and uh, you know, when I look at it on my you know, all this kind of stuff I think is adds to the experience of it as well. So, you know, I think when I when I look at all these watches that are coming out now or the past decade or so, and they they capture the look and feel of and they capture the look of a watch from from you know 1992 or whatever it is, I don't think it's fair to just boil it down to that alone. Like there's something else there. And it's hard to describe unless you really kind of take the time to to experience the watch like kind of as it originally was, like if that is possible. And I think that's worth something, you know, and that that is kind of what keeps us ingrained in this in this space, in this hobby, and uh, and and really kind of makes it more of a personal thing, I think, to uh at least it does to me. And when you put in the work to kind of find something and and find these these little pockets of of great releases or designs that uh that that you enjoy for you know for for how they were built or how they were constructed or how they were sized or um or or whatever it is from another era, then that's worth appreciating. Jumping back to the camera world, I think that it's interesting to note that uh that Leica came back uh that Leica brought the M6 back into production, uh like a a classic version, I don't know what they call it or anything, but it's it's it's really just kind of the same M6 for all intents and purposes that had been made from from you know the eighties and and nineties uh into into production as a as a as a basically new film camera. Which is which is pretty awesome, I think. Like you can you imagine um like if Tudor brought like just put one of those old uh you know Monte Carlo chronographs just into production, exactly like with the same movement, you know, same case and everything, uh, and uh and and called it the exact same thing, yeah. That's that's kind of what this what this is. Uh and I I don't um I have not shot um one of these modern like uh M6s, so I can't speak to it. Um the the M6 that I own is from 1995, I believe, 94, 95, kind of in the mid-90s. Um and uh and it's its own kind of great experience. So if they were able to bring that back and match it kind of exactly in modern form, then boy, I you know, I think that's then that's pretty cool, I think. And and I think Leica has been smart in that they you know all the lenses that they've made for the past like 70 years are you know will work on any of their modern uh like kind of M-mount cameras, which is uh which is awesome. You know, I think they they this it's like a remarkable consistency uh there, and that that I just don't know that that exists in in the watch space. Uh or or if it does, you know, please reach out and let me know. I'd love to to know about it. Um, you know, I feel like it's it's all kind of moved forward in the name of progress and and uh greater accuracy and all these kind of things, but but those little pieces aren't what make up like the whole sum of the experience sometimes. So and the you know, obviously a camera like the M6 is is is perfect proof of of that. So in short, like I'm glad that some of these old old designs are are being honored and celebrated in the way that they are. And you know, it's a good thing if they're bringing in new people into the space and they're allowing them to experience something, um, you know, uh designs like these, that's a ultimately, I think, a good thing. Um, but I think that modern brands should not be solely reliant on doing that. And I think they should have a healthy foundation of like original forward-looking uh designs, and they should be moving forward rather than rather than creating kind of an artificial uh experience around something um that that they had created in the past, especially when that thing is still out there and can be bought and experienced by people uh coming into the space, just kind of as it was. And that's why I don't often why I talk about brands kind of backing themselves into the corners when they purely rely on on reissuing old designs and bringing back old designs, but with a modern movement or or or modern sizing or anything like that. You know, it's it's doing them a disservice because they have nowhere to go from there. And you know, when people, if people find it and they like it, and they will, you know, kind of ultimately discover the originals that are out there, and if they're available, you know, maybe that's the better route or the better option. And you know, there's nothing really to grow. Uh this is nothing that allows the brand to grow from those uh designs. So, you know, so I guess I always prefer kind of seeing you brands take a more original route uh rather than just kind of dredging up things from from their past. Now I think honoring it every now and then is is is totally fine, but if you make that like where, hey, this is all my brand is about, uh then I think that's kind of dangerous uh territory. And I guess it's a thing that I just personally don't find all that uh compelling. And uh and again, I just kind of go back and think about if we had remained on the same trajectory uh uh from from the late 90s and and early 2000s, because there's some crazy stuff, some weird stuff, some not so good stuff, some really cool stuff. Uh, you know, and it was like, well, when when they kind of figured out how to kind of like A, make things more luxurious, and B, kind of do so in the guise of you know, the kind of classic DNA that they had already um established, then it's like okay, that's that's you know, everybody kind of got on board with that and it kind of opened up this this um this hobby to the masses in some ways. So um so you know, overall, I guess I'm not saying it's all a bad thing or anything like that. I guess my whole point is, you know, if if you if you if you find these new vintage designs uh compelling, then maybe pause and go back, find an original example or what it was based on or inspired by, and you might be surprised at what you find, because it might be more affordable than you think, and it might be better uh than uh than you think. So uh I know that's certainly been the case uh in in in my experience largely, and it's something that I uh that I enjoy and put to use in in photography. So I hope that you find that useful and um and for real, if you have other hobbies, I think the same probably applies there. And if you're shooting film out there, let me know what you're shooting, what kind of stocks you're into uh lately. I would love to uh to hear from you uh about this. If you're listening to me and you've been listening to me for any amount of time, you've maybe seen some of my watch photos, and I really don't view myself as that I don't know, is is that great of a watch photographer. I don't really find product photography all that interesting, but I do enjoy a lot of other kinds of photography. And uh when you know when I'm out and about, I usually have a camera on me. Uh but I don't really share um much of that photography uh anywhere else. You know, I don't know, maybe in time I'll get into um a space where I share some of that kind of stuff or uh or or collaborate with some other photographers that I like in the space and uh and we can talk about it a little bit more. But but anyways, let me know what you're shooting out there. I'd love to hear from you, and don't forget I've got uh a hat for sale over on uh thedeeptrack.com. Alright, that'll do it for this week's episode. Thank you so much for tuning in, and until next time, take care.