Fairness, culture and film!!

Trump – I’m not a fan, and this is not about politics, so don’t click away! I never thought I’d ever agree with anything he ever said – but… with all the recent talk about tariffs got me thinking: Is it really fair that Europe sells $161 Billion worth of stuff to the US MORE than they buy (according to Eurostat data)? It’s even more extreme with China, one entry online quoted it at just over a trillion!! The US makes stuff too – lots of stuff, people are employed in manufacture in the US, just the same as in China or Germany or anywhere else. Should a country be prepared/expected to buy as much as they sell? Should the Deficit be 0? If not, why not?

Then there’s the environmental issue, lets make a car in Germany, ship it halfway around the world to the US, where another brand of car is manufactured that is sent to Germany! Same with many other things. What part of that is sensible from a “green” point of view.

Then there’s what I’ll call the “National Identity” thing. My thought is that if I were to go on holiday to Spain for example, personally the last thing I would want to do is go to a British Pub or shop there, so I could buy Heinz Baked Beans, Marmite or eat Fish and Chips – don’t get me wrong I’m quite happy eating all of the above, but if I’m in Spain I want to try Spanish food, see Spanish culture, hear the Spanish language, see Spanish life. I can eat fish and chips at home!! If the Spanish were to drive Japanese cars, eat McDonalds, drink Danish Beer, and listen to US music, what happens to the Spanish Culture? Of course I say Spanish as an example. Same applies to any country. It strikes me that globalization makes a few very wealthy, everyone else looses, not least culture.

Had I have been Mr Trudeau a couple days back, on the other end of the phone, I would like to think I would have said to Mr Trump “Do you know what, I agree with you! I’ll instruct our border guards to direct their efforts to checking everyone who comes in to Canada much tighter, you do the same, then we’ll be equal. We make beer here, so you keep your beer, we’ll keep ours. We both make cars, seems a waste of resources to move them about thousands of miles, you sell yours to your citizens, we’ll do the same. We both have timber, oil and cereal- same. That way Canada will be more Canadian, and the US will be more US! – Of course if you fancy pancakes with real Maple Syrup, come on over, you’ll be very welcome! If I feel the need for Budweiser I’ll call! Cheers!

But hang on a minute. I live in the UK but use Kodak film, that’s made in the US – is it about to go up (again) by 25%? If so, frankly they can keep it! Will Ilford film sell in the US if it costs 25% more? Germany has Orwo film, will they buy Kodak film? Then of course there is Polaroid – Edwin Land’s great creation, now owned by a Polish billionaire. And what about the Fuji film, that’s manufactured by Kodak and sold in the UK? It all starts to get rather complicated.

The fact is that we do live in an ever increasing interwoven world. As I sit here typing this on a HP computer manufactured in – well, who knows where? It’s quite possibly “made” in multiple countries. Alexa is playing Spotify, in the background, where was she born? I wear clothes made in China, drive a Citroen car, drink Cointreau, own books printed in Italy – on it goes. I am a citizen of planet earth – like it or not. It strikes me that those in power need to wake up – see things as they really are, and grow up. We all need fairness, respect, livelihood’s, culture, art, and of course FP4/Tmax!

PS Hope you enjoyed the images of India! 🙂

…. and what I sat down to write about originally – photo shops!!

I’m trying really hard this year to “use up” rather than buy more, so my photography spend this year may be less. I am however (not entirely unrelated to the above), trying to spread it around a bit, where I can. I’m still looking for good value, but rather than tap on Amazon because it’s easier, I’m looking at photography based businesses. Two main suppliers closed last year (Silverprint and Speedgraphic), this year we’ve lost West Yorkshire Cameras. I’d like to think that my minimal spend may help the specialists a bit! So in the last 6 months I’ve spent money at Bristol Cameras, Intrepid, Analogue Wonderland, West Yorkshire Cameras, Wessex Photo, AG Photo, Wex, HD Chemicals, APC Pure Chemicals, Nik and Trick Photo. I hope they all continue to prosper and serve our photo community.

Next time more pictures less waffle – promise! Cheers Andy.