Andrew Paul Brooks wrote:
" . . . my question is...... do you think this has happened or is
happening in photographics? The alchemy is gone.... and soon will be
the day when an explanation
of shutter speed or depth of field will be lost at any sort of retail
level."
Humm, I was talking with a friend about such things only the other
day. It seems to me that the mystery has been taken out of photography,
now cameras are so clever/affordable, well-exposed sharp images are
within everyone’s reach. When I first started working in a photography
studio it was all 5/4 film, with an assistant to each photographer who
disappeared into a darkroom now and again, if you were a client visiting
the studio you'd have know idea of the process of creating professional
photographs so photography at that level almost seems like a guarded
profession. But over the years digital backs have become more affordable
and practical, starting with big £20,000 sinar digital sensors, but
slowly it has started to make as much sense to use cameras like
hasselblad’s, and now DSLR’S like the D200. If a client or non
professional now was to visit the very same studios they would more or
less see cameras which can be brought at any high street photography
suppliers, used with computers and software much like they would have in
the office.
I heard much of the same sort of stuff being said when pros other than
news photographers started using 35mm; the high priests of photography
were aghast at the drop in standards, and foresaw imminent Doom.
Meanwhile, the clients were mostly very happy.
(I wasn't around when news photographers started using 35mm instead of
larger formats, but I'll bet the same things were said in those ranks
then, too.)
So thinking about this it seems to me that the bottom end has come
out of the industry, the very basics are achievable by the
non-professional. But as anyone on this forum knows, there is much
more to photography than the basics, the difference between getting it
right and getting a shot looking amazing (making people give up some
time in there images saturated day to look at that photo)are worlds
apart and what makes the difference is years of experience and
dedication or in some lucky cases god given talent. So it seems to me
that to succeed in photography we need to get more creative, each
photographer plough there own path, make images that are so good they
leave folks baffled.
The basics have been achievable by the non-professional practically
since the beginning, of course. And *easily* achievable since the first
Kodak box camera.
It's true that it's less and less possible to have any kind of
professional career based just on the technical knowledge. Professional
photography is changing, and artistry and vision are becoming relatively
more important, technique relatively less important, I think. This can
only be good for the images, however trying for the people caught in the
transition.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, dd-b@xxxxxxxx; http://dd-b.net/dd-b
Pics: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum,
http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info
