Tag: Photography

Are we stuck in the past in photography? Not just you, but we collectively as photographers. We have lots and lots of advances the technology and features of cameras, lenses, lighting, software, and all our other accessories such as lightning triggers, GPS tagging, Wifi capatiblies. But, our photographs look just like they did before. Are we really using the new improved technology?

We have the capability to shoot photographs in extremely low light and high ISO ratings but I see so many photographs shot in low light with long exposures and lower ISO’s to “reduce” noise. Yes, 102,400 ISO can be a bit noisy but think about this for a moment. Remember the grain shoot of films like the Konica Centuria 1600 or Fuji 1600 film? Loads of grain. I know I know. I’ve heard it all before but, but the grain of film has a different look than digital noise. My opinion, so what!

Here is another thing a few years ago there were a variety of styles of photography that were big. HDR, Orton, soft focus, double exposures, selective color, etc. Now, we have shallow depth of field. I love sites like 500px where you can find a lot of very good photography but a quick look of “popular photographs” the styles are all very similar. We may see the occasional black and white but the basic styles are all the same across all the genres.

I’m starting to think maybe I just start to stand out and dare to be different. I may not appeal to everyone, I may not become famous or popular but I can be unique and different.

My greatest photographic challenge is to create something meaningful. When I first transitioned to digital photography I could snap off hundreds of photographs, most of which were pure garbage. A lot of that was a learning experience. What works, what doesn’t work. Nowadays, I can take a camera out, walk about and not take a single, or very few photographs. Once I get back and take a look at them on the computer screen I’m thoroughly unimpressed. Of course, I am probably my own worst critic. For example, after uploading the feature image above I noticed some stray strings ( or as a friend would say, ropes and one was a repelling rope). I admit it, I’m often a pixel peeper. There, I said it. Hi, my name is Clay and I’m a pixel peeper.

Why is this my greatest challenge? I figure if my photograph doesn’t create something meaningful to me it is not likely to be meaningful to others. The whole purpose of creating photographs and photographic art is to share them with the world. While I don’t ever expect to be regarded as a household name in photography I don’t want to be a Vivian Maier either. I also understand that my photographs may not be everyone’s “cup of tea”.

When I did the photographic session where the featured photo was taken my intent was to photograph the dancer in locations where you typically wouldn’t think to find her. After this session, I photographed a model in an elegant evening gown in various locations such as an alleyway and fire escapes. To me, it was meaningful. The sessions were meant to get me and the viewers to look for the extraordinary in ordinary or unusual locations. This is what we want to do, at least in my mind. We photograph the ordinary and make it meaningful.

Digital photography has been available to the consumer market for over 30 years, however, I still see the debate of film photography versus digital photography. I listened to a podcast just yesterday and the podcaster talked about digital as if it isn’t really photography. I really don’t get it. Why, after 30 plus years are still having this discussion? Does it really matter that much? To me, I don’t care. Shoot the medium you like but don’t try to make your choice better than that of others. Is it that these photographers feel so threatened by newer technology? Is it that they don’t believe that those who shoot digital have “paid their dues”? I do miss some things about film photography, but there are a lot of things I don’t miss.

I’m all for keeping the old film techniques and processes alive. I enjoy seeing photographs using methods from long ago. I applaud those that can still do photographs using those methods but I also like seeing photographs made with digital cameras and edited using computer software. To me, the medium used doesn’t matter as long as the resulting image captures my attention. In fact, I love the older technology so much that I collect a number of old cameras. The oldest one I have currently is a No. 3 folding Hawkeye which is about 115 years old, but I prefer to shoot digital.

Let the debate die and enjoy photography for photography’s sake. Let’s create art and use whatever medium we want to use without making one better than the other.

The two greatest advances in photography since its discovery are Kodak Brownie and digital photography. Why these two?

The Kodak Brownie

The Kodak Brownie was introduced by Eastman Kodak company in 1900. The camera sold for $1 in 1900, While $1 was still expensive (the average salary in 1900 was just over $8 per week) it brought the ability of photography to the masses. The Kodak Brownie allowed the common people a chance to photograph their families, events, and the world around them. 150,000 Kodak Brownie cameras were shipped the first year. The Kodak Brownie existed in various models from 1900 through 1986 with millions of units sold.

Digital Photography

Digital photography is my next choice for the greatest advancement in photography. Digital photography had early beginnings starting in 1957. The CCD image sensor was invented in 1969. The first self-contained digital camera was invented in 1975. These were typically not available to consumers. The first digital camera available to the consumer appeared in 1990. What makes the invention of digital photography so great is that it led us to where we are today with digital cameras built into our cellphones and modern digital cameras. The invention of digital photographic technology is as big an advancement as the original Brownie cameras. Just think about it, there are over 1.8 billion (1,800,000,000) photographs uploaded to the internet every day! That is just uploaded! We are the most photographed era ever.

Why is this important

These two advances are truly important to us as modern photographic artists for a number of reasons. The single most important reason, to me, is that they brought photography to the common people. Many of us may not have been able to create the art and images we do today had these advances not happened. Photography is available to most of us in our pocket. We can instantly create. Let’s create something beautiful today.

It seems that for many people photographs never get printed but rather they depend on electronic devices to keep their photographs. This may not apply to many of us who do fine art style photography. I have many prints of photographs I’ve taken hanging as wall art. I also have prints of grandchildren and family members. It seems that the most common way people display their photographs today is via their smartphones.

A case in point, several years ago when I was still working on setting up a photography business I was approached by a potential client who wanted a price on photographing her wedding. She stated she didn’t want any prints only digital files. I turned down the job for two reasons, I believe a life event is too important for just a digital file and she was searching for prices I would not work for.

I have tens of thousands of photographs, the vast majority will never become a print, but I also have photographs I print and do change out my wall art with photographs, along with updated photographs of my family.

If you haven’t printed any of your photographs, consider doing so.