Comments on: Has technology ruined and killed ‘real’ photography?

By: Emily

Emily — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:07:01 +0000

Personally i feel that in these last few years.the hobby of photograhy has thrived, i feel no matter what form your taking the photos in..digital, film, slide whatever…peole are enjoying partaking it and if that means the digital age has arrived..allowing people to enjoy their camera. so be it. But there are still photographers out there who love (and refuse to leave) film SLR photography..good for them! Enjoy it whoever u are. :D

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:36:26 +0000

I can definitely say something has changed within the last 5 or 6 years or so. Ever since digital cameras became popular, it’s like people don’t even know how to use a camera anymore. They think they can “fix” ANYTHING on the computer. I see so many questions from people asking “how do I fix a blurry picture on photoshop.” They don’t know how to hold a camera steady, when to use a flash (and when NOT to use a flash)…and it’s like all you ever see now are horrible, pixelated, blurry pictures people post of themselves. Photography is degrading into nothing but “kewl pics” on MySpace and Photobucket. Every emo kid with a cheap point and shoot digital camera thinks he can take a blurry, underexposed picture of himself and call it “photography.” I have definitely noticed a real pattern. I remember my friends taking pictures when I was a kid, even just snapshots, with 35mm film and disposable cameras and they turned out better than the horrible stuff I’ve seen on the internet the past few years. The problem isn’t the technology…the problem is the mentality people have. They depend WAY too much on it. Instead of actually trying to learn about REAL photography, they just take a million horrible snapshots with a cheap point and shoot digital camera and then spend hours on a comptuer trying to fix their bad pictures. And of course, none of them will believe you if you say that you can get a MUCH better picture with a manual 35mm FILM camera that actually gives you more control (manual shutter speed, aperture, focus, etc.)

I’m not old either. “Back in my day…” was just about yesterday. I just turned 30, and up until recently the only cameras I was using was 35mm point and shoot, and digital. I went BACK to film. I always knew something was missing and I needed more control. I got interested in REAL photography when I started using vintage manual film cameras. I also develop my own film and pictures.

By: Julia

Julia — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:05:16 +0000

I agree with the Nicholas. Although I wouldn’t go to the extreme and say that photography is being killed. But, photography as a form isn’t the same anymore. How many people know anything about taking a good picture? Do they see something in front of them and use a camera to make someone see something they same way they do? Can anyone now a days use photography to express themselves? It’s not so much an art anymore, than just a way of documenting your dog’s hairstyles. I’ve wanted to become a photographer for quite a while, someone like Robert Frank. But, it just isn’t the same. People don’t go to photography exhibits. They think, ‘Oh. I can do that. Why is that in a museum?’. But, what they don’t realize is what that person may have been feeling at the time. You can bash me all you want. But, my opinion stands. Photography just has changed, and I don’t think it’s for the better. The age of photographers being appreciated and recognized is dead. It’s not about becoming more accessible, it’s about everyone relying on technology far too much. Once everything becomes automated the skill needed is gone. Viewing a photographer as being skilled and talented is gone. When will we stop being so dependent on technology? When do you start becoming like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World ? And I’m not saying technology is bad, I’m just saying it’s extremely invasive.

And I’m not an old person that’s ranting about ‘back in my day…’. For any of you who are wondering. I’m a teenager.

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:10:35 +0000

I think PhotoShop and Digital Cameras are just the tools used to create even better photography. You still have to have the skill of how to compose the image, get the right lighting etc.
With the prices of good equipment coming down it is opening this art form to more and more people who each have their own unique perspective on things. I think the future of photography has never looked brighter.

By: Damien D.

Damien D. — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:44:07 +0000

I kinda hate when people start saying this sorta thing.

The typewriter/computer/blogging didn’t kill writing…even if the number of wannabe writers exploded.

Just as opening photography to more people won’t destroy photography.

I agree with the other commenter’s points too.

By: Jarett

Jarett — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:48:14 +0000

There were plenty of ways to post-process photos even before there were computers, let along Photoshop. In fact, a lot of the tools and filters in Photoshop are named after darkroom techniques.

By: dwalk51

dwalk51 — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:39:03 +0000

“how to compose a photography”
Whoopsie! Check the bottom of the first paragraph, and go back to grammar school.

By: Ryan Stickney

Ryan Stickney — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:20:05 +0000

Good photography never took expensive equipment, someone can take an amazing photo with a cheap camera. Photoshop, digital cameras and Flikr accounts haven’t killed the art of photography, they just gave us a lot more garbage to sift through.

By: PhilK

PhilK — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 18:10:55 +0000

It’s just like all other art, it’s not dead, but it likely will decrease in popularity (how popular is pointillism this days?). At the same time it’s created new art forms in the photo manipulation area. This picture Gizmodo posted the other days springs to mind.
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/photo-magic/amazing-paintball-office-photo-created-using-planning-photoshop-and-magic-326546.php

Say Dali or Escher was born today, don’t you think he’d love the tricks and illusions you can do with computers and photoshop?