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| Herbert George Ponting – Antarctica 1912 |
If you were a photographer from 100 years ago and dropped in todays world to discover how you take and publish a photograph you’d be blown away. What is really scary is that photography really hadn’t changed that drastically until 20 years ago when Kodak converted a Nikon F3 to use a 1 megapixel digital sensor and on the consumer side 17 years ago when Apple released the QuickTake 100 that could sync photos to your computer. Oh and lets not forget the first camera phone photo being taken only 14 years ago. Before that there were varying degrees of improvement with film development, but by and large it was the same process and it took time.
What blows my mind is that I’ve lived through and experienced this rapid evolution of photography. I might as well have been the photographer from 100 years ago being dropped in this new world of photography. Photography is no longer as difficult to learn, print, publish or share. I grew up flipping through pages of National Geographic and Life in awe of the images and had to wait a month to see the next batch of images from great photographers. Now anyone with a cell phone can take a photo, post it online and in a matter of seconds have a stream of photos ready to be seen at a moments notice. I can take a photo of my son on the way to the grocery store and before I get there have people commenting and sharing a photo of him.
Digital photography has been an incredible game changer, but combined with the latest social media revolution it has amplified its impact. The likes of Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, Google+ and now Apple with their Photostream functionality built into their operating systems makes photography a seamless part of modern life. I know there are several other dinosaurs that read my blog and have witnessed this photography evolution revolution. Take a moment to extract yourself from the gradual changes you’ve become accustomed to and think about being dropped into another time. Is this not amazing? Damn it is great to be a photographer!
I’m one of those dinosaurs. I’m still in awe of the speed at which photogaphy has changed in my lifetime. With the advancements in photography we see in such detail sunrise and sunset from an alien world. I was impressed with the images of the moon taken during the Apollo Missions. They are nothing compared to the detail we see in images of Mars today. I still covet film and it’s process. From loading a roll in my ancient Nikon to hanging it to dry after the final rinse. Although I use digital everyday, film and its process will not go away from my life. To quote a saying I read many years ago, “I love the smell of fixer in the morning”.
Jimbob
I can’t say I agree with your position that “photography really hadn’t changed that drastically until 20 years ago” Jim. Just even looking at the blog picture as an example film photography went through multiple evolution’s ne revolutions over it’s history. What about the film lab with a 2hr development time, heck what about Polaroid Instant Camera? The move from large format to medium format to 35mm, etc? The introduction of auto-focus, etc, etc…
Just my 0.2c…
I use to have a full canon setup, but I felt like something was missing. Despite having a 1DsIII, I simply wasn’t satisfied with my prints. They weren’t as sharp as I would like. On a whim, I decided to try Large Format. 3 years later, I’m now shooting 8×10 as my primary camera, and my digital gear is long gone. My photo friends thought I was nuts at first, but the prints left them speechless. I shoot far fewer shots than I ever did on digital, but I produce much better work than before.
All of this technology certainly makes photography more accessible to the masses, but if makes the decision process too fast. Limitation breeds creativity. When you have to work harder for a shot, the result will likely be better. I can’t “cheat” while shooting transparencies on LF. If the light isn’t right — it’s not right. It’s best to wait for the conditions to be ideal before taking a photo.
Be
John I was looking at this from the perspective of degree of change. I had thought about mentioning Polaroid as a film game changer, but in the end it still didn’t impact my larger point. Digital photo creation in a digital publishing world is far easier and faster than film based photo creation in a non-digital publishing world. No doubt film had evolved from glass plates to instant photography, but in the big picture it wasn’t a huge change as it was merely chemistry improvements.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to line this up as film vs. digital, as in one being better than another… merely the mechanisms and ease of the process/publishing has improved drastically and in a super short timeframe.
Thanks for the comment Jim. I love that quote LOL
Sorry Jim, my intent was not to offend in any way. There are always many ways at looking at the same thing. Something we, as photographers, are acutely aware of 🙂
Agreed Jim, it is an amazing time. Once physical grains, media, and chemical baths turned to pixels and computer chips, I suppose it is only natural that change in photography gear goes right along with changes in technology just like computers. It is just as interesting to ponder how photography hasn’t changed in its most basic form.