Is Simple Better?

There seems to be a move afoot in photography – a move away from full manual control of camera settings and detailed processing of images using one or more editing tools, all the way to letting the camera handle things with automatic settings and built-in profiles. We just pick the mood we are in that day and shoot away.

Say what? Isn’t that what we spent years overcoming? The shortcomings of that dumb box? The mantra that full control over every pixel from capture to delivery is the only way to enjoy photography. A real photographer only shoots in full manual mode. A photograph ain’t finished until it has been “photoshopped”. Not any more. How did this happen?

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Film Rises Again

Perhaps the most puzzling trend I have seen in photography since I became immersed in it in 2014 is the rising popularity of film photography. The digital revolution essentially killed the still film photography industry in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Storefronts and labs closed, film production ceased, makers like Kodak essentially went out of business. But things have changed bigtime. There have always been the stalwarts that preferentially choose this medium. The puzzle is around young photographers or average non-photographer folk who now select this as their preferred way of presenting their creations. I have some thoughts on why this might be happening.

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