The Beginning or End of Photography

[Shadowman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VFq7IZyui8

[FootLoose]

Photography is booming. Everyone is out there in the street taking photos everyday, even if it is only of themselves. Which direction the technology will take is probably a better question. I am occasionally stopped by people with camera phones or tiny little compacts and asked about the quality of the pictures produced by my dslr. They mostly say the same thing: their photos look good on their little lcd screens but when they try to blow them up on their computers they are blurry.

So, some people, at least, want something better than phone pictures. Sony have recognised this and produced a lens that can be attached to the phone to take better pictures. Maybe this is one way of weening people who are interested in photography off the phones and onto decent cameras. Who knows. The path from compact to dslr is already there via the bridge cameras.

The snap-shooters will always be there, and people who appreciate quality photography will be too.

[Colin Southern]

Photography is we know it is a journey, not a destination. No-doubt the vehicles we use on that journey will change over the years but, just like our cars, they're probably not going to stray too far from their fundamental form.

The more some things change in some ways, the more they stay the same in others -- and I think photography is one of those things.

[rpcrowe]

I am old enough to remember the introduction of television to the public. Nay-sayers would forecast that television would be the death of the commercial motion picture

[NorthernFocus]

...The snap-shooters will always be there, and people who appreciate quality photography will be too.

Exactly.

[Colin Southern]

I am old enough to remember the introduction of television to the public. Nay-sayers would forecast that television would be the death of the commercial motion picture

I think it was the death of something else; "our ability to entertain ourselves"

[tbob]

I don't think so. Everyone prepares food, usually more than three times a day. There are still only a few brilliant chefs. I am sure the good cooks are not bemoaning and worrying about someone making their own toasted cheese sandwich for lunch.

[Colin Southern]

I don't think so. Everyone prepares food, usually more than three times a day. There are still only a few brilliant chefs. I am sure the good cooks are not bemoaning and worrying about someone making their own toasted cheese sandwich for lunch.

That's a darn good analogy Trevor!

Ironically, those chefs write books and like using "learn to cook like a pro" (that the equivalent in the photographic industry has been done to death)

[jcuknz]

They mostly say the same thing: their photos look good on their little lcd screens but when they try to blow them up on their computers they are blurry. .

From my experience when I first got a cellphone I know that editing can make the difference so if anybody said that to me my reply would be that they are hopping along on one leg and will only start to walk or run when they couple the camera to a good and proper editing programme ... and have spent time learning how to use it. But people seem to want instant gratification.
But of course I have a film background and well know the difference betwen contacts and enlargements LOL. Life was very restricted in those pre-digital days.

[dabhand]

I don't think so. Everyone prepares food, usually more than three times a day. There are still only a few brilliant chefs. I am sure the good cooks are not bemoaning and worrying about someone making their own toasted cheese sandwich for lunch.

The other night Michel Roux Jnr (michelin star chef) was on the TV and he said that quite often all he fancies after a hard days work is something like scrambled egg on toast - perhaps even hardened professionals accept they need to relax a little.

[Colin Southern]

The other night Michel Roux Jnr (michelin star chef) was on the TV and he said that quite often all he fancies after a hard days work is something like scrambled egg on toast - perhaps even hardened professionals accept they need to relax a little.

I'll never win a Michelin star for my cooking - nor one for my photography, but the photos and videos most dear to me are the ones shot on my iPhone. They're not the "best" but they captured the moment at the time, and they're always with me.

[chauncey]

Electronic memory in that I-Phone has replaced that shoebox on the closet shelf, making those images more accessible to show and boast to colleagues. They probably serve a purpose for the neophyte photographer in the composition learning phase and/or the personal memory collector.
For me, I'm old enough to realize that those shoebox memories hold no lasting value, besides that of a personal nature. How many of us remember going through our parent's home after they passed on...a quick cleaning job turned into a much longer experience as we reminisced of times past from those dog-eared yellow images.

As a photographer, I abhor those devises...as a memory collector, they're a godsend.

[Shadowman]

I don't think so. Everyone prepares food, usually more than three times a day. There are still only a few brilliant chefs. I am sure the good cooks are not bemoaning and worrying about someone making their own toasted cheese sandwich for lunch.

However, business does drop when the economy suffers, but yes the biggest threat to a chef is another chef.

[NorthernFocus]

Nowadays you don't have to go to dinner at someone's house to be subjected to a boring slideshow of bad photographs. They can pull it out of their pocket and trap you right there on the spot....

Cellphones are replacing the point and shoot camera. The technology of DSLRs will surely change, but they aren't going anywhere. But the future looks dim for the camera companies that have been making most of their money from the point and shoot market.

[Shadowman]

Nowadays you don't have to go to dinner at someone's house to be subjected to a boring slideshow of bad photographs. They can pull it out of their pocket and trap you right there on the spot....

Cellphones are replacing the point and shoot camera. The technology of DSLRs will surely change, but they aren't going anywhere. But the future looks dim for the camera companies that have been making most of their money from the point and shoot market.

Some camera manufacturers (P & S and DSLR) have already stepped up to the challenge facing the P & S market with the offering of bridge and micro 4/3rds systems. Each of the systems (cellphones, P & S, etc.) offered have a market and the manufacturers will have to consider lowering costs or offering more features, or offering features that current users are willing to pay for.

[Colin Southern]

How many of us remember going through our parent's home after they passed on...a quick cleaning job turned into a much longer experience as we reminisced of times past from those dog-eared yellow images.

As a photographer, I abhor those devises...as a memory collector, they're a godsend.

Went through this process after Mum's passing last year, so I can relate to this well. For me, technology provided a perfect blend; I've got several iPhone videos of Mum at the rest home before she died & from around her house that she not long moved out of, and on the wall I've got a large canvas of the house I grew up in - shot on a DSLR. I didn't inherit Mum & Dad's photo albums, so whilst up there last time I setup a DSLR on a tripod and using a couple of studio heads I'd brought with me I photographed their photos (some 1200 off memory) and with a touch of irony, can now produce copies better than the originals (thanks Photoshop).

Another interesting observation was that their photo collection contained photos from a mix of technologies; all of the snaps from the older technology was - frankly - poor reproduction quality, whereas all of the professionally produced shots remained in almost perfect condition (it was a real treat to copy).

[dabhand]

Some camera manufacturers (P & S and DSLR) have already stepped up to the challenge facing the P & S market with the offering of bridge and micro 4/3rds systems. Each of the systems (cellphones, P & S, etc.) offered have a market and the manufacturers will have to consider lowering costs or offering more features, or offering features that current users are willing to pay for.

Examples of that John are Sony and Panasonic who have both introduced P & S cameras with both forward and back facing displays - the forward facing ones to facilitate 'selfies' !!!!!

steve

[Shadowman]

Examples of that John are Sony and Panasonic who have both introduced P & S cameras with both forward and back facing displays - the forward facing ones to facilitate 'selfies' !!!!!

steve

Steve,

Another upgrade is RAW format availability for P & S and the cost for the function is inexpensive.

[Colin Southern]

Examples of that John are Sony and Panasonic who have both introduced P & S cameras with both forward and back facing displays - the forward facing ones to facilitate 'selfies' !!!!!

steve

With the way the younger generation is today it wouldn't at all surprise me if the rear-facing camera had the higher resolution!

[jcuknz]

Examples of that John are Sony and Panasonic who have both introduced P & S cameras with both forward and back facing displays - the forward facing ones to facilitate 'selfies' !!!!!

steve

What do you mean introduced? LOL My second 'good camera' by Nikon [ announced May'02 ]has a full articulated LCD and still in excellent working condition and it was some years later that Panasonic matched it.
I remember using it to take a passport photo of myself.