2005: The Year Photography Changed

It's interesting to me to see how things change. When I was in school we had text books and notebooks. Students today have Macbooks and iPads. We learned penmanship and how to write and diagram sentences. Do they even learn that now? When was the last time anyone had to write a letter by hand...

Good Shooter or Good Editor, You Choose

I know a photographer who shoots with his finger on the shutter, shoots hundreds of images every time he goes out--obviously he's a digital photographer. He says he doesn't know what he wants and needs to have plenty to choose from later to find the shot, so he has to shoot like this. Hundreds of...

Ah, The Difference a Print Makes

The photographic print defines today's photographer. That's it right there. Doesn't matter if you originate on film or a digital sensor, it's the print that defines the photographer. What have you made lately? Show me your work, let's see your photographs? I'd go so far as to say that those making photographic prints are the...

The Film/Digital Difference

The difference between the two is night and day to me, and I am assuming you also can see it. There's a time for each, just like there's a time for watercolor and oil paint. Just like there is a time for takeout food (takeaway for those readers across the pond) and a time to...

The Kind of Photographer, Artisan or Technician

Is there a difference between the photographer who uses film versus the one who uses digital cameras? And I always preface this question with the understanding that there is no right and wrong way with art--neither digital nor film is inherently better than the other, just different ways of working. I was thinking about the...

A Life On Screens

I asked my Father today if he remembered life before television.  He said he did, and it was a world where a lot of people read books and newspapers, played games and got together with friends and a barrel of beer. The reason I asked is because I realize that since the invention of TV,...

Film, Huh, Good God, What is it Good For?

I traveled this month, a road trip from Colorado to California, and if you know me, I pack a variety of cameras.  I don't go anywhere without at least one Leica.  And I brought a Rolleiflex for some portraits, and at the last minute put a 4x5 camera and some film and a changing bag...

The Price of Digital Convenience

Digital convenience, is it really the best thing to have happened to our MUSIC, our PHOTOGRAPHS, our WORDS? Our MOVIES, our NEWS, our POLITICS? Mp3s have significantly lowered the quality of music we listen to (and we've grown to accept it for its convenience), digital cameras makes thousands of images that disappear in old hard...