JP
I think your post is great! Has an edge -- but it's very accurate. If you combine this with Tom Hamilton's post (below) you get a real look at what's happened in the industry.
Tom talked about how the delivery of photography as a service has changed. You gave us the blow-by-blow.
The technology shift is also interesting. The photographer when I was coming up (70's) had to know all sorts of things about developers and computing lighting and printing that are not needed today. With E-TTL flash, the lighting computations are taken care of, there is no developing and the printing is now a COMPTUER skill, not a PHOTOGRAPHIC skill.
This shift makes it easier for people to do the photography themselves. Real estate agents with a digital P&S do all their own photography now -- no more contract work for full timers! There is a long list of people that once paid for photography that no longer bother.
And to echo another point Tom made about the shift in how society communicates, what's an acceptable photograph has undergone some change. Back in the 50's images were long exposures and precisely done. Today's editorial looks are very different, some done with non-professional cameras to give a certain "look" and the lack or precision is a virtue. And this allows non-photographers to pick up a camera, do a little shooting, and ... it's OK. Not great but it fills the square.
Thanks JP and Tom for your inspirational posts!
Bob
|