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SINGAPORE: "Digital is cheapening photography." I hear it all the time from older photographers, and some younger ones even.
"Look, now even PR (public relations) folks can take photos themselves," one veteran photographer said, pointing to a PR guy using an entry-level DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera taking photos of the event we, the press photographers, were covering.
"Sooner or later, we will all be out of a job," he continued.
I just smiled and got on with my job.
I'm certainly not going to rebuff the opinions of these veterans, whose photojournalistic careers span longer than I have lived so far. But I have my reservations.
I can see that digital has undeniably made photography more accessible to the masses by lowering the costs of photography. During the film days, it took tons of rolls of processed film (and money, in other words) to know your mistakes before you could correct them through trial and error. These days, you get instant feedback from the LCD screen on the back of the camera after you release the shutter, and you immediately change your settings to get your shots right.
But does this convenience translate into photography becoming a no-brainer, a lost art, or a vanishing trade?
I was wondering about the relevance of being a professional photographer myself for some time. I was even thinking of turning my back on photography! However, those thoughts dissipated last year while interviewing award-winning photojournalist John Stanmeyer, co-founder of the premium photojournalism agency, VII.
After I posted that digital photography question to John, I received something almost to the degree of a tirade from him. I couldn't remember much of what he said but I could remember that he was trying very hard not to strangle me!
I couldn't bear to go back to the audio recording (or tirade) again but what I did remember him saying was: "Why all the pessimism? The tools we have today make photography more exciting than ever before!"
For someone who has witnessed the best and worst of the human condition through his lenses, any "belittling" of photography is probably bewildering.
At that point, I realised the fault doesn't fall on digitalisation or the tools; it falls on the human wielding the tools.
The tools of photography will change and evolve. Thus, the human wielding the tools must also adapt accordingly. Sticking to nostalgia is counter-intuitive and self-defeating. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, why not look for ways and means to experiment, innovate and be more creative? Your new technique might not work, it might even be subjected to ridicule or comments like being "too arty-farty", but those who never make mistakes are those who never try.
Yes, it's certainly hard to make a living out of photography now than ever before, but you just have to keep on trying. To quit, like 7-time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong said: "Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever."
As I walked to my car after John's interview, I asked myself: "Do I want to quit?" Well, I think you already know the answer. - TODAY/fa
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