24/7 Photography

To say that digital has changed photography is a vast understatement. What’s happened to the photography industry has been nothing short of revolutionary. Computer hardware companies like Hewlett Packard and Epson, software companies like Adobe and consumer electronics giants such as Panasonic, Sony and Samsung have planted their flags firmly on the turf that was once the exclusive playground of a handful of photography specialists like Canon, Fuji, Kodak, Leica, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax. The field is much more crowded than it used to be – and more competitive. For photography hobbyists, digital has had a major impact too. Digital means that we can pursue our interest in photography to the ends of the earth, thanks to computers and the Internet. It also means that anyone can now have a 24/7 relationship with photography. This relationship can happen on many levels, but three main ones stand out: buying, learning and sharing. In Canada, mail order has been a perennially popular way to get new photo gear. The Internet has allowed us to comparison-shop ‘til we drop on a global scale. For example, several weeks ago, I tried out a relatively obscure piece of photo processing software from a Japanese software developer. I liked it so much that after the trial period I went to its website late one evening and purchased the full version for 16,000 Yen. The software key arrived by email in less than a minute, and I just got my charge card bill, which shows the converted cost in Canadian dollars of $162. But the global 24-hour shopping centre works both ways: Canadian retailers can also tap into markets beyond their physical locations. For example, when you visit the Henry’s (a large photo retailer based in Toronto) site, the first decision you make on the splash screen is whether to shop in Canadian or US dollars. In terms of learning, as many of you already know, there are countless sites devoted to photography, and most include some sort of educational component, be it a basic tutorial on image editing, a description of a photographic technique or an equipment orientation. Much of this is free, accessible any time and served right to your home office, easy chair or wherever you compute. Caveat emptor of course, as a lot of information out there is bogus or incomplete, but on sites that have established credibility, what you can learn for no cost is astonishing. And on some sites, for a nominal membership fee, you can get access to some serious tutorials. Some sites will also list sessions happening in the real world, such as photo safaris with well-known professionals. Before the Internet, these might have been advertised just locally or regionally, or in one or two select photography magazines, but now any photographer with an Internet connection can find out about them. Anyone who remembers the ‘80s might recall those little “learn to be a photographer” correspondence course ads that sometimes appeared in magazines. How quaint from today’s perspective. Flickr is today’s hot example of the third impact – sharing. But photo sharing sites and the photo communities they created thrived long before Flickr. Like other special-interest online communities, photo-sharing sites allow users to explore a common interest – photography. But within that broad activity, you can take twists and turns to follow whatever topic you want to explore. In Flickr, for example, you have the basic organizing structure called the tag, which is further refined into clusters. So, from your general interest in a topic like architecture, you can drill down into more specific aspects like skylines or the architecture of a specific city, or a photographic theme like reflections from glass-faced office towers. And you can post your own photos for others with an interest in your topic to enjoy. There have never been more people looking at more photos from more photographers. Any photographer can hold an exhibition of his or her work online, and anyone can be a critic. We’ve seen computer technology democratize other endeavours too. When desktop publishing software hit the scene, suddenly anyone with a few hundred dollars had access to the tools of a graphic artist. But it soon became clear that without an understanding of graphic arts principles like design aesthetics and typography, the tools could be used to produce some very ugly brochures. It also followed that more people became informally schooled in those principles, whether they worked in the field or not. Online photography is following a similar path. People can be inspired by the really great images they see online, and they can also develop a critical eye to recognize some of the elements that make a great photo and see the shortcomings in their own work. I know I’m constantly surprised at how many outstanding images I come across during a casual browse through a photo site. And I’m certainly inspired to do better in my own work.