Peter B.

Peter, I have been musing over that issue for some time now and I have come to the conclusion that trying to answer that question as either or is like trying to cross the Atlantic with one foot still on American ground. Not possible.There is no either or in this equation.

Photography today is undergoing a transformation; what we used to call 'photography' will still be available but there are (and will be in the future) many new dimensions and opportunities for photographers than ever before.

Those photographers who down-played image manipulation in the beginning were therefore slow to embrace the inherent opportunities before them and, at that point, an industry split began to become evident; there were photographers, and then there were graphic artists, and the feeling was - never the twain shall meet. Photographers steadfastly insisted on plying their trade as it had been done for generations before them, citing a kind of purity in the captured image. Graphic artists, meanwhile, took images and manipulated them into all kinds of interesting graphic art forms while photographers grumbled criticisms from the sidelines.

The graphics arts domain, as a result, literally exploded into unlimited new horizons while the photography domain pretty much maintained the status quo, save for those few brave photographers who dared venture into the unknown. Lewis Kemper and Bill Atkinson were two friends of mine who very early on embraced this new domain of digital photography. Bill, as some of you know, was one of APPLE's original engineers.

This same kind of polarized process happened earlier between the 'fine arts' and photography and to this day there are museum-oriented fine arts people who refuse to see the 'art' in photography. It all has to do with how easily and comfortably we adapt to change, or not. More on that later.

Photography itself hasn't changed, only how we do business has changed. We still bring our creative eye to the subject at hand. We still engage in compositional struggles. We still are telling our stories. Our images are still being enjoyed by others. However, now there are more tools available to us. The dark room of old has been replaced by computer desktops and high speed modems which serve to transport our creativity across the web.

But even more than that, traditional photography did not require computer skills and therefore most photographers did not have them. You didn't either, Peter, I remember when you, too, were a two-finger typist! So the prospect of moving oneself into the digital area ALSO meant that one had to become trained in the use of computers - even more so, to become comfortable and confident in that operating space.

It all boils down to how comfortable one is with change. Some of us are more comfortable with change than others. Today, if one has the requisit computer skills AND computer equipment there really is no reason not to dive into the digital arena. For those who have steadfastly avoided computers and who are basically computer illiterates, well, then, the digital domain is probably not for them.

My friends at Massey's Camera Shop in Williamsburg are constantly telling me tales of customers who come in to buy the latest and greatest compact digital camera, but who return quickly wondering how in the @)*$%#@ one gets to see one's images on the TV or on the computer screen! They have absolutely no concept of what is involved in this process. They think that having a digital camera body is all that is needed and, of course, you and I, Peter, know that it is not.

Actually, having the digital camera is just the beginning! A USB-enabled computer is good but a firewire equipped one is even better, just as dual processors are better than single processors in your Mac or PC. You need card readers, photo manipulation software, RAW conversion software if you are going to be shooting high resolution raw files with your digital camera, and you need LOTS of hard drive space. Anymore, you also need a CD-ROM-burner as well as a DVD burner in order to archive your digital files.

If a person has been slow to learn about computers then the digital photography domain is probably not for them, as I said. Or, you could look at it another way; if you haven't learned much about computers than getting into digital photography is a wonderful, fun way to go about such learning! But learn you must, for computers literally rule our world today. If you don't watch out you are going to be forever lost in the shuffle.

In the case of computer novices I would recommend getting an less expensive digital camera and learning the basics with it, i.e., the basics of attaching it to your computer as well as the basics of shooting with the digital body. And the basics of digitally manipulating images. These things go hand in hand.

This is not to say that film is OUT. There is still something nice about the feel of a slide in my hand, and the look of it through a lupe on my light table. And in some ways using a film-based camera is less complicated in terms of the need for all those peripheries and cables and batteries, etc. I think there will always be room for film no matter what happens in the digital arena. Film is just another tool, after all.

As a psychologist, I have found the transformation from film-based photography to digital photography a most interesting and amusing one, as well as a self-reflective one. I have had to struggle with the learning curves myself while I watch others around me hem and haw about change and their distaste for it. While they grumbled I read photoshop books late into the night and I explored all the latest and greatest APPLE G3 and G4 capabilities by purchasing those capabilities and, with Merlot in hand, by doggedly studying all the new digital software applications until I achieved some mastery of them.

I certainly haven't fully mastered them but my dual processor G4 with APPLE LCD flat screen, my Kodak dyesub and Epson inkjet, my LS4000 film scanner and my 300-plus gigabyte hard drive space are helping me make in-roads in that regard. And like most of us in this digital domain, I, too, struggle with the digital workflow although I have my friend, Uwe Steinmuller, and others like him to thank for helping me work these things through, as well.

But that's another story.

 

Uwe Steinmuller produces OutbackPhoto.com

Images are from Dr. Ellen's larger photographic collection of FESTIVAL WILLIAMSBURG, a production of the Virginia Arts Commission.