It's digital? It's become a low priced commodity? Technology has lowered all barriers to entry? Cameras become obsolete in little over two years? Seemingly every gadget will have a camera built in? Film is dead? Photography is no longer about the image; it's now all about post processing? It's all about the gear?
To one degree or another all these things are true but added up there is nothing wrong with photography. Photography is digital, explosive, and requires new skills but in the end, it is all about the image, the body of work, and the story. You can use film or pixels; any camera you learn how use, any lens you intuitively understand. Passion for your subject helps a great deal because the road is bumpy and passion always trumps mild interest. But passion doesn't just wake up one day and speak to you, it comes after taking different paths, experiencing failure and success. All of this takes work. Work means shooting, shooting, shooting. Finding personal projects that interest you, building skills and perspective.
And guess what, digital photography makes this road so much easier today than a few years ago. In the days of film, what was the barrier to shooting, shooting, shooting? Pure and simply cost. When I was in college, I couldn't afford film so I had to buy with friends bulk rolls of black and white. Today, I can buy a camera and shoot to my heart's with little or no expense compared to film and processing. Sure there's a digital learning curve but nothing like the film days.
So what's wrong with photography today? Nothing, in fact there are more great photographers than any past era, more great photography, more opportunity, better equipment affordable to most everyone. World news is being captured everyday by cell phones, and yes that has a consequence but it's a fact of life in a rapidly changing world.
I love photography for the stories it can tell, the ease of capture, and the ability to impact the viewer.
For me everything is right with photography, the only barrier is yourself.
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