A few days ago I was contemplating the difference in experience between photography and video when consuming social media. That was part of a deeper issue though, about how I as a photographer feel about my chosen craft and my own contribution to the art form.
What does it mean to be a photographer these days and does it matter if your work is never finding its way into a physically printed form?
Would really like to hear from other photographers on how "digital consumption" has changed how they feel about their craft.
@ewen An excellent well written article.
Here's a thought, take away profit from the art, then take away the ubiquity of the digital landscape. Do we still create?
Over 10,000 years ago there was a woman who would mark the walls of a cave she shared. A hunt would leave and not return for a couple of days. During this time she daubed the walls with handprints and crude depictions of the life around her. The hunt would return, with much rejoicing, but nobody questioned the marks on the wall.
I started on this path well before I had income. Money is not a driver for being creative, but is a driver for being "productive" :)
I too would sit in the cave and paint, if the rest of the clan were to bring me food!
The *potential* for preserving digital images seems much greater to me than the physical. They can be backed up for example, and are rarely susceptible to mold outbreaks in my garage!
But that assumes we are actively preserving digital content. Which means moving from one storage medium to another over time. Hard drives fail. etc. Which is a big assumption.
But I digress. The article today is more about the emotional element of print, and how we see ourselves as photographers.
Great point, the sum is greater than the parts :)
During the pandemic I developed an online workshop for camera clubs to help them build "eBooks" as a way of curating and thinking in terms of collections instead of individual images. Very rewarding, and very well received by participants.
Do you think zine fatigue is a wider issue, or more of a personal exhaustion with the format?
Thinking about how hard it is for seasoned campaigners like ourselves, and then imagining what it must feel like for less experienced photographers looking for a path forward.
Awwwwwww thanks! The first time I got a story published in a magazine I sent a copy to my high school English teacher, because she worked hard for my passing grade I can tell you :)
@ewen But photography can find a physical form: ‘zines, books, mail art… I’ve done probably 20-30 books or ‘zines, some in unlimited runs and some as single-editions.
People even buy them, which is weird.
It can find physical forms yes. But my work has almost ceased to exist outside of electrons. Hence the need to write an article about how that makes me feel.
Photo Ewen 📷
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