State of Photography Today
“Out of every ten visitors to my gallery, nine claim to be photographers,” commented the owner of a nationally renowned art photography gallery in Carmel Valley. “None of them want to buy a photograph, they all come to see how the photograph was made, so that they can copy the work with their own digital camera,” she lamented.
It made me think hard about the state of photography today. With the advent of the digital camera, making a technically perfect photograph is within the reach of almost anyone. So why would anyone buy the photographs of another photographer? After a little introspection the answer became obvious. Photography is not only about technique. It is about the message. Photography is a medium by which an artist expresses himself to the broader world, just as a poet expresses herself through her poems. Millions of people know the English language, but how many T.S. Elliots are out there?
Secondly, making a fine print after capturing the photograph is still an art that requires years of training to master. It is true that with digital imaging, the process of making fine prints has become relatively less cumbersome than making prints using traditional darkroom methods like dye transfer or cibachrome printing. But at the same time, digital methods provide much finer controls, making the bar much higher. With finer control at his disposal, the print-maker is expected to make an even more expressive print than its darkroom counterpart. It still takes a very long time to make a print that would withstand the test of time. I put about a year of retouching work altogether on my “Dogwoods in Fog.”
Moreover, with the newer capabilities of the digital medium, many photographers have begun to take a new direction. What photographers are experiencing today is similar to what painters encountered when photography was invented. With the emergence of photographs that could capture landscapes in vivid detail, painters needed a different subject rather than documenting the natural landscape. That led to the birth of abstract painting. Similarly, photographers today are experimenting with various techniques, creating new realities from their imagination, transcending physical reality.
Let me take this opportunity to introduce one world renowned photographer who is pushing the envelope of fine art photography through constant exploration of the new medium. Loretta Lux, formerly a painter, now uses the digital camera and Photoshop like a painter’s canvas to create idealized images of children who are so perfect that they look spooky. But one is able to keep coming back to her photographs to discover the metaphors one layer at a time.
The photograph above is one of mine that belongs to this fantasy genre of photography. It is titled “Homeless,” part of series named “Strange Tales of the Black Bird.” In this series, I explore the environmental destruction of our planet through various metaphors. In 2009, this photograph was selected in the prestigious juried exhibition at the venerable Center of Photographic Art in Carmel Valley.
I wonder if the new trend in digital photography will make traditional landscape photography obsolete. Personally, I do not think so. As long as people respond to blooming dogwoods suffused in a thin veil of mist, or find refuge in colorful hills reflecting light through dark clouds, they will keep the tradition alive. Ultimately, the people are the final judge, not the art critics. Fashions come and go, but beauty is forever.
So, how would one explain the observation by the Carmel gallery owner? I think it has to do with the pricing of the artwork. With fierce competition from local galleries, big art galleries are getting hurt, with their huge overhead cost and astronomical price tags. In these hard economic times, people are trying to save money in every way possible, and art is no exception.
Thanks for reading this. What do you think about this subject? Please let me know your comments.
I think that amateur photography is becoming more of a “showing-off-fancy-equipment” thing for some people—and I don’t mean this offensively. It’s just that sometimes people will take photos just because they have this snazzy new lens for their two billion megapixel camera or something. That’s not what photography is about.
Hi Arup,
Well, first of all, I was astonished that your piece “Dogwoods in Fog” took a year to bring to completion. I am not a photographer, so this in itself teaches me something! Recently while taking pictures with my husband’s small camera on a hiking trip, I learned one thing: that the picture I take never looks like what my eyes see, like what grabbed me. First of all, it doesn’t include the peripheral vision–so maybe the photographer has to do something else to substitute for that (framing? duh!); second, the colors are different. And there is something else missing–the excitement, the emotion. So now I have an inkling of what you are getting at when you work on a photograph for so many months and why it is necessary to do so. It’s to make the photograph say and mean what is in your vision.
Thank you for introducing me to the eerie photographs of Loretta Lux…some of them almost look painted. (I think she writes that some of the backgrounds are, indeed, painted.)
Your blog this time helped me understand a bit more of what photography is about. But I still don’t understand what you are doing in the series “Strange Tales of the Black Bird.”
@Riti,
You are right in a sense. The problem is anyone can take a technically correct photograph without a lesson. But, you need to practice for years to play a piece
of music. This low barrier to entry makes people feel that they are accomplished photographer. But, to create a masterpiece in photography it still takes years of practice and preparation.
@Judy,
The principal reason why the photograph does not evoke the same emotional response as what we encountered originally is due to the additional processing done by our brain. Human brain has the ability to ignore insignificant details and focus on the subject that draws our attention. So, we tend to ignore the clutter in the scene or the drop in color temperature in the shade or darkness. However, the camera is a mechanical device. It would record faithfully and mechanically the original scene. Through years of training the photographer learns to see like a camera. That is the capture part. At the post capture stage, the photographer has to apply techniques to compensate for the enhancements made by our brain to bring back the original emotional response. But, a truly great artist would go one step further and transcend the physical reality to explore a much more universal truth. I am sure, as a poet, you would perfectly understand what I am talking about.
The fact that you could not respond to my “Strange Tales …” series shows that I have more work to do to narrate the story effectively.