iPhone - Thoughts & Images
I recently came across an article on the internet entitled, "In Making Photography Accessible To All, Photography Inadvertently Killed Itself" by Jaron Schneider. I reached out to Mr. Schneider to ask permission to link to his article but got no response. I imagine a Google search will take you to his article.
The subject of this article is intriguing and a phenomenon that I've witnessed on at least one level. I'll paraphrase the article for you…
The article asserts that the photography community at large has been damaged by the accessibility of cameras, namely cell phone cameras. The world is filled with mediocre photography that "passes" for okay. Creative, skilled roles have been devalued. Everyone has become a photographer now. Further evidence of decline is seen by the cessation of time-honored photography publications (American Photo/Popular Photography) and closure of highly-regarded photography schools (Brooks Institute). Camera companies are faltering. Long standing accessory brands are losing ground. Demand for these products is diminishing. In February 2017, Nikon introduced no new products at the CP show (Camera & Photo Imaging Show) in Japan.
Mr. Schneider further proclaims that those who worked so diligently to make photography more accessible to all have only hastened a depression in the industry. Along with this depression in the industry, the role of the professional photographer has been derailed. With the role of the professional photographer in a compromised state, the entire industry suffers resulting in a downturn of high-end equipment sales, institutions of higher learning disappearing and publications ceasing to exist. All of this appears to have created a domino effect, the likes of which we have yet to fully experience.
I can only comment on Mr. Schneider's thoughts by relating my own experiences as a working professional. I exhibited at the juried art shows for twenty-three years. I'm now in a state of semi-retirement. A good number of my twenty-three years offering fine art photography were lucrative. It's difficult to put an exact date on when I experienced a significant decline in my sales. What I can say is that while I was experiencing lesser sales, so were the other photographers in this profession. While the cell phone camera may be a contributing factor in this, I personally do not believe that the blame rests solely upon this device.
On the flip-side of all of this professed gloom and doom, I must tell you that I actually enjoy the spontaneity of the cell phone camera. It's fast, easy, nearly always with me and has the ability to produce some pretty good images. In addition, there are many apps that exist to perform basic editing tasks. With all of this said, I present to you my gallery of cell phone images. These images are totally random, not in any particular order and not intended to take the place of my professional images. They're just fun, or should I say phunky and phun!
iPhone Images