Monday, June 4, 2018

Why I am starting to dislike Photography

I have been photographing for most of my life.  It is a passion that started in my teen years and I have pursued it my entire life.  Recently I am feeling disconnected from the passion that has burned inside of me for photography.  Technology is the blame for much of the frustrating I am feeling towards the medium.  With the advancement of computers and related technologies it is becoming apparent that we no longer  have full control over our lives anymore.  We are forced to let the monster of technology dictate our lives.  I have fears that this is just the start of this self imposed restricted life we have created.  The advancement of AI is just around the corner and we will forced into living habits that rob us of our individual freedoms .  As we race to embrace these new technologies we willingly give up our freedoms.  Soon we will be in driverless cars forced to do as the programed car wishes and not what we desire.  To a generation born into this technology they will not question the new forced restrictions imposed on their lives.  It is the only world they have ever know and any new change in regulating their lives will not be questioned.  I rarely use a cellphone, and when I travel I have no fears of being without a way to communicate.  It was the way I have lived most of my life before this technology and I have no feeling of anxiety of being out in the world without a cellphone.  Today most people can't live five minutes without their phones and think of it as a birth right.  I believe that most of the young people that were born with this technology were to have it suddenly removed would go through a horrible withdrawal period equal to a powerful drug.  So why am I so down on technology that I have embraced for the past couple of decades?  Well when it comes to photography it has diminished what a photographer is and the work they produce.  As the internet grows and becomes more noisy, so fades the recognized talents of a skilled photographer.  My past enjoyment of viewing original prints of a talented photographer was that I can see some of the person in their work, much like viewing works of a great painter.  Now as viewers of photography we focus more on the technique and software applied than the skill and eye of the photographer.  Social media is a demon that sucks the creative life out of most aspiring photographers.  It is an unnatural environment where superficial highs and lows are created by complete strangers with likes and dislikes.  To an inspiring artist there is little value investing in these sites and quickly become a giant waste of time.  Viewing the "Fine Print" in a gallery setting sadly is becoming a thing of the past.  We now quickly become saturated with countless images online all gussied up to catch our eye.  Sunsets that are too brilliant, waterfalls too beautiful, colorful landscapes too surreal to be believed.  Images today are more about viewing the technology that was used to create the images than the photographer and the subject photographed.  I can remember viewing images created by some of the early masters of black and white photography and how I was captivated by an image and felt an emotional response to the image.  Many of these photographers had a lasting impression on my life.  It is doubtful if my first exposure to these works were on a computer monitor that they would have as much of an impact in my life.  Time passes and things change and what I value is personal to me and has little influence on others.  Yet I feel a certain sadness for those coming behind me because of the loss of freedom in live their lives. To be truly your own person without being tethered to the power of technology I fear is no longer possible.  I will continue to photograph and in doing so I will be true to myself and not be overwhelmed by presence of the technology that controls so much of todays medium of photography.

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