Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/06/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Just as the change in technology from cuneiform pressed into wet clay, to carved stone, to ink on papyrus, then vellum, then cheap pressed wood-fibre -- and now zapped in an instant as electrons to bluish screens around the world -- popularized writing to the point where today any halfwit can produce what appears (from some distance) to be a worthwhile tome, so photography is transformed by this digital revolution we 2004 Leicaists mournfully witness. There are far more writers today than, say, in 1500 B.C. when alphabetic writing was just catching on and the technology cumbersome. There has been a concomitant increase in the percentage of people who write things others find worthwhile to read. Give a jungle-full of monkeys a shitload of typewriters and they'll eventually write something interesting, even if it ain't Shakespeare, eh?. Making photos seems to be becoming less intimidating, and involves less commitment, in this digital revolution. No film to run out of -- so shoot away! Got a lousy shot you want no one to ever see? Button-press it on the spot, into oblivion. In time, perhaps a greater proportion of ordinary folks will make better photos. But I wonder whether the new technology really makes a big difference that way for those of us who are committed shooters already. We have our habits born in film and I'm not certain that digital's luxuries will prove a boon to us guerrilla baboons. Given that Leica in 1925 played a key role in getting good cameras into the hands of the people, one can only hope -- for the sake of traditional nostalgia, if nothing else -- that Leica sticks around for the digital ride. I still think stone carvers are cool, I only wish there were more of them out there, not just at the graveyard. Emanuel Lowi Montreal ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca