Creative Photography vs Technical Photography

I’m older, I’ve shot a lot of film and then switched to digital and now for fun I’m shooting film again. I have a list of a few digital cameras I’d like to buy, maybe by the end of the year.
In my opinion digital photography is going the way of the old VCR. People were excited at first to record shows. Then they never watched them. In the end it was just used to watch movies.
People today take digital photos, thinking they’ll fix them in Photoshop or Gimp later and they never do. That’s why a lot of camera manufacturers are adding a lot of filter effects in the cameras. So there will be no need for post processing. Because in the long run more time was spend post processing images than actually creating them and that’s not photography.

I think one important component to it is the unknown. What define a time is simply not possible to know beforehand or even during that time. When it comes to technology it is very hard since it has a strong capitalistic part. Meaning one might in your words push the bounderies of a technology only for it to be obsolete in two years time. If so no one of us will ever have a ”reason” to check that work out, it will simple be out of focus. This is a huge and interesting topic, glad you chose to talk about it.

One thing I can comment on is the absurdity of commercialisation in relation to creative expressions. Usually I find my own best work, and the ones I prefer from others, to be very simplistic. In design terms I prefer less rather than more. Personally I see no reason what so ever for all this new technology. But it isn’t realised for me to personally grow my creativity. It is a way for companies to get money to fund new endavours by selling my (their) old technology.

Once again thanks for giving us a platform and encourage us to think and reason. (Edit.) I think my conclusion is first that the discussion is interesting and need to be had. But secondly, and most importantly, it won’t help ones creativity. Learn and perfecr a craft, stick with and just do it. If you find a very specific need and that need is solved by a new piece of technology, by all means get it. If not, just keep on producing art.

Thank you for sharing those thoughts!

Great video, great channel. Loved the Bela Fleck reference. The great respect that I already have for you just doubled after that. Keep up the great content and jam out to some “Big Country!”

Finally a proper “art of photography” episode (at least to me…) appreciate it, Ted. Please do more! We need more brain candy than gear reviews 🙂

I feel that this days photographers are trying to go back and experiment with older cameras and lenses, and the new generation of cameras are being marketed more towards video. Me in particular like to combine Mirrorless cameras with vintage lenses.

Hi Ted, only just caught up on this post and it is a good one on an interesting topic. Towards the end of last year I decided to "clense and refresh my vision" by shooting 35mm B&W and more by accident than design, I ended up with 3 second hand Canon 35mm cameras from different technical phases of the late 20th Century leading up to the digital age. The experience both of using the gear and my output made me stop and think in a similar way to yourself and then question just how much technology I am likely to want or need to buy into in the near future. Whilst the odd lens here or there is likely, switch systems and churning my existing glass collection, nah don't think so, a spangly new camera won't make me a better photographer !

This is also commercially significant for the camera manufacturers should consumers for one reason or another take a similar view, what if Canon's prediction of the market halving from today's volumes proves correct ? The problem is that whilst mirrorless cameras might reduce assembly costs, it comes with a very heavy R&D and tooling investment which can only be recovered by "X" volume of sales… You are right by implication, it is probable that we have technical overkill in the kit we already own if our aims are creative photography.

Mr Forbes another great view of putting across this subject. Only your channel knows how to put photography across to your subscribers. If your in U.K would you come to Our Camera Club in Yorkshire, We can seat around 300-500 photographer's depending on the building we'd use. Mr Martin Parr's talks are a sell outs and folk are pleased to stand if no seats left. Thank You.

Is this the history of photography or the difference between creative and technical photography. Lol jk

Some form of technology is needed, but the best camera doesn't automatically makes the best photos. That's the one holding it! I learned that quite early (in my photo interest) when the cheaper compact 35mm cameras were sold in the 80s. The discussion was vivid, mostly saying that nobody could take a good photo with that cheap one. One day when I opened the magazine someone showed his photos with a compact. No one saw the difference, simply because he knew what he was doing. Also, some of my technically worst photos have been my best. I do struggle a bit, because I still think that basic knowledge of the camera works is needed to get the effect that's wanted. But not every successful photographer care about that at all.

Thinking about technology and art… My composition teacher at uni was fond of vague one liners, one of which was that "the technology informs the aesthetic". As a musician and in other creative pursuits I find myself always being repelled by technologies that tell me what it is that I want to do. Whether it's recording to a tempo grid in protools, perfectly reproducing the sound of a 50s B3 Hammond Organ with a Nord Keyboard, or even autofocus on a DSLR. I'm not a very proficient photographer by any means, but I think there's a point at which something like autofocus functions to teach you that your photograph has to be 'in focus', or 3X3 gridlines on the viewfinder or when cropping in software get between your aesthetic intuition and the final work to in a way subconsciously enforce a rule of thirds. It's not an inherent problem with digital technologies as such, but for me as an artist it's more a problem with any tool that tells me what I want and then gives it to me perfectly.

I am looking for a camera to do video also. I have a 3,000 budget. I have been looking at the a6500 and the a7iii. I am leading to the a6500 with some lenses

Analogy: Dear Leonardo da Vinci, what were the brands of your brushes and canvases? 😊

What a refreshing video, something that talks about photography and gets me (and I hope others) thinking more about what it is I want out of photography.
I left photography about 2 years ago, got sick of seeing other photographers out there showing off gear and sort of making you feel like it is the stuff you have holding you back. I took a whole month of traveling around Wisconsin with my wife and only used my iPhone and found that I was getting the stuff I wanted and the stuff my wife enjoyed seeing and hanging on the walls.
Now 2 years later and I really want to get back into photography, but debate the old habit of going right back into an interchangeable lens camera or just sticking with my iPhone and maybe a really nice point-n-shoot. Think more about what I want to shoot and what my camera needs are.
With you talking about what could be done back in the day with the basics of basic, it does have me wondering if there is really a need for say someone like me (photo hobbyist) to be out spending tons of money to get what I am being told is the quality ever person should be at for their photos. What is wrong with using an iPhone or point-n-shot for your personal pictures, as long as you are happy with the results and those you are sharing with are enjoying them.
So many of the videos I have watched over the past few weeks with the new stuff coming out, it all seems to be pushing more and more into the realm of vlogging and trying to get that market, and it seems that the pure photographer is being left out. It makes someone like me, that wants the best bang for the buck, who is looking for a solid camera that I can have for years, lost and confused. I see a review that shows off this feature that I think would be good for what I shot, but then turn around and bash it because it does not work for person A, B or C, and so it seems like a silly feature for everyone else. A good example of this is all the people that will be excited for the flip up screen on the Sony a6400, but then turn around and complain about it saying how useless it is.

Photography is not a talent thing, really, some experience and just catching a time. It is not an art, its fun and pleasure but don't make people thinking photography is difficult, it's easy.