“Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gismos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn’t make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.” – Peter Adams
Gadgets and Gismos
Monte Stevens
Retired. Having fun with photography. Journal daily. Meditate daily. Learning haiku. Have a love for fountain pens.
6 Comments
Tom Dills
It’s kinda hard to take a photograph with a stick, but I get your point. 🙂
This is a nice photo, but the theme bothers me because it shows – at least to me – the problem with our passive media consumption devices. Seems he would be a lot happier with a rubber band airplane or a transistor radio. But I don’t suppose there are apps for those things. 🙂
Monte Stevens
I agree, Tom. I get frustrated when I see parents place an ipad in front of a small child of 2 or 3 then place a headset on them while they read a book. They use them as a baby sitter. But, not all parents will do that as they read the book with them. I still like Dr. Seuss.
Cedric Canard
Apart for the first sentence of that quote I don’t agree with it. Especially the last bit. Especially these days. If someone looks at one of my photos and says “nice photo, what camera do you use?”; I think that is a perfectly valid question because cameras (or more specifically, sensors and software) go a long way in making a nice picture. These days the only input I have is aperture and composition; everything else is done by the camera. Admittedly, the choice of subject and the composition is where the “art” is but when I think back to my first camera which didn’t even have a light metre (had to use the sunny f16 rule), today’s gear takes all the hard work out of photography.
Sweet shot by the way.
paul
Hmmm. I think that the technology allows us to make technically accurate photos, or perhaps that is what you mean by ‘nice’ pictures. I like technology just as much as the next guy, perhaps more, but, in the end, you still need someone behind it to make it work. Also, I do think it is about the photographer, about his/her view of the world. My two cents with a 100% money back guarantee! 😉
Monte Stevens
Our cameras have become quite capable tools, allowing for the technically nice images. I’m at place where I want to work at being a better photographer/person rather than believing a better sensor will make me a better photographer. When I shoot on the street I have been shooting more in Program mode unless I feel changing the aperture will create a better effect. And, yes the newer cameras do take the work out of it. Love to hear you input.
Cedric Canard
Yes, by “nice picture” I am referring to the technical elements of the image. The composition, the focal point, DoF, etc. remains with the photographer but I think it is silly to compare a camera with a typewriter. When I see young people (who have never so much seen a roll of film much less shot a fully manual camera), feel insulted because someone asks them what camera they use, I just have to laugh. I heard one guy respond to such a question with: “Oh and I suppose you’d ask Shakespeare what kind of quill he used to write his plays?” This guy might have been 20 if that and his photography that they were viewing on a tablet certainly didn’t warrant such pretentiousness. The fact remains that today’s cameras make great pictures even when shooting in full auto. Of course it’s the photographer that will turn a nice photo into a great one but for people of our generation it took us a lot of sweat and tears to get to the point of making “nice” pictures, let alone, great ones (I for one, am still working towards that). Now, however, all you need to do to get to the same point is buy a camera.