Photography in this age

During the last few years, I have wondered, studied, discussed and analyzed this a lot - where is the photography going? More importnatly where it is now? There is no easy answer. But more you think about it, you will understand it is a fast moving space.

Only a few decades ago, photography was more of a science - not recognized as a form of art. Over the years, certain genres of photography have made inroads into the mainstream of arts, but at the same time, the technology has completely changed the medium. The days of darkroom and cumbersome equipments are gone - now slick, modern, highly capable and easily affordable cameras are everywhere. The democratization of photography has made the profession of photography very competitive, but it has also attracted a lot of talents and new ideas. I believe that the digital age will open the floodgate of photography and will firmly establish photography as a more mainstream art in the future.

Unlike many other medium of arts, photography is not easily understood by many. Why? Beacuse it's so obvious. You pick up the camera, you aim to something and click - you have an image. Where's the art in it? A painter imagines, uses pencil and/or brush strokes for hours to finish a work, A sculptor works hours with her materials and after meticulous hours of work, produces a piece of art. Compare to that, a photographer's work seems simple to public. Photography is also the most "realist" of all arts - these are some of the key reasons why many did not and even still do not consider photography as a serious art.

The extreme progress in technology now helps anyone with decent knowledge of camera and some photographic eyes produce pretty nice looking images. How do a "photographic artist" differentiate themselves from these works? How will they demand the attention and higher respect for the work they do - for which, they spend a lot of time in creation, preparation, training and pre-visualizing/planning. Simple - it has to be much better, stronger and powerful than the "normal" stuff. Period.

So - what am I trying to say? I am simply saying that this is going to be the golden age of photography. Talented photographers are now being pushed by millions of amateurs, wanna-bes - which is a bad thing for the professionals out there, but very good for the "art" of photography. With all respect for the old masters, just wait to see what the new masters offer - I expect that the new stuff will be far more exciting.