Rob Sheridan and several of the posts after nailed it.
I work in technology and see this kind of thing happen all the time. A certain portion of people find some "rare" set of tools and hinge their value off them. Suddenly technology changes and provides those "rare" tools to the masses. The people that freak out about it are the ones who had no other value to add to their craft. This always amazes me when it happens to art though. True artists wield their tools in a way that the majority cannot. Mosts artists are constantly innovating and finding new tools. What then is the problem of the masses having the same tool as you?
A few things I would like to point out on this article:
"It's like saying I'm a cook because I mix and match TV dinners." I don't think the people you are attacking ARE calling themselves pro photographers. They are just having fun. I have seen several true artists use the same iPhone apps that amateurs are using. There is still an obvious difference in the end result. Access to specific tools does not make an artist.
"It means every picture and every video looks the same." So? This should make it easier for you to stand out as an artist then.
"The good news, or at least the retrograde news, is that there are Flickr groups like Cross Processing-FILM ONLY, of all-analog photography. And the always-active I Shoot Film and Film is not Dead!!." This kind of solidifies what I am seeing here. Film is just a tool that is less common. This is "good news"... why? The tool does not make the art! Film has plenty of advantages and disadvantages. If a film camera came with every iPhone you would probably be pissed about film too. Stop latching to scarce tools to define your art.
On Your Beautiful Pictures Are Stupid: Against Trendy Digital Photography
Rob Sheridan and several of the posts after nailed it.
I work in technology and see this kind of thing happen all the time. A certain portion of people find some "rare" set of tools and hinge their value off them. Suddenly technology changes and provides those "rare" tools to the masses. The people that freak out about it are the ones who had no other value to add to their craft. This always amazes me when it happens to art though. True artists wield their tools in a way that the majority cannot. Mosts artists are constantly innovating and finding new tools. What then is the problem of the masses having the same tool as you?
A few things I would like to point out on this article:
"It's like saying I'm a cook because I mix and match TV dinners." I don't think the people you are attacking ARE calling themselves pro photographers. They are just having fun. I have seen several true artists use the same iPhone apps that amateurs are using. There is still an obvious difference in the end result. Access to specific tools does not make an artist.
"It means every picture and every video looks the same." So? This should make it easier for you to stand out as an artist then.
"The good news, or at least the retrograde news, is that there are Flickr groups like Cross Processing-FILM ONLY, of all-analog photography. And the always-active I Shoot Film and Film is not Dead!!." This kind of solidifies what I am seeing here. Film is just a tool that is less common. This is "good news"... why? The tool does not make the art! Film has plenty of advantages and disadvantages. If a film camera came with every iPhone you would probably be pissed about film too. Stop latching to scarce tools to define your art.