Quantity or Quality?

Do we take too many photographs?  A thoughtful piece in the NY Times about the value of a photograph.  I don’t fully agree with her conclusion that digital photos have devalued pictures.  Still, it is a good read.

image from NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/opinion/sunday/a-lament-for-the-photo-album.html?smid=pl-share

I think that while digital photography has made it easy to take too many photographs it has also made it possible to take photographs we never would have captured with that wonderful old analog technology.  Not only is digital capable of taking pictures in formerly difficult light, now we always carry cameras and are ready to shoot at all times.  We are also willing to take risks and  make mistakes which we never would have done in the good old days.

Chemical photography still has it’s value – it does make us think first, then shoot.  It celebrates craftsmanship in a way that is hard to duplicate in digital.  There is room for both…. quality AND quantity.  I believe we are lucky to have both analog and digital available and the new challenge is in choosing the right medium for the message.