Photography has it lost it's value?

[Ian parry]

I have been a photographer now for 25 years , starting off with my Dad in his darkroom mixing chemicals and developing my pictures from a box brownie, watching with amazement and excitement my photo's come to life under a red light .

Now every Tom Dick and Harry is a photographer because of digital technology, don't get me wrong i have embraced it but you only have to look at the magazine racks to see how much photography is being used and abused , the paparazzi for instance , they are not photographers they are scum bags with bling cameras around there necks snapping up girls skirts for a quick thrill , photography? I think not . Discuss!

[Saras Texture Crafts]

I don't think the art of darkroom photography has lost it's value to all... My boyfriend is an old fashioned, darkroom junkie, prefering original methods to digital... he rarely goes near my digital, which I use for on-line selling convienience.

But I guess it's like most art forms... new methods/technologies are usually quicker, cheaper and smoother to produce, even for newbies. That doesn't mean traditional methods should lose their 'value', but they may in time become obselete... which is a shame, but I don't think it devalues 'Photography' as a whole.

And then from a selling point of view there is customer persecption... if the customer doesn't understand the differences, or should I say appreciates the differences, between modern and traditional processing methods then the quicker and cheaper method may win through... especially on a price difference. That's not to say all digital is bad... there are some great art shots out there made with digital software and I wouldn't include Paparazzi shots in that quote!

A difficult question...

Still on a lighter note... Your work looks great and I wish you all the sucess you deserve on Dawanda. Welcome to the community!

[Jo Whitehead]

Hi Ian. I like your observation of the paparazzi! However, I have to slightly disagree that photography has lost its value. We recently had a major art-photography exhibition where I work
http://kafgallery.blogspot.com/2008/05/blog-post.html
and the traditional photography such as pinhole proved to be the most popular. So much so, infact, that my 15 year old son has adapted an old camera to try his own pinhole photography.
I think people still want to see traditional methods of photography at exhibitions - and don't forget, that fads come in cycles. There's hope yet!
Glassprimitif
http://glassprimitif.blogspot.com

[Le Bar du Vent]

I think digital photography is a great tool, and I love it that it allows me to take loads of the same view that caught my eye until I get the ONE— without spending a fortune as I used to.
But I call it technology and a tool (and I don't call myself an artist).
To me, it takes the darkroom and its risks and choices for photography to be an art.
P.S. I am no paparazza : I only like to do still lifes
:-p