Pixiq

How many photographers does it take to change a lightbulb? Fifty. One to change it and forty nine to stand around, pointing at the bulb, saying “I could do that”.

Yeah, I know, an old joke, but one that still rings true. There should be another line added these days- Forty nine photographers complaining -  “Acch, that’s an automatic ladder and powered bulb changer. The ‘real’ way is to do it the old way. Manual ladder, turning the bulb by hand. The light looks better that way.”

Yeah, there are a lot of new people coming into the photo industry, people who have only shot digitally and for whom “film” is something that forms on their milk if they leave it out too long. The “old-timers” look down at these new photographers. They didn’t learn photography with the solid foundation of film like the experienced photographers did. Then of course, the old timers had to walk 3 miles, uphill, in the snow to drop off their film at the lab. Barefoot. I never grasped why that made their photos better, but they always act like it does.

The interesting thing is that this is not a new feeling in the industry. In fact, this seems to be like a “permafrost” layer that never goes away. I recently received some photo magazines from the late ‘40’s and early ‘50’s. What fun to look at, what fun to read. And of course one of the editorials from the late ‘40s is complaining about people coming to photography without any knowledge of the basics. The basics? What did they want back then, back to tintypes? But yes, they still lamented the hordes of people coming into photography because the technology and entry was getting so easy. Darn that George Eastman and his “Press the button and we do the rest” advertising. But of course the same magazine was more than happy to run Kodak ads.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The light stays the same, only the bulbs change.

My thoughts? I think more people coming into the industry is a great thing. Great for all of us. It means more cameras sold and a healthy marketplace for manufacturers to invest in research and development to come up with more great and innovative products that make our photography lives better and richer. These new innovations lead the way to new ways of seeing, making it possible to photograph things we could never get before, with quality that is outstanding. If it was just a small pool of dedicated pros, who worked the same way they have for 20 or 30 years, there would be no market for these new innovations. My friend, Jay Maisel, a photographer’s photographer, who for many years was Mr. Kodachrome, marvels at the technology in his hands that allows him to shoot in low light situations, getting photos today that were not possible to capture in the film days. 

In the end though, we have to remember, it’s the Indian, not the arrow—it’s your skills and talent, not the tools—that wins out. It’s about good original, compelling photos. If your professional career depended on you knowing the “secrets”, the alchemy of making photos, you’re in for a short ride. Today, as always, it’s not about the technical skill that wins out, it’s the “eye”, the story telling ability that will always rise in the industry.

I’ve talked to many a student of photography who I know think in the back of their minds that they will be “discovered,” and then it will be limos, parties, and some work pressing a button. Easy street. Right. When they find out just how hard this industry is and just how hard you have to work to make a living in it, many a balloon is busted and the really dedicated, the photographers who are photographers because they “have to be photographers,” are the ones who stick it out. 

So if you see a light bulb laying around, make sure you’re the one who drags out a ladder and climbs up to change it. Don’t just stand around with hands in your pocket instead of on your camera, looking around at all the new photographers around you. To someone in some generation, you’re the new photographer. Go and take photos, the photos you have to take. As they say in the sneaker business, Just do it.

Feel free to leave a comment. The great thing about Pixiq and many of the blog these days is that it’s more dialog than monologue. Something else that’s new!