Back to Film

Sometimes it seems that there's too much hype about digital innovation when it comes to photography. One unfortunate downside to this (now long-standing) digital revolution is how lazy it has made many photographers when it comes to composition. Hobbyists and professionals alike can now take literally 1000s of pics, only to later review their catalogue, photo-shop the preferred images, and create what often becomes a "pretty picture" void of any true composition of thought.

The same revolution has jeopardized much musical composition. Many (so-called) composers are now simply keyboard experimenters: record, sequence the sounds that fit under the fingers, then later edit the orchestration, phrasing, etc. and finally publish. The only problem is, once again, the thought--the intelligent relationships that characterize a great work--are given a second place to the aural pleasantries.

The digital age has certainly made access to many arts and disciplines simpler, but has, in turn, simplified those arts and disciplines. I wonder what a difference it might make if some photographers tried "composing" a landscape shot for 3-4 hours, waiting for that "perfect lighting situation" for that film type; or if composers might try their hand at putting ink to paper without actually "tying things out" at the keyboard. Maybe some of our current "artists" would begin to "think" again...