Change in Photography

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Originally uploaded by earthdog.

Photography is changing again. I don't want people to think this is new, because it is not. Whenever there is new photographic technology it always changes. You can think back to the Civil War. Most of the photos of that era are soldiers dressed up for good photos. At that time all photos were taken by professional photographers. Every photograph was something special to be kept and cherished.

This changed relatively quickly. When Kodak introduced the Brownie Camera the world of photography changed. This was the birth of the snapshot, the vacation photo, and the amateur photographer. Kodak made 100 years worth of business models off the invention of this camera.

Using Flickr as much as I have lately, it is easy to see the latest change in photographry. Right now people are taking pictures of everything. They are taking pictures of everything that happens to them and everything they see. They take pictures of their messy living rooms, ride to work, street signs, and cups of coffee.

We are going to have Trillions of digital pictures taken by the end of the 2000's. We will be able to see so many aspects of everyday life. There is going to be more data in these pictures then anyone can even collect. We did not know what Abe Lincoln had for breakfast everyday, but we will know this about 100s of people alive right now.

I think this is a wonderful thing. I do not think that photographs should only be for important things. I do not think they should only be for special occasions. They should reflect the world we see around us. My advice is you should take a photos of the important people in your life and tell them they are important. I wonder how photography will be different in another 10 years.