Conventional Vs Digital

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MDGPhotography

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Hello all,
my name is Matthew Gibbons and I'm in the final year of a BA in Photography & Digital Imaging; for my dissertation I'm am writing about what influence new media technology (such as digital cameras & imaging software as well as the internet and associated communication technology). I would greatly appreciate any comments, ideas or practices that you have employed, specifically in landscape photography but all comments are welcome.

just to try and point replies in a useful (for my dissertation) direction here are a few questions and points that i'm considering.

what techniques have grown up to utilise the new equipment?

does the technology effect the style of the work? if so how?

how has the growth of communication technology (the internet, wireless and mobile communication) affected both the market and style of work? why? and where might this lead?

This forum post and all replies and will be included as research and may be referenced in the essay. For further information visit my website at
www.MDGPhotography.co.uk
or email here
Matt-AT-mdgphotography-DOT-co-DOT-uk
 
As an academic, I wouldn't use forum posts as "references" in a dissertation ! Get it from books or journals or magazines.
 
You'd be better off putting together a good questionnaire with more specific questions. You'll get more responses to more questions so will be more useful when forming arguments/ideas. It'll also look like you've done the leg work instead of it looking like you're scratching around for ideas.

You'll also be able to do a bit of data analysis even if it only stretches to a couple of pie charts and a graph or two.

Just my 2p worth...ignoring is mandatory...
 
I think if you're going to gain 'inspiration' about what to write, then comments on here are useful to some extent, if only to get the ball rolling.

For the first two questions, a case in point is HDR photography. The technology definitely spawned the technique – yes there may have been darkroom practises that worked on the same principle as HDR, but the software that creates HDR could only have come about with digital chips being invented for cameras.

HDR photography definitley 'guides' and dictates the style of work produced: you only have to look at what can be acheived in something like Photomatix to see that there's now a generation of digital photographers who love over-emphisised saturation, texture, contrast and sharpening. This wouldn't have happened with the software when using film, even though Photoshop could do it using layers but with much more input from the user.

I do believe that in part, the internet has shaped the growth of digital cameras. The ability to shop for them, the ability to find them at cheaper-than-shop RRPs and the ability to view a full selection of kit is just one benefit of the web on modern photography.

I don't think style has been 'dictated' on the whole by the web – that's the beauty of artistic creation in photography – but the ability to see different styles of photography at the touch of a buttton is what the web has ultimately done for photographers. Before it would have been a visit to the bookshop or library to see different style of shooting,now we just click online.
 
MDGPhotography said:
what techniques have grown up to utilise the new equipment?
Click to expand...
To many of us digital photography means we can blast away quite happily without having to worry about the cost of film & developing. Whilst taking a lot of pictures won't help in certain aspects of photography (e.g. landscapes) it is useful in situatuations like sports, wildlife & motorsport where taking a rapid burst of frames can yield that one good shot. Certainly this has enabled many people to try out this kind of photography.

MDGPhotography said:
how has the growth of communication technology (the internet, wireless and mobile communication) affected both the market and style of work? why? and where might this lead?
Click to expand...

A lot of people like the 'instant gratification' of digital. Taking a picture and seeing it come up on the LCD is great. You can decide to delete it if it's no good or make decisions whether to re-compose or re-expose the shot. None of this was possible with film. No waiting for development either- shots can be instantly uploaded and shared on the Net. Sharing photos is something that drives many of us to keep taking pictures- what's the point of taking great pictures if no-one looks at them and appreciates your work?

Cameras get better by the month and now it seems any idiot can pick up camera and take well exposed, credible shots! Take the picture below as an example- taken with a point and shoot (not even a DSLR) set on full auto. I framed the picture, pressed the shutter, the camera focused itself, did a million calculations, the flash went off and hey presto a nice shot! It's the sort of result I would have really struggled to achieve in the days of film.
Img_1048_crop.jpg


So you might argue that the advent of digital and general camera improvements has taken some of the skill away from photography. My personal view is that digital photography and the internet has awoken 'the artist' in many people and re-opened up the world of photography to a new generation.
 
MDGPhotography said:
does the technology effect the style of the work? if so how?
Click to expand...


If it's for a dissertation, I'd advise getting a dictionary out too, to check the meanings of effect and affect! :)
 
The thing that's made a big difference to me is probably the histogram, coupled with the "highlight warning" on my 30D. I'm learning all the time anyway, but being able to set up as I feel will give me the best results, and then review on the screen to see what mistakes I've made, makes a big difference. It means I can shoot, then tweak, then shoot again, and so on, until I can be fairly confident that I have the shot I want.

The point made above regarding just "blasting away" as there are no longer the restrictions with film length, processing costs etc, is a good and valid one I think. For some, it's used in the right way, for others, it's just a process of taking enough shots that they hope one or two will be what they want. If you employ the technology to work for you, it can help you to learn and improve as a photographer, if you just employ it to work, then it probably won't.

Interestingly, I tend to still get pictures printed, to put in albums, and if anything, the sense of excitement when those shots arrive back with me is even greater now than it would have been with film.
 
Thank you, i understand this and the reliability issues involved but for reasons unknown to me i get extra marks for using wide variety of sources. don't worry i'm using several books and journals during this work.
 
Good plan, I did something very similar myself when writing my dissertation on the cultural impact of the iPod. I got nearly full marks, so it's worthwhile doing!

Just wanted to wish you good luck, I can't really comment as I was never a film user having 'Grown up Digital' (have to credit Don Tapscott for that one), but I can tell you that digital photography is far better aligned to my personality than film (instant gratification, control over all of the processes involved, infinite variation of the end result etc.)

Cheers,
James
 
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