Where has the ART gone?

Or is this what is driving it? My backup system has been growing. It started with a 500 GB LaCie, then I got a Rugged LaCie for trips, then another 500. Then after ordering my second TB the other day I just went woooh where is this going? I backup simply according to date of shoot.  So when I was juggling data around to get the most out of what space I had, I could see how much was transferring from 2006 when I went digital. Then how it grew in 2007 and so on…

Back in our film days we would pride ourselves on achieving the shot. Getting the correct exposure, crop, framing… all done one of 36 frames. If I remember correctly film and developing used to cost about R120. Lets call it R3 a shot. My camera was busting out a very respectful (even by today’s standards) 7fps. On average I would shoot 3 rolls though if we were in Indo and it was cooooking we would do a lot more.  So its easy see it cost a lot of money and therefore we were pretty selective.

Jump forward to the digital revolution. My first camera was the Canon EOS 1d Mk2n. I think I originally got it in December of 2005 but didn’t have a clue so it probably wasn’t until January that I was actually using it.  I was totally blown away when I checked that I only had 30 odd GB backed up from that year (truth is I was a digital rookie and I probably lost a bit) Last year still on my Mk2 I shot 430GB… Now add to that equation that im shooting on a Mk 4 now with double the megapixels, it’s only going to get silly…

Where am I going with all this? Clearly im shooting a lot more now. Digital simply gives you that option, an almost unlimited one depending on how you look at it. In the past I would shoot 100 frames, im now shooting 500. Even when shooting from the water where you were limited to one roll I now shoot 150 frames. In the past we had to get everything 100% down to the last detail like correct film (and that was just for slight colour difference). Now we have AWB and can change our ISO in a second. Yes a good RAW is essential but so much comes down to retouching these days that it is an art in itself

So like I said before we used to pride ourselves on getting the shot on film with the selectiveness that we shot. That was the ART. Take a step back, look at surf photography these days, the standard is unbelievable. Guys are pushing it, somehow finding new angles, hand holding in 10ft barrels… Where is the ART now or how is it defined? Is it solely defined on the final image, regardless of what you did or how much you shot to get it? Is digital and its’ usability and accessibility what are driving the Art today over the exact skill and knowledge of the past? Just something to think about.