Popular Photography has a series called the "Death of Photography". Do you know...

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Mere_Mortal

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...what issues?
PSaying that death is all around us is as much a truism as saying that life is all around us. They go hand in hand.

There is precariousness to the revolutionary qualities of this medium. As photographers, we rely on a worldwide industry for the tools of our trade—no one among us can whip up a batch of Ektachromes at home, or call down to the corner store for a batch of Polaroids, or forge a f/5.6, 150mm lens in our workshop. We are at the mercy of the industry.

And that industry is in rapid flux. Unlike many other trades, a working commercial photographer cannot simply buy some equipment, develop his skills, and pursue a career for 30 years. Now, on the average of every 3-4 years, the equipment and software that one has recently mastered must be completely replaced and relearned. You cannot just own a camera, but you must have all of the attendant hardware and software to run the camera and process and store its images.
 
I don't remember seeing that and I have been reading Pop Photo for years. You can check their website for past articles, but I sure do not remember that series.

steve
 
From reading this brief article you posted he seems to be referring to the constant technological change in photography equipment in a rather short period of time.

He makes reference to film. In the days of film cameras, an advanced camera could last you 10 years without becoming outdated. In this age of digital the photographer must stay with the current technology or risk becoming obsolete like his gear. With the wealth of new features and functions that pop up each year, the pro photographer must adapt or run the risk of falling behind the curve of technology.

This is just my interpretation of this article though.
 
yeah, damn and the horse and buggy man went too...

c'mon, we didnt moan too much with the advent of 35mm, did we?
we didnt complain when we moved forwards in any direction, or we'd still be printing off glass negs... from an elmulsion we cooked up in the bathroom..

cameras change, film changes, photographic techniques change... and as photographers we have to keep up with those changes to a certain degree. and although the software changes its an update, so stays the same.. photoshop is photoshop, whichever version you use,

and so are digital cameras, the principle of the 35mm and the 120 are the same, so why not the upper end of the market for Dslr's... ok, i agree teh digital age hasnt equalled 35mm, (17500dpi) and weve a long way to go.. but my 8mp olympus produces pin sharp A3 prints...

ovens dont bake cakes, and photographers take photographs.. its a constantly developing art form, (no pun inteneded) we try new things all teh time.. and ive been doing this for 35yrs, teaching for 15...

and you could never JUST own a camera, you also needed a darkroom and chemicals, and lots of time, whereas today i can do in minutes what it used ot take hours to do... and my skillset is transferrable, my darkroom skills mean, i know what im looking at, and what i want to do with it... and i have a damn good idea how to get there... but although im a 51yr old dinosaur, ive had a PC 20 years... its just another tool.. which needs to be learned and mastered before it can become productive...
 
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