Re: digital and analogue photography -the essay

[Catherine Rogers <chrogers@bigpond.com>]

Thanks David,

I agree with your observation about defensive converts -I hadn't thought 
of that before. I'm sure I am guilty of having responded negatively to 
an idea I had never entertained before too :-). I also agree with you 
about the blind following of that convenient catch-all word - 
'progress'. Thanks, I will give that some thought as it is very relevant 
here as you suggest.

A correspondent also pointed out to me the difficulty some have 
acknowledging the highly commercial nature of the new digital 
technologies - and that what we once knew as photography, could be 
driven in this way. The art vs commerce debate has been a long running 
debate of course. Perhaps Walter Bejamin's essay (once a compulsory 
photography student reading) has always been read and understood as 
exsiting in the past. But here is the same issue confronting us all over 
again, now, in the pressent.

Chris Anderson's observation of how her students simply purchase cheap, 
large, colourful digital in-your-face prints is a case in point. An 
ex-colleague of mine complained about his students going to a cheap 
photo-lab for their big bright prints - but he blamed this on the (tiny, 
one-person, under resourced) print centre at the art school because it 
was not able to quickly print all the student's work (no matter how 
crappy the file), cheaply. My colleague has swallowed all the marketed 
'promises' of the new technologies as being quick and easy and failed to 
consider the (personally experienced) actuality of the commerce and 
technology. As Chris suggests, her students don't have to get involved 
in the production of the print shop's print process, nor do they need to 
'learn' anything here either, the bad file is invisibly fixed up, made 
big, colourful and glossy and the student is none the wiser. Viola! 
instant print, next, move on....

Anyway, many thanks Clair, Chris, David, Mark, Henry, Diana, Judy and 
Robert! keep it coming.
best
Catherine

david drake wrote:
> Catherine, 
> I enjoyed your essay greatly and, yes, the subject is important; I would 
> love to read more on this very topic. 
>  Have you noticed how many digital converts are almost 'devout' in 
> there fervor towards this digital revolution. Any response which may 
> appear to be  critical of digital 'progress' results in a defensive 
> remark. I have noticed this response quite often and find it quite 
> interesting. Its almost as if the 'convert' has to keep convincing 
> themselves of digital progress' validity. But don't get me wrong, 
> digital definitely has it's place; but like any new technology, one 
> needs to weigh it's pluses and minuses for any given situation. 
> It's sorta fascinating how a new technology infiltrates a culture 
> without any sort of decision making process: do we need this new 
> technology, how will it change society and what are it's drawbacks. Of 
> course, that's the job of the consumer. Most however are led blindly by 
> the pied piper of 'progress'. 
> david