Whenever I am asked, “Why did we reach this absurd, that photographers with expensive equipment decide to ditch it and just get a camera phone? Isn’t that supposed to be the other way round?” I feel my eyes rolling of their own accord. It’s not that I don’t understand why people are so attached to the “traditional” notion of “upgrading”, I just don’t get why it should matter so.
The eye-rolling is even more intense though when I see art galleries and specialized publications insisting on specs — analogue vs digital, megapixels, DPI and all that jazz. Even in this case, I understand that since they have to sell something to someone else, and sell it for good money, they don’t want to deal in supposedly defective goods. But is art about material perfection? Indeed, equipment and specs make a difference. Jackson Pollock used household paint and now his works are falling apart. But what would have happened if back in the days he went for the “right” paint instead? Perhaps he would have produced different art. Maybe his works would be better preserved, but we wouldn’t care all that much about them.
Continue reading “The Black Night of The Frugal Photographer”