Mary Ellen Mark

Today was a momentous day for me. I got to listen to the amazing photographer Mary Ellen Mark speak... twice. It was great to hear a professional photographer say that they hadn't yet gone digital. It gives me hope as a film lover. I know that many would argue, but I really don't feel that digital photography is on the same level as film photography. I feel that it lacks quality. I also, feel that digital photography and digital editing programs make 'photographers' really really lazy. Photography seems to have become much more about the 'Photoshop' post production that the actual photography itself. There is a severe lack of understanding of what photography actually is. The word photography comes from two Greek words: Photo-which means light and Graphy which means draw or write, so "write with light" or "draw with light". Now, maybe I'm a bit of an art snob, but I actually know how to draw and I took the time to learn how to draw with light as well. I do very minimal post production to my photography, if any. I think if you rely mostly on digital editing in order for your photos to have any appeal, maybe you're not actually doing photography or maybe you should stop doing photography. Then again, there seems to be quite a few people out there that are making a living doing digital photography, while I struggle to get by. Truth be told, I'd rather struggle and be true to my craft and my art and my heart, than forsake my talent and skill just to fit into the groove of a trend. I think that soon enough real photography will come back into play and all the hacks out there 'Photoshopping' their way into a living are gonna have to move over and let the big boys take the wheel. Just my opinion, and if not, well... since I actually know how to take a photograph, it will be much easier for me to take those jobs too because the post production for my work will take 1/10th the time, as editors won't need to really try to get what they need out of my shots. So all that said, here are some more shots to look at and hopefully enjoy.