The Seven Year Itch

So what did You do this summer?  I thought way too hard about Blogs and Photography.  Where is photography going?  And does anyone still need a blog? I have had this blog for exactly seven years, the first post being October 1, 2008.  And true to the psychological term that shows divorce spikes after Seven years of marriage, the blog and I entered into a trial separation earlier this year. My most recent post prior to this one was in January but I had been feeling the blog fatigue for some time.

Billy Wilder's 1955 Comedy

After much thought and too much coffee at my local coffee shop, the Able Baker, I have decided to relaunch the blog in more of an idea/macro view format. There will be a lot less of me going on about my personal work and more about ideas and tips. Photography has fundamentally changed and I am once again attempting to change with it.  I was really struck by this recent Time Lightbox article by Stephen Mayes,

The Next Revolution in Photography Is Coming


A multiple exposure by Stephen Wilkes
"It’s time to stop talking about photography. It’s not that photography is dead as many have claimed, but it’s gone." - Stephen Mayes


In his article, Stephen compares photography's shift from film to digital with puberty. I am not sure I agree completely with this analogy but Stephen is a smart guy and has clearly thought about this a lot.  ALL I KNOW is that I fell in love with photography in the black and white darkroom of my High School in Iowa.  I have watched my idea of photography change multiple times as well as been in the middle of one of it's biggest changes, the pubescent shift from film to digital.  I wonder what that makes all people in the "I still shoot film" subgenre?  Read the article, it's very thoughtful and well written.

So, are blogs relevant for photographers?  Is photography relevant?  We are literally standing on the edge of the unknown and we can either choose to go with the excitement of change or hang back with the familiarity of fear.  For me, it's a little of both.

I will see you soon for the new Less Is More, Volume 8, with a look at the Service Triangle of Price, Quality, Service.  It has long been the understanding that a customer can only pick two...