“Isn’t it remarkable how photography advanced without improving?” That’s a quote from photographer Charles Sheeler, and it can be attributed to the fact that even though technology gets better, the work that so many photographers make doesn’t really change all that much. It’s something that could be obfuscated by the fact that someone’s creativity is what comes first, but then why do we hold ourselves back and then complain about problems around AI images? That’s not an advocation for AI at all, it’s more of a call for human photography and human photographers to further their potential.
This quote comes from the book Photographers on Photography. And it’s in reference to Mr. Sheeler speaking to Ansel Adams after viewing the exhibit of another photographer. Both of them didn’t like it. Sheeler was most likely speaking to how technology advances due to capitalism — yet at the same time, it doesn’t necessarily lead to better images. Why? Well, I think the big part of this is the lack of understanding the technology and also a lack of actual comprehension.
Let’s be honest, the megapixels go up, but the images don’t get objectively better. They get sharper, more clear, and more detailed. But the image in and of itself doesn’t improve. The same goes for autofocus — the Nikon Z9 is one of the only cameras that can focus on POCs with melanin in their skin while in low light, yet this isn’t shown off as much as it should be. There are lots of problems that can be discussed there, but overall, they’re overlooked. Our Sony a9 III review wasn’t well understood because of the massive lack of literacy around flash and using it. Flash isn’t a tool to be used when there isn’t enough light. It’s to be used to creatively make light with a sense of magic that LEDs cannot deliver.
But there’s a much bigger problem than that of a lack of literacy around photography. Instead, photography has been mimicking other visual art for far too long. Lots of your favorite photographers perhaps drew inspiration from Richard Avedon, Joel Meyerowitz, Garry Winogrand, Annie Leibovitz, etc. In that way, art imitates art. You can surely put your own interpretation of their work, but after a while, it becomes watered down from the originals. Mix into this that everyone is trying to do the same thing, and your work simply gets lost.
Peter Jackson, when he directed The Lord of the Rings, surely went to the source material and created an entire world around that while working with set designers, directors of photography, etc. By all means, not much had been done like this before. It looks nothing like Robin Hood or even the legend of King Arthur. Perhaps the closest thing would be the Warhammer universe. That is, in and of itself, its own creation.
This is why we often say that we cannot create anymore — because we’ve been consistently mimicking ourselves over and over again.
So, how can photography improve? By not taking inspiration from lens-based media. We encourage photographers to read books, listen to music, look at paintings, stare into sketches, and overall explore new ways to actually make images and connect them to their own emotional story. Most importantly, you have to express something — because if you’re not expressing something, then you’re not exercising humanity.