Remember Taking Photos?

First of, I am in no condition to talk about real photography, And the title might be a bit misleading, yet I go on with this journal entry to encase some of the experiences and stories in the ever changing world of photography around me.

Quantity over Quality:

I was lucky to get a lecture from an elderly person about concept, composition, space and lines when all I had was a 35mm film. I listened and explored, learning. That was many years ago. Made many mistakes when developing film in the kitchen sink and had to make every shot count including considering which film to buy. Then the digital era came in my country at least, wedding photography exploded. Some photographers undertook more wedding work in hopes of quick cash and for better hardware and when it was done they persuaded further in to the genre of photography they liked to explore. Now, another breed drawn to this mass of "quick cash" joined in with shiny DSLRs and started competing by offering lower price brackets for 3 times the photographic volume, it doesn't matter if they are actually usable or similar. And soon it was over. Good photography only meant taking a good portrait of a couple at the alter. Quantity over Quality. Soon the old and classic photographers got overshadowed by the demand of the masses which was cheaper and quicker service. No place for art. Soon wedding photographers replaced real photographers since the community and the mass would only value images that only included them, sort of an extension of narcissism, pushed furthermore by Facebook, more "likes & share". Yet it is calmly reassuring when I see someone with white hair and careful steps roaming around in the used lens market looking for an old TLR.

Lost Memories & The lost art:

No one really complained about noise when the only way of seeing a photograph was if it was in your hand, printed in to a rectangle. And it was amazing looking at it, a feel , as if I was there. Remember the times when we had an album, a physical one? and anyone who came over for a day or two would indulge ourselves with the memories of the past. I take three times the photos as I used to, email them, message or tag the right person on Facebook. Somehow it doesn't feel the same. Instant viewing has taken away something important, the need to print. On print , it stayed for ever, stored in a pile of dust in the closet until someone rediscovered them and it became a trip to memory lane. Hard drive crashes, computer upgrades, profile changes, new online services and privacy & piracy issues. Everyone click, looks at it for 2 seconds and don't remember it the next day. In the end; lost memories and lost art.