We live in extraordinary times. We have witnessed change over the last twenty years that the world hasn’t seen in centuries, perhaps since the reformation. And we are supposed to digest these changes, get used to them and accept them as something rather ordinary. Inter-connectivity is taken for granted and all manner of digital gadgets make it possible to document life and share that documentation across the globe in real time. And still, there are pro photographers.
ZD Net UK reported in March this year that there were 950 million mobile phones sold last year alone. About 60 percent of the world's population now uses mobile phones, with approximately 4.1 billion mobile-phone subscriptions annually, according to a United Nations survey. The figures reveal an increase from around one billion users in 2002. It is a safe bet then to say that at least half of humanity takes pictures using mobile phones. Wow! And then, there are people with real cameras. And, then, someone claims to be a pro photographer. Wow indeed!
We live in extraordinary times. We have witnessed change over the last twenty years that the world hasn’t seen in centuries, perhaps since the reformation. And we are supposed to digest these changes, get used to them and accept them as something rather ordinary. Inter-connectivity is taken for granted and all manner of digital gadgets make it possible to document life and share that documentation across the globe in real time. And still, there are pro photographers. Only, now, it’s not enough to have the latest Nikon, or Canon camera with all those fancy lenses. It doesn’t even help to study photography for years, travel the world and frame hundreds of thousand of photos. All that is less important than being really talented to start with and, of course, to have the access to certain people or places. It’s irony – before we had access but we hardly had technology, and now we have the most amazing technology but, I’m sorry, you can’t take that picture. You can’t but someone can. If you are Annie Leibovitz you probably can. Bummer. And when nobody says anything we are surprised. My last visit to Washington DC for instance – you could take pictures in all museums – something incomprehensible for someone coming from Europe (or Vancouver, as a matter of fact – local Art Galleries are off-limits). Even taking pictures in the street. People are worried about their privacy. They don’t like their pictures taken. But when they go home they stand in front of the mirror with their cameras getting ready for My Space, Linkedin or Twitter. So much for the privacy. It is a funny world.
Well, I guess, for the rest of us, there is always going to be something that we are allowed to take pictures of. And the good thing is, once you know how to do it, you can make a great shot of just about anything. Looking for omnipresent beauty in light, shade, colours, shape and contrast becomes your way of life perception. Wim Wenders had a movie a while ago – Until the end of the world – where a son, using a futuristic camera instead of an eye, travels around the world recording amazing sites for his blind mother who can see all of that using an ingenious digital device.
Commercial photography, video, motion graphics, art direction – all of it helps us provide the views we wish to share, with our customers, prospects, partners and suppliers, through the use of the web. Your TV station, your movie theatre, your book of photography.
BMD photography is online here, and available for purchase.
Better yet, can we help you share your beauty, as long as possible?
"Wim Wenders had a movie a while ago – Until the end of the world – where a son, using a futuristic camera instead of an eye, travels around the world recording amazing sites for his blind mother who can see all of that using an ingenious digital device... "