(Good Old Time)
Rant...
Photography is popular and this is a problem. Too many folks who had no clue suddenly claimed themselves to be photographers when the 35mm came out. The time and cost of creating detailed planned photographs went the way of of the dodos. Professionals with medium cameras that offered incredible quality and professional work were replaced by a bunch of amateurs who delivered sub-par products to clients (see GES page).
A price war began, easily lost as who wants to pay three times the price just because some sweaty well dressed guy carrying a heavy burden is dictating what needed to be done? The easy going casually dressed personable 35 shooters were so much more easier to work with. Beside the later could be pushed around for nickels and dimes. It certainly did not help that the sweaty guys were generally older and grumpy.
Once the medium format was eliminated from the err.. picture the 35mm totting critters multiplied like locusts, diminishing the value of professionals until those finally got it right: They stopped competing with the rabble and targeted only wealthy clients who either had no clue but wanted to brag on how much their photographer cost them or discerning individuals who hired the best in order to get the best.
Everything was calm for a while then the computer era began. The first images were B&W pixelized drawings then in limited number of colors and finally scanned images. It did not take long before the table heavy scanner were miniaturized and their sensors perfected and reduced enough to fit onto small boxes.
The first digital cameras were primitive, spat upon by 'professionals' shooting 35 mm. That will never replace OUR cameras they said. Well, ten years later the same folks are now using the 'garbage making gizmos'. The same 'professional' folks started to complain from unfair competition from Joe Smuck due to the low cost of sub-par equipment and the global phenomena of portable phones with cameras.
Where are the dinosaurs now? In forums. Many are retired and see the new world with mixed feelings. They see the same debates of what is 'good' and what is 'bad'. In truth their ethics is still far above the crowd and for them the new mantra 'it is not the equipment but the person behind it that counts" is anathema. They know that a good photographer with good instruments will always produce better work than a good photographer with so-so equipment. The idea of a good eye surgeon removing a cataract with less than sharp instruments comes to their mind when they discover that their eyes re-open to the world after surgery...
Oh, the real pros? They still shoot with cameras that still beat the crap out of the 35 mm equivalent mass murderers.
Anyway, all this to tell you that my point of view is not what one expects in a 'modern photography web site'.
