Photography Won’t Be Around Much Longer

Okay so the title may be a little over the top, but I truly believe we’re in a space where photography may not exist in the future.

Sure cameras and capturing devices will be around for the foreseeable future, but the difference will be in the way we produce photos and the way we share them. Photography for me is all about the workflow and this includes the much forgotten practice of printing.

I believe printing is a very important part of photography and I’ve noticed over the years a huge decline in the number of photographers willing to produce a physical print. As the new generation grows there’s certainly an increase in wallet sized Instax and Polariod snaps, but what about all those photographers producing iconic landscapes or portraits? Where are those photographs? Why aren’t there more photos hanging on walls, galleries or in exhibitions?

Has the cost of a print become too much or have we just settled for a new type of visual medium? Whatever the case is I think the word photography is becoming tarnished and lost as many photographers kill the need to produce a physical print. After all the print is one of the most important parts of the visual medium we call photography right?

Looking back we always used to capture images on film (and may of us still do) and the result was a negative that had to be turned into a positive – aka the photo. As the digital age has settled in the last step of producing a ‘print’ has become lost in a translation of 1’s, 0’s and countless pixels.

So because of our digital age will photography be around much longer or should we call it to something else?

In closing I salute all those photographers who proudly display their beautiful works in galleries, exhibitions and in homes all around the world. You’re the reason photography exists and I believe you are the key in keeping the word and definition of photography alive.

What do you think? Does photography have a future?