I heard it again yesterday for the billionth time: “Digital Photography”. Isn’t it time we drop the word ‘digital’?
Seems we’ve managed to drop the “electric” from “electric guitar” in common parlance.
We found it easy to drop the word “acrylic” from “acrylic painting” when that came on the scene with oils.
We quickly ditched the “digital” from “digital music” when it took the lead over records and tapes and CDs.
I suppose by-and-large our industry has dropped the word, but given that digital and analog photography are fundamentally the same thing, isn’t it time we implore the rest of the world to assimilate the term “digital photography” back into “photography” as a whole?
Thank you! I’m glad someone of your influence has finally come out and said this. It’s been bothering me for years. What really matters is the final result, the photograph. I think we still hear the term digital because there are still many people who feel that film is somehow “superior” or “pure”. It’s sad that people subscribe to technological bigotry, but I hear it time and time again. Also, many are drawn into photography because of the ease of digital, and they don’t realize that they are doing the same things they would need to do with a film camera to create an effective image. Post is different, but post is post and shooting is shooting. A camera is a camera is a camera.
post is not post – with “analog” you have to consider your film and filters before you shoot b/c it will affect aesthetics of your final image. With digital you don’t need any sort of intention ( or at least as much) – you can just stumble upon the aesthetic.
I can’t say this in absolutes – but generally speaking this is the case (for un-considering photographers)
I agree. Even though I wear an analog watch I don’t call it analog watch. Although I may start….
Your so right chase !! I never thought of it like that ! It should just be called
Photography plain and simple ..
Didn’t ever thought about it but it is damn true. Fully agree!
Chase, there is a lot of nonsense terms I’d love to see dropped. I blame Search Engine Optimiation – a simple quick check on the Google Keyword took says that “digital photography” has 368K Global Monthly Searches.
I haven’t thought to use the term “digital” in a long long time.