stillshunter
Super Moderator Emeritus
- Location
- Down Under
- Name
- Mark
Though it's a little old by our standards today, this little snippet from a longer blog by Alec Soth back in 2006 really resonated with me in the wake of SiJ and is certainly pertinent as I contemplate Film February ..well my first rolls of TMax should be here in a few days!
[Talking about his new iPod]
Hmmm, will we ever hit that plateau with our serious compacts? Maybe the Fuji XPro1 or Canon G1X is the answer?
[Talking about his new iPod]
Of course the era of the podcast is still quite young. So perhaps great artistry will emerge. But this is where I really get frustrated. I don’t think it has time to emerge. Next year the iPod will have a bigger screen. The year after that it will have a web browser. And the year after that it will be obsolete as some new unforeseen technology takes over. The medium only has time to be a toy. It never has time to mature into a tool.
This is the same problem I have with digital photography. The potential is always remarkable. But the medium never settles. Each year there is a better camera to buy and new software to download. The user never has time to become comfortable with the tool. Consequently too much of the work is merely about the technology. The HDR and QTVR fads are good examples. Instead of focusing on the subject, users obsess over RAW conversion, Photoshop plug-ins, and on and on. For good work to develop the technology needs to become as stable and functional as a typewriter.
After hours spent playing with my new iPod, I set it aside to read a book. While I thought the iPod was elegant, nothing beats the book. No downloading. No batteries. No cords. No ads. No links. No distractions. The format is so elegant that it becomes transparent. It is the perfect container for art.
Hmmm, will we ever hit that plateau with our serious compacts? Maybe the Fuji XPro1 or Canon G1X is the answer?