The Art of Photography

There’s little that can equal the enthusiasm for photography that I find at my local camera club. Having said that, since buying my girlfriend a Fuji Finepix she never leaves home without it and it’s often me, the photographer, waiting for her to take photos! I hear many professional photographers – and amateurs alike – bemoaning the advent of digital, not without good reason for it has certainly had a detrimental impact on many a professional photographer’s income – but I’ve come to realise, it’s done wonders for the art of photography. My girlfriend is the first to admit she can’t draw a matchstick man and her painting’s limited to messily emulsion-ing the walls but like many people, she’s got a desire to create something that she finds pleasing and gives her a lot of pleasure – and her digital camera has given the means to do just that. Our local camera club has grown wonderfully over the last couple of years in particular as more and more people are seeing the opportunity a digital camera gives them to capture that which they find beautiful and create something special. Coupling the increased affordability and availability of camera technology that was once only the domain of the professional and devoted amateur with the advent of the digital darkroom (which lacks the magic of a wet darkroom but I certainly won’t miss the smell of the chemicals.) people are creating pictures or art at a rate which is awe inspiring.
Of course, the upside of all this to the pro photographer is that whilst my girlfriend is happy to forever snap away with the camera on P for pillock-proof as she puts it, the number of people that want to stretch themselves and find out just what they can achieve is growing. And guess who can help them?