06/05/2026
It seems like people are totally wanting to go back to a simpler time, when not everything was digital.
I came across this post and got a little emotional. Looking back 10/15/20 years it seems that everything we used every day back then has become obsolete. The phones, the platforms, even how digital media is exchanged. Does anyone even have the equipment to play their home video vhs tapes anymore? In ten or 15 years from now will all of our memories and memorabilia be lost when our current technology becomes old?
I've been thinking about this hard, and I really think it's time to get back to basics.
Photographers, like me offer almost exclusively digital products, and that became the norm in recent years because that's what clients wanted. When I first started photography and did super cheap sessions (like $40 including prints) you'd be surprised at how many clients would say "oh I don't need prints, can you take like $15 off". But times are changing and I feel like people are starting to get what I like to call tech exhaustion. I know I am.
Artists are competing with AI, everything is staring to look the same. There's no thought being put into personal branding, nothing that gives a client the feeling who you are or what they can expect. And although Ai can be a great tool, and I've certainly used it to create posts, it is also a great detriment to being self-sufficient and developing skills.
I'm constantly being bombarded by ads for programs that cull your photos automatically, and process your RAW files for you and analyzes your past work to imitate "your style". I don't want that. Am I the only photographer who actually enjoys processing their photos? Alot of my creative process involves experimenting and color theory and learning new techniques as I go. And some of the best photos I've presented have been photos that I wanted to "cull" because they had imperfections. Why become an artist at all if you aren't immersed from start to finish in your artwork? What gives you a sense of purpose if not your art. But on the flipside why bother developing skills when any random person can paste an image to Ai and tell it exactly what to do and have results in seconds.
We used to compare ourselves to more advanced photographers, and strive to learn and become better to get to their level. Now we compare ourselves to a supper computer, and there is no way we will ever catch up.
And even with all this technology and all the work it's supposedly saving us from having to do why does it seem like we are busier than ever? We should have so many extra hours in the day, but it seems like we have less. I want tech that'll clean my house and do the things I don't want to do so I can have more time at the beach, more time creating, more time learning- wheres that technology?
Don't get me wrong. Technology has its advantages and it's a huge part of my work, but I don't know if my work or skills are even going to be valuable in a few years from now.
I'm not trying to be negitive or sappy with this post but I'm deffinetly nostalgic about a better, simpler time. I feel like maybe, I want to do as much as i can to live like it's that time again, when it wasn't considered tacky or a design faux pas for nans and aunts and moms to have photos of their family members plastered around their living rooms. And maybe my work should reflect that. More filmstyle processing, more "imperfect" images, more intention, more creativity. More FILM GRAIN, when did we start hating on film grain anyways? Romantic, stylized images that make you feel something and not just trendy esthetically pleasing desaturated beige. And Prints!!!
