Has the Digitalisation of Photography ruined the artistic element?

With Photography now widely digital, (and available to many), fitting in with our technological advances - has the creative, more artistic element all but disappeared from Photography?

 

to me a good photo is just that , not a purist as you can tell


Spruce

 

Speaking as someone who isn't really a photographer, I'd say the digital age has helped boost creativity, rather than the other way round.

Back when we used film, I only ever had a cheap 35mm clicky thing. I only used to to get maybe one or two half decent photos when on hols.

Now every phone has a semi decent digital camera on it (ok, nothing by comparison to dedicated kit I'm sure), I take loads of photos on the spur of the moment, and I dare try shots that once I would have considered too risky (because film isn't cheap, and there's only 36 shots on it).

Digital also means its ready for editing immediately. No scanning stuff in. No need to own a scanner (and more importantly, no need to find anywhere to put one), and once you have the pic you want, no messing about with expensive prints, just share it with whoever you want there and then.

EDIT: Also, a good tip for getting honest unbiased answers from a poll is not bias the question. I answered 'No', which as a direct answer to a direct question looks like I'm saying 'No it hasn't ruined it exactly but it hasn't exactly helped', when what I meant to say was 'No I think the exact opposite'

 

It does seem a little biased looking at it again, but actually if I am able to have an opinion at all, it's similar to yours, in a way someone still has to go out and take the shot. Can you edit polls?

 

Wiseowl, your post had reminded me of something..

The first ever photograph taken on a camera in 1838... wow.

 

You can edit your own ones that you created a believe, if you want to

 

I like digital photography.
I absolutely detest over edited pictures, its all to easy, it usually look awful and I cant stand it.
Sorry all you photoshoppers.

 

Behind every lens like every brush there should be an artist, it's a natural talent and if the talent isn't there then the picture is lifeless and the tools useless!

The camera like the brush is only a tool, it's the artist that makes it work and no amount of editing will improve a bad picture.

 

Yes

 

Has the digitalisation of photography ruined the artistic and creative elemet?

I'll make an assumption that you are referring to post processing with your question, because 'togs still need to operate the camera and thus be creative with it's use to take artisitic photographs, the processing to final print has now opened it up to all with the mentioned digitisation.

But for the majority of post processing software, the makers of that software drew upon years of darkroom manipulation to create tools that 'togs had already got used to using for many many years anyway, so I fail to see how digitisation could have ruined anything.

Tog's new to digital editing make classic mistakes and I've seen them many times over the years, but gradually they find their way and tone back those edits. The problem with this is that its all too easy to add too much colour, because it looks nice and vibrant and the same thing with contrast or sharpening. Others new to editing see this then think they have to do that too and so starts a vicious circle of eyeball scraping photos. You can see this on many dedicated photo forums if you browse them, some forums the photo's are vibrant and over saturated, some sites have more natural hues, others are positively gloomy.

Some new art forms have even been created due to the wider availability of digital software, so that has not ruined the artistic and creatice element, but added to it.

Then there are camera phones, as Clueless remarked most people have these nowadays and they can see straight away if the shot is good or not and they need not wait for the film to come back from the lab, if the shot is not what they where looking for they can instantly retake the shot or learn how to through the same camera phone and the internet just how to take it right there and then whilst they are in front of the subject. Hence many camera phone users have more than a passing interest in their photos than when we all used to use a Kodak and wait for the prints to return.

In general I think Photography going digital has improved the Hobby overall and made it available to many more people, art is subjective and whilst ten people may like a Photograph I take and show online, there will be ten who do not like it, show the same photoo two years later and some of those original people will have changed camps.

I have not voted simply with a no because I believe that does not cover it, going digital has not ruined the artidtic and creative content, it's improved and added to it.

Steve...