“It is a pity that the precision of the measurement methods and results that is common in manufacturers’ laboratories today is watered down in the “average values” of everyday photography – an observation that can be made everywhere with equipment and materials.
Today there is a deep gap opening up between the exact standards of the manufacturers and between what Mr. Everyman knows about photography and does with it. With a few exceptions, systems are now manufactured according to demanding quality standards, the entire built-in intelligence of which is intended to prevent the photographer from straining his own!
This tendency towards foolproofing limits the creative professional photographer to such an extent that he no longer has full scope for intervention. (…) However, it may be true that foolproof equipment is more likely to help the occasional photographer to succeed.”
Now question to you: who is this statement from and how old is it?
Well, the “by whom” is quite difficult to guess. It is by Ansel Adams, the great master of black and white photography. Mainly known for his magnificent photos from the Yosemite Park.
If you know who it is from, then the question about age can be answered relatively easily: almost exactly 30 years. I find this statement so interesting because I feel like certain points are brought up again and again. Especially in photography.
Is this a reason to look negatively into the future? No. Not even for Ansel Adams back then. His words end with:
I'm almost curious about new concepts and methods. I believe that the electronic image represents the next, greater advancement in the world of images.
How right the man was...
That's why I mostly take photos manually. There are few areas where it makes sense for me to use this "artificial intelligence". AF is one area that I would not want to do without anymore, it is definitely faster and even more precise than MF (e.g. 3D tracking, which used to be a matter of luck). Even with the CLS I mostly work in M mode and just enjoy the fact that I can adjust everything on the camera. All other auto modes usually have to be corrected manually anyway. As I said, mostly, there are exceptions, for you as a sports photographer, I certainly see the benefits of modern technology in rapidly changing exposure situations, often high contrasts, fast movements, etc.
But the fact is that the definition of exposure by aperture, time and film (chip) sensitivity has not changed in 150 years.
gruß
G.
Two quotes on this topic:
I picked up one at a Nikon seminar where the speaker said: "Guys, you have to keep thinking analogue and then take digital photos." The other comes from a colleague who has been a sports photographer for over 40 years and said: "If you were to take away autofocus and automatic functions from young photographers today, you would end up with almost nothing but rubbish." I believe that straight away - and even though I have 20 years of sports experience, I don't want to focus manually anymore either.
gruß
Axel
“Guys, you have to continue to think analogue and then take digital photos.”
That seems like a great quote or advice to me. Thank you very much for that!
And of course for the complete article.