On Digital Photography
  • David Thomsen
    September 4, 2009

    I bought a cheap film camera for hobby a few years ago, and just for practice took it to a student protest. I assumed there would be ‘serious’ photographers present with digital cameras to do all the ‘serious’ photography, but somehow they all got locked out and I was the only one left to take photographs of the Vice-Chancellor with policemen facing off against the students.

    And for every shot, I had to refer to my manual; and at some point, I looked over and saw all the ‘serious’ journalists with their digital cameras laughing at me through the window.

    Yes. But was I foolish enough to be trapped outside when the doors got locked? Jerks.

  • BenK
    September 4, 2009

    Could be titled ‘camera obscura.’

    The punchline on this one is great.

  • AndyL
    September 4, 2009

    I like the boat.

  • rgsc
    September 4, 2009

    Loving your meditation on digital photography (and the comments, too). Great stuff.

  • Krimson
    September 4, 2009

    Man. Modern World can’t go anywhere these days without getting jumped by EnvironMentals.

  • DoubleW
    September 4, 2009

    Cat and Girl is commodified worldview! And I love it.

  • Laui
    September 4, 2009

    When I read Cat and Girl, I get the feeling these are the conversations me and my friends would have if we were all a lot smarter or did a lot more drugs.
    Or both.

  • Nny
    September 5, 2009

    i just read about the Collyer brothers.

  • rocketbride
    September 5, 2009

    this reminds me of a conversation i had with my dad at the CNE (toronto fall fair) last week. as we made ready to photograph yet another example of my child on a ride, my dad told me that it would be better for me to just take a video. “i can’t take a video,” i said, “this is a camera.” later in the day, i gave my camera to my mom so that she could take a picture of my and my son on the bee ride. i had to remind her to look through the viewfinder, as the digital screen wasn’t going to give her any useful information. i loves my camera. :)

  • rocketbride
    September 5, 2009

    of course i meant “me and my son.” good for you, typing fingers.

  • Jonathan
    September 5, 2009

    I thought Modern did good work in that Broadway deconstruction of Santa Evita.

  • Jake
    September 6, 2009

    Locavores. lol

  • John K
    September 8, 2009

    Gotta be mindful of the Locavores

  • DoubleW
    September 8, 2009

    Actually, a bunch of my younger relatives have decided to keep sending paper letters to each other, even though they all have e-mail. I don’t hear from them often enough to know their full reasons, though.

  • Jake
    September 9, 2009

    I’m sure they’re just being ironic.

  • RJ
    September 9, 2009

    “I’m sure they’re just being ironic.” would be good on a t-shirt.

  • Sprayette
    January 20, 2010

    Accessibility of cameras means that now everyone’s an artist. Same thing is happening with literature and music. And we all know that the higher the quantity is, the lower the quality. Just a thought.

  • 1SpacyHammond
    February 15, 2011

    Sprayette, are you sure about that? Shakespeare’s sonnets came out when every literate schmo was writing sonnets… the signal-to-noise ratio is only one measure of quality, and I’m not sure it’s the one to apply to literature and music.

  • Golux
    October 6, 2013

    Pssch! Everyone takes pictures with their smartphone, that combined computer, cellphone, camera, mp3 player, movie camera, gps, picture and movie viewer, and Internet access device.

    Sent from my Android.

  • Golux
    October 6, 2013

    @DoubleW That’s easy, they get it in an unopened envelope and hide it after reading it. No parental interference via computer.

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