Cary Elementary School, demolition phase
Used to be that was quite a compliment to a photographer. The reason being was that in the olden days of silver gelatin photography, being a technician was a huge part of the photographic process. One had to understand the nuances of film exposure, be adept at formulating photographic chemistry for film (and paper) and be able to manipulate all the chemical and mechanical factors required to produce a wonderful black and white print. Doing it once was tough enough. Doing multiple copies required consummate skill acquired through constant repetition of what some referred to as darkroom drudgery. There was an entire class of photographic heroes capable of inspiring awe solely through their technical mastery of black and white print processing. The content of their photographs was pedestrian, but how they exposed, developed and printed was rewarded because it was (and still is) a difficult process to make a beautiful silver gelatin print.
Being a recognized technician does have its shortcomings these days. Used to be that a technical expert was revered because of the time it took to learn the craft and establish bona fides as an expert. This was absolutely acceptable with an established unchanging technology. Once photography changed from a mechanical/chemical to an electronic/software technology the entire concept of a technical expert changed. The life time of a technical expert dropped from years to months. I have yet to make up my mind whether this rapid acceleration in technology is actually good or not. Having new stuff to use is actually very nice, but I am not sure if we have enough time to figure out how to use it in anything other than in a superficial manner before the next “latest and greatest” improvement happens along.
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