Visual non sequiturs

Hey Guys, Andy here. It is awards season which means finalists and winners will be posting images of either nominations or their awards (maybe both). And you know what… as a photographer, I find the spectacle uninspiring. 

Photography, like a lot of creative industries has changed in the last 20 years, the last 10 years, the last 5. The path I trod no longer exists as the landscape has changed beyond recognition, even in the short time I have been a photographer.

I stand by my belief that the quality of photography has diminished during this time; the internet, social media and cameraphones have reduced the friction involved in taking and showing an image. You no longer need to put a film a camera, press click, take the film to be developed and then wait expectantly. Today is process is a far simpler and quicker, ‘click, upload.’ The result of this are social media feeds full of photographs which has combined with a preference to show content now, irrespective of quality. What this has done is it has created a baseline of what is acceptable to take and show; the expectation of showing high quality photography has been diminished, replaced by the standard of daily content accelerated by the notion that amateur content is more authentic than the professionally created product. 

We increasingly live and work in an online world where quality matters less than immediacy and where portrait selfies of you just having finished your workout are accepted as genuine and narrative building. In some respects, sure; be body proud, if no one is on hand to take an image, do it yourself. Yes, we are more than simply our jobs. And you know what; Hi, I’m Andy, I’m a photographer, I’m a husband, I’m a rugby fan, I’m a dog lover, I’m a foodie.

‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’ is a 2011 documentary which tells the story of the then 85 year-old sushi chef Jiro Ono whose 10 seater restaurant in Ginza subway station in Japan was the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious three-star Michelin Guide rating. A scene that sticks in my mind is his saying to his staff they must eat and taste Michelin Star worthy food in order to make it. 

We increasingly live and work in an online world where quality matters less than immediacy and where portrait selfies of you just having finished your workout are accepted as genuine and narrative building. In some respects, sure; be body proud, if no one is on hand to take an image, do it yourself. Yes, we are more than simply our jobs. And you know what; Hi, I’m Andy, I’m a photographer, and I’m also a husband, a rugby fan, a dog lover and a foodie.

However coming back to Jiro an as analogy; such images are the equivalent of fast food and the idea of 'Fast Photography' is something I've written about before; it's junk. It is quickly taken, quickly uploaded and quickly forgotten. You, I, we are surrounded by it. It is challenging not to consume it. And once consumed it is replicated under the belief that it is the normal and accepted thing to do. It is then repeated and thus the cycle continues. 

If you are going to show your non professional side in an amateur fashion; that is fine with me. However there is a question for you; why is ok to present your professional face in the same way? Are you an amateur in the workplace? When it comes to pulling in the wage do you accept just good enough? Given you may have been nominated for an award, that you may have won and you are celebrating the recognition of your efforts, then it is logical to believe the answers to all these questions is no. Yes, you’re being celebrated for a skill that is (probably) not photography, but please do not tell me you value skill, effort and attention to detail if you post a poor quality award photo; it is a non sequitur.