Canon Community

John_SD · ‎05-09-2017

I'm sure that many of you already know this, but Popular Photography magazine has folded after 80 years, and its web presence will also soon cease to exist, according to what I've read. It seems that its March/April issue will be its last.

Management's letter to employees reads, in part:

"The rise of smartphone-camera technology and its increasing ability to capture quality photos and video and instantly share them socially has dealt the photo industry formidable challenges. For our brands, these industry challenges have left us with insurmountable losses in advertising and audience support. Despite the extraordinary efforts of our committed colleagues at Popular Photography and American Photo, as well as our best attempts corporately to find a sustainable path forward, we are simply unable to overcome these market forces."

The statement makes perfect sense to me. I personally believe that DSLR photography, for many, is just too much. From what I've seen on various fourms, the newer users, in many cases, don't seem to have the ability to focus on anything long enough to develop technique and skill, and seem disinclined to do any kind of serious self-study that would help build understanding, skill and technique. Because so many rely on smartphones for snapshots, there just isn't the kind of audience these publications require to attract subscribers and advertisers. My opinion only, of course.

https://petapixel.com/2017/03/07/popular-photography-dead-80-years-top-photo-magazine/

ScottyP · ‎05-10-2017

Internet and tech advances are great but has real danger of destroying society. Camera stores are nearly gone. Magazines of all kinds are hurting as are newspapers. Driverless cars will kill more jobs. Stores are training us to check ourselves out instead of cashiers. Efficiency. What will the next generation do for work?

Scott

Canon 5d mk 4, Canon 6D, EF 70-200mm L f/2.8 IS mk2; EF 16-35 f/2.8 L mk. III; Sigma 35mm f/1.4 "Art" EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro; EF 85mm f/1.8; EF 1.4x extender mk. 3; EF 24-105 f/4 L; EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS; 3x Phottix Mitros+ speedlites

Why do so many people say "FER-tographer"? Do they take "fertographs"?

John_SD · ‎05-10-2017

@ScottyP wrote:
Internet and tech advances are great but has real danger of destroying society. Camera stores are nearly gone. Magazines of all kinds are hurting as are newspapers. Driverless cars will kill more jobs. Stores are training us to check ourselves out instead of cashiers. Efficiency. What will the next generation do for work?

You have it right. For all the good that the Internet has brought about for many,and I myself enjoy many aspects of it, there has been an undeniable downside. The ongoing extinction of magazines, newspapers, neighborhood shops, etc., I find rather sad. What I find just as troubling is that all too many people today seem unable to write above a child's level, as postings and even email communications in the worlplace too often reveal an inability to compose a coherent communication. People today aren't as widely read as bygone generations and seem unable to get through "articles" that are more than a page or two long, much less be able to understand or explain what they've just read. This is what some call "progress."

ebiggs1 · ‎05-10-2017

Change is inevitable. Even the demise of the buggy whip did not cause the catastrophic economic disaster that was predicted.

Tides ebb and flow, this will too.

Some of the problem with things like magazines and newspapers is they aren't offering what people want. I think that is a bigger factor than blaming the cell phones for example. Just, MHO, as always.

Actually commercial TV may be the next chip to fall.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Tronhard · ‎07-19-2017

@ScottyP wrote:
Internet and tech advances are great but has real danger of destroying society. Camera stores are nearly gone. Magazines of all kinds are hurting as are newspapers. Driverless cars will kill more jobs. Stores are training us to check ourselves out instead of cashiers. Efficiency. What will the next generation do for work?

When I was doing some training work on computing I was asked to go to a remote location to provide training for forestry workers whose livelihoods had been changed by legislations limiting the clear-cut of old growth forest. These people had, for generations, been harvesting timber. In a way much like the fishers on the east coast had harvested on the grand banks before they too became depleted.

So I went there, set up a classroom of computers and awaited my clients. When they walked in it was obvious they were not happy and unlikely to focus on the class. This was exacerbated when one fellow turned up with an enormous chain saw and put it through a computer - which was stupid for several reasons: it could have killed him (both the system unit and monitor were live), he inevitably got arrested and in doing so missed the chance for a way out of his dilemma through education. So after the dust had settled I had a chat with these people.

I asked them how many of them drove a motor vehicle - of course they all did. I asked how many would like to go back to riding a horse - no one took that option. I asked how many had skills in maintaining their vehicles - they all did. I explained that 100 years ago people like them faced the same dilemma: the transport industry, based on horse technology employed a massive number of people to breed specific horses for different purposes, feed them, provide tackle and harness, design, build, and maintain the carts, carriages etc. and to harvest and dispose of the waste that polluted the streets of cities and towns. Those jobs vanished with that change in technology. People had to learn to adapt, and in those days the onus was generally on them to do so. Today Americans pride themselves on their mechanical prowess.

They vented and I let them for a while, and then when they had exhausted themselves abusing just about everything (including me), I asked them this question: "Given that what you did is no longer viable, what are your alternatives? You can feel sorry for yourselves and resent your lot and be unemployed, or you can let me help you to empower yourselves and regain your economic security and sense of worth. Being an adult is about tough choices, which one will you choose?" In the end, of the 20 people in that first class, all but two stayed. In my second series of classes they all came, in the third I had a waiting list.

Today there are differences: the pace of change has quickened, and that is a challenge, but there are resources out there to help people develop the skills to deal with the new realities of the new technologies. The challenge we all face is to look at what is coming up and identify the risks to our own situation and then exploit the opportunities that will also surface. That requires stepping out of our comfort zones and educating ourselves. The people who adapt early gain the greatest benefit. A good example is oil and coal. The industry is shrinking fast as the world weans itsefl off fossil fuels and heads for renewable energy sources. The smart workers are adapting their skills to work on the new technologies, but the rest are making themselves victims by hoping there will be a resurgence in the old fuels.

Since I left school almost 50 years ago I have changed my career eight times - not just tweeks, but major changes that required me to retool my skills. I did so in reaction to market forces I observed and opportunities offered by changes in location and technology. The one thing I have learned is that nothing stands still, especially these days as knowledge and technology change our world. There is no point in "railing against the machine", we have to change our thinking and adapt too.

Some could argue that I am lucky, I am well-educated and learning comes easily to me. I paid for my own education, and worked my butt off for the qualifications I got. The fact is that each time I take on a new skillset I am just like everyone else, except in my attitude. The winners don't see loss in change, they see opportunity.

cheers, TREVOR

The mark of good photographer is less what they hold in their hand, it's more what they hold in their head;
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

ebiggs1 · ‎07-19-2017

Adapt to change or get left behind . . . . it’s your choice!

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Tronhard · ‎07-19-2017

@ebiggs1 wrote:
Adapt to change or get left behind . . . . it’s your choice!

Succinctly put sir!

cheers, TREVOR

The mark of good photographer is less what they hold in their hand, it's more what they hold in their head;
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

John_SD · ‎07-22-2017

@Tronhard wrote:
Since I left school almost 50 years ago I have changed my career eight times - not just tweeks, but major changes that required me to retool my skills. I did so in reaction to market forces I observed and opportunities offered by changes in location and technology. The one thing I have learned is that nothing stands still, especially these days as knowledge and technology change our world. There is no point in "railing against the machine", we have to change our thinking and adapt too.
.

Understood, but I still miss Popular Photography. I wish it would have transitioned to a web-only publication rather than disappearing altogether.

Tronhard · ‎07-22-2017

@John_SD wrote:
@Tronhard wrote:
Since I left school almost 50 years ago I have changed my career eight times - not just tweeks, but major changes that required me to retool my skills. I did so in reaction to market forces I observed and opportunities offered by changes in location and technology. The one thing I have learned is that nothing stands still, especially these days as knowledge and technology change our world. There is no point in "railing against the machine", we have to change our thinking and adapt too.
.
Understood, but I still miss Popular Photography. I wish it would have transitioned to a web-only publication rather than disappearing altogether.

I wondered about that too. I would have throught that a site on Popular Photography would just expend its activities to focus (excuse pun) on the ever-expanding market of cell phone photography as well as conventional cameras. Not only that but the evidence shows that film is making a significant resurgence. So, to me there is no lack of material, nor a lack of market. I wonder if is the format that is scaring sponsors away. If DPREVIEW can prosper, why can't PF?

cheers, TREVOR

The mark of good photographer is less what they hold in their hand, it's more what they hold in their head;
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

RobertTheFat · ‎07-22-2017

@Tronhard wrote:
@John_SD wrote:
@Tronhard wrote:
Since I left school almost 50 years ago I have changed my career eight times - not just tweeks, but major changes that required me to retool my skills. I did so in reaction to market forces I observed and opportunities offered by changes in location and technology. The one thing I have learned is that nothing stands still, especially these days as knowledge and technology change our world. There is no point in "railing against the machine", we have to change our thinking and adapt too.
.
Understood, but I still miss Popular Photography. I wish it would have transitioned to a web-only publication rather than disappearing altogether.
I wondered about that too. I would have throught that a site on Popular Photography would just expend its activities to focus (excuse pun) on the ever-expanding market of cell phone photography as well as conventional cameras. Not only that but the evidence shows that film is making a significant resurgence. So, to me there is no lack of material, nor a lack of market. I wonder if is the format that is scaring sponsors away. If DPREVIEW can prosper, why can't PF?

"The evidence shows that film is making a significant resurgence"?? Where and what is that evidence?

Bob
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA