They used to be one of the main form of transportation. These decorated bicycles you see here. You can still find them today, in Melaka, as a tourist attraction transportation. For RM 5 or 10, the peddlers will happily transport you from one spot to the other tourist spots, all within just a distance of 1-2 km away.
Things changed. I am not sure if the word photographers would even be a relevant career or work today. I for one, was never a full time photographer, its my hobby, my passion and my key to meet new people from diverse background and walks of life.
The low entry cost to enter photography by owning a DSLRs, smaller cameras that produces sufficient image quality and the dream that anyone can be a photographer is basically, killing the industry itself.
Owning a studio no longer seems like a practical thing to do, often existing owners of studios are hanging on to whatever contracts that was awarded to them. Lose the contract and you lose the studio. The inflow of jobs by common people walking into a studio has diminished so much that the pattern is similar to how much people do print out their photos nowadays.
Walking around in Jonker’s street, Melaka, i came across a few antique shops and vintage cafe’s. Often its not hard to spot a typewriter lying around for sale. A typewriter…what happened to this glorious literature producing tool that gave us some of the best classics ever.
A typical photographer is like a typewriter. Its glorious days are long gone. But its not the end, a new form of “photographers” now emerge from the scene. The typewriter was replaced by the pcs, notebooks and ipads of today. The new “photographer” similarly have to undergo the same changes. Taking photos alone, is no longer enough nor relevant.
Photographers are a dying breed. Infected and hurt by their own peers in a constant low-balling each other game. There is no way out except re-entering a different field, where photography is just a tag not a field.
I find inspiration looking at the works of Prosophos, Ming Thein and Carl Rytterfalk and Steve Huff. Carl , to the lost of the community have since moved on to other career and no longer publish anything on Sigma images which i love to see.
What does these 4 photographers have in common? They are not just photographers. They are actually Content Creators, focusing on photography. The photographer of today are content creators, blogging their opinion and experience as they navigate thru the gazillon distractions that others are drowned in. Their audience are the world. Locals are just not “big” enough.
Some content creators like Steve Huffs, leverages on his years of experience, cowboy attitude and imbued with Leica fans, writes interesting comparison and reviews. His blogs and articles contains his frank opinion while adding a dash of courtesy in case the user would buy something from the affiliate links.
Ming Thein, a genius in his age and time, produces technically perfect images and his articles gives the reader the impression its taken right out of the Smithsonian academy.
Prosophos captures emotionally charged portraits of his family and people and is always driven by the GAS influence, which readers gets to participate in the joy of discovery and the frustration of moving away from a supported brand.
I am an outdoor portrait content creator. Often voicing out opinions where nobody is asking for it , caring for people whom does not deserve any and being in a love/hate relationship with Leica. Having my background in technical Software development, i embraces technology and shun dated practices. B&W, not a fan. Film cameras, no way.
Sorry about the digression. I can’t view myself as a photographer anymore than Istagram is a picture service. The Internet has changed everything.
M changing lives with images. 