AboutSteve Meltzer Expertise I am a professional photographer and I've been shooting for newspapers, magazines, commercial clients and artists for over 30 years.
I have shot stock photography for dozens of years and in 1977 created West Stock (Seattle, WA) which was one of the first to produce stock photo CDs and later one of the first to establish an online stock photo slaes site.
I have a new book on digital photography "PHOTOGRAPHING ARTS, CRAFTS AND COLLECTIBLES (Lark Books, 2007)which is available at Amazon.com, eBay.com and in bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders. I have another book, CAPTURE THE LIGHT which will be puiblished in November, 2008.
I write 20-30 feature articles and columns for regional and national publications a year.
My education includes studying with photographers like Cornell Capa, Duane Michels and Oliver Gagliani (from the Ansel Adams Center.)
Expert: Steve Meltzer Date: 12/14/2006 Subject: Digital and film
Question Do you think it's right that a photography class of a school will not accept digital prints because they want to keep the basic fine art photography classes? Of course, there are digital photography courses in this school.
Answer Mingming
I think that a photography class that won't accept digital prints is silly.
I've been a photographer for over thirty years and taught photography class at times over those years. I studied B/W printing with the folks from Ansel Adams Yosemite center and owned a gallery/rental darkroom. And I know that its not about film or digital its about picture making.
And I totally reject the term "Fine Art" its meaningless. Who determines what is fine art, who cares? If a photo is good, if it has impact and stopping power if it reaches the viewer and gets a response who cares if its 'fine art'? What's fine?
Of greater importance is to teach students to love photography and to see the world in visual terms.
Its sad that photography has come down to film versus digital. I think its really film AND digital. If you are a photographer, and I mean a really good photographer with a good eye, it doesn't matter whether you shoot with a digital camera, a film camera or a pinhole camera.
So I don't agree with the school. Image making counts but whether a print if film or digital doesn't.
I also feel that some old time photographers use the darkroom as a barrier to keep them somehow special. Digital is too "easy" for them and lets too many people make good pictures.
