I have recently began building my status as a photographer. Currently, I shoot with a Canon 70D - a midrange camera. As soon as I push down the shutter button, a digital image appears on the LCD touchscreen. Right away, I am given the option to throw that little digital image into the little blue trashcan with a second push, or I can give my photograph a chance to live to see my pupils constrict behind a larger screen.
They say the art of photography lies within the capture of a single moment.
As a modern day photographer, the digitized world has allowed me to take the moments I capture for granted. I have yet to even begin to master photography in its purest form because I have never learned how to develop film in the darkroom.
Photographers before the digitized world were forced to wait to see a final image. The photograph was secured on a shiny frame, but couldn't be released until the beautiful explosion of chemicals finished its transfer and froze the photograph onto a single print.
A reflex in my pointer finger is connected to my eye through my viewfinder and this reflex never hesitates to capture a moment. The amount of space I have to capture said moments is essentially unlimited. With that, even if my small LCD screen reveals even the slightest blurred pixel, I never have to agonize over the threat that I may just have wasted a precious frame.
Patience is not a trait that I, or many of the other people of my generation, would necessarily consider a strength. Everything in my world can be reached within minutes. Once I have captured my images of the the blood stained moon or the sea foam staining the sand, I can immediately upload my images onto Facebook. Within a few more moments, notifications flood my phone and I know that within a matter of minutes my moment has been shared with the world.
The ease is marvelous.
Until I realize that I failed to appreciate the moment for what it was worth before it was displayed across the internet.
I have sold my photographs to both admiring strangers, and friends and family. I have memorized the perfect mix of settings, the balance of colors and light. I have gained the knowledge of the limitless abilities that Adobe programs provide me. I can name my accomplishments and explain to others where I was and how I took the photograph.
Regardless, I have yet to understand the true worth of a single moment.
