SightPhoto Blog

Here are some brief links to interesting stories of note:

A recently released study by the Consumer Electronics Association (www.CE.org) had several interesting findings. First, more than 90 percent of digital camera owners consider the camera to be their primary picture-taking device, despite the availability of many convergence electronics, like cell phones and video cameras. Second, less than half of consumers surveyed archive their digital photos, or are even concerned about potentially losing their digital media files.

Beware of sending especially good photos out to have prints made. Your photofinisher might suspect you of being professional, or something. A story in the Austin American Statesman tells of a conflict between photofinishers trying to abide by copyright laws by not printing the illegally scanned work of professional photographers, and advanced amateur photographers who just want a nice 8 x 10 from their latest shoot.

With the blurring of lines between amateur and professional photographers, William Ewing discusses what distinguishes emerging young photography stars. A new book he helped edit, "reGeneration: 50 Photographers Of Tomorrow," was the result of a search through photography schools for distinctive new voices. Among his conclusions: "The traditional genres that have dominated art photography for a century are now largely passé. The nude, the classical portrait, the sublime natural landscape - all have been largely dismissed, or are fading away as meaningful categories."