Photography is Punk

Photography is the new Punk.

Just as in the late ‘70s, thousands and more picked up guitars and made music to threaten the old world order - in the ‘00s, millions are picking up cameras and creating their own imagery, playing, starting new businesses, killing old businesses, stealing and spreading ideas.

The DSLR - any digital SLR - allows us to create stuff. To experiment. To fail (often). And if we fail, we delete and start again. 12 megapixels and a 4gb CF card and we’re the potential equal of anyone.

Decisive moment? Pah! pish-tosh.

Henri C-B would turn in his grave. Anyone with a decent cameraphone can capture any number of ‘Images a la Sauvette’ in a single hour, publish them to an audience of unknown millions on flickr or facebook or myspace… and occasionally, very occasionally, become an overnight sensation.

We live in an age where amateurs possess more photographic power than the highest paid pros ever did.

When previously unknown photographers get fame through flickr and go on to highly paid advertising gigs, where are the limits?

We are the New Punks.

Except for us it’s not “No future”. No nihilism here.

It’s all boundless optimism driven by nice glass, cool cameras, big cards, an internet full of tutorials and guidance and photosharing.

For us it’s “Art = Frustration x Time”.

We get frustrated, we find a spare 10 minutes in our busy busy busy lives and we go take a picture.

Then we publish it.

And then another one. And another one. Repeat ad infinitum.