WOW James, aside from being gifted Photographer, you are Perfectionist!!!
I'm so far behind....
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Thank you, but not really.
What I have learned is how to survive and use all of this to move forward.
Let's be realistic. This is all client dependent. If it wasn't then most of us would still be shooting film.
They want their images right, they want them now, they want them cost effective, they want everything smooth and easy and I have no issues with that because that's pretty much what we all want.
Live view focus, well it works. Do I use it, not often but I can and I can also see where it can lead to more opportunities in a single camera that can shoot video, or have even more accurate focusing.
I want medium format to survive but they seem to move at a slower pace than the dslrs and regardless of what you use, or how much you like the cameras you own, if a big gig comes in and somebody says they want ____________ you're probably going to do what it takes to give them __________.
Still, I do think a lot of this is exciting and opens up a lot of opportunity.
The downside is it's time consuming and takes a lot of investment to stay on top of the learning curve.
Regardless, in my view we are in the George Jetson age. I listen to radio from around the world, watch my favorite movies on my computer, I've approved a retouched image on an I-phone.
In Tokyo we sold an editorial gig using an Ipod touch and an Iphone as a portfolio.
I don't see this stuff as replacing the human element or human contact but more enhancing it.
Showing a portfolio on an I-pod may not be as impressive or elegant as showing a bound printed book, but it's better than showing nothing at all.
We've just completed 1/2 of the pre production on a large gig to be shot in 3 countries in Asia and at this stage all of the pre productions is by long distance.
We've sent so much information to agency, had some many back and forths on e-mail, web galleries, etc. etc. that we are now at the point we know each other.
Even with this we will still personally meet this week as nothing is better than personal face time, but the meeting won't start out cold because we already have laid the ground work.
The meeting will be reduced by 1/2 just because of the George Jetson stuff we could present.
All of this was the talk of dreams even a few years ago and it will continue to go forward.
I am camera and brand agnostic. I'll use what ever works and whatever gives me the results I believe the clients expect. Hopefully more.
Given my personal opinion I would rather see one of the smaller companies like Sinar, Leaf, Phase or Hasselblad lead the way. I think of any group they should know more about what a professional photographer needs.
Then again, they seem to have a mindset of what we are asking for today is all we need and just as the I-pod has replaced the Walkman the next cameras may replace everything we use today, but better still may open up possiblities we can't even imagine today.
Years ago when I shot my first digital job I sat in the studio and thought how the "hell am I going to show this to the client?"
I never imagined that a few years later we not only be showing the client the images on set, or on dedicated urls, but even delivering high rez imagery at the click of a zip file.
Can't wait to see what comes next.
JR