Rob, I don't concern myself what it is we have come to, as I have no influence, control or input that is going to change things in any meaningful way.
However, I swim in those digital waters and would say "come on in, the water is fine, worry less, smile more".
Oh yeah, I've been splashing about in that dark lake too - ever since I got my D200, which the wholesaler told me was the first one on the island. Last time I tried it, it still worked, which is more than I can say for the D700 that arrived to replace it, though for some unaccountable reason I found myself mostly leaving it at home, taking the smaller out on walks. Weight? Hoping to “save it” for more serious work that never really came? Now, it’s the 200’s turn to lie dormant, as the iPhone renders
it redundant in its turn.
I really don’t know where lieth the problem, beyond simply in my head. However, you’ve known me long enough to understand my attitude towards commission and self-motivation: the former brings something real to the table, while the latter smacks of the battery bunny, running round in circles until it, too, finally stops. To quote again that famous Donovan line: the greatest problem the amateur has is finding a reason to make a photograph. Unfortunately, I subscribe to that. When I was starting out in photography, way before it became my living, my mind was already fixated on the time when it would be something I was doing for real. In that sense, I had never been an amateur, unless in the literal meaning of being in love with it.
Where in the photographic firmament I currently reside is anyone’s guess; for sure, I don't hold the answer.
What I have to admit is this: against all logic, I still read bythom, over and over again, as if buying another instrument somehow held all the answers that I’m looking for, when I know that’s simply not the case. ;-(
