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Sunflower from our garden in 2004 taken with a Nikon E990 3.3mp digital camera in daylight outdoors.

Toronto. Did you ever think about technological trade-offs? Overtime better ways to manufacture; better quality; lower cost; broader acceptance; etc. all worked together to wring out lower cost and better quality to the consumer.

Just consider photography. In the early days a photographer was a businessman, an artist, and a scientist – or a failure. As time moved on, photography became easier, cameras more complex and lens design improved to ease aberrations while helping to add light to the dismal speed of sensitive media.

A successful photographer had to understand the effect of aperture setting and lens focal length on depth of field; shutter speed on the success in capturing a ‘decisive moment’; the correct choice of film to balance off contrast, resolution (grain) and speed; lighting and light positioning; choice of subject; subject framing; colour temperature of the lighting; white balance; etc. While in the darkroom, the choice of chemistry and paper were critical to the final result.

To today’s smartphone users, almost all this is passé. Only some of the artistic side remains. Most shots are technically correct and the artistic eye reigns supreme. As long as there is enough light, then choice of subject and framing are key to a memorable photo. Lenses are of such a short focal length that depth of field is very wide (and some phones like the iPhone have software that can ‘fake’ depth of field/aperture setting and even light positioning – all post shooting).

On the other hand, digital images can be taken by the dozens at no apparent added cost. Many smart phones even take multiple sub-second shots and choose the ‘best’ using a built-in algorithm. Once snapped, a photo can be saved in the phone, in a computer, uploaded to the cloud, or sent to friends and family anywhere in the world in seconds!