Response to "A Life More Photographic"

While I'm tempted to say that a cell phone camera is no substitute for the real thing, in actuallity it is precicely a substitute for the real thing. Buy having a means to take a photograph at any given time, as Rubinstein and Sluis explain, "[removes] a barrier to spontaneous image capture." It allowed me to catch my friend off guard and take another of my many suprise ringtone photos.

The digital photography medium on a whole allows one to arbitrarily take photographs with little to no worry about setup or cost. And while Rubinstein and Sluis explain how many critics and professionals like to shun or avoid digital photography altogether, digital photography is just another metamorphosis of the art of photography in general and, before we know it, will be the accepted norm by all. In the way that point-and-shoot cameras challenged the definition of a photographer, the digital medium challenges the definition of a photograph. And while I agree that digital photography removes the surprise and anticipation of seeing a newly developed photo, and even how the ability to immediately delete a photo can deliver a "death blow to the traditional role of the photograph as memento and keepsake," change leads to new ideas and fresh perspectives. I look forward to the ways that technology will transform photography and all of the many ways that we capture and share life and the world around us, and I am grateful to be a part of it.