On getting back to basics

This morning, I bought myself a new gadget. I think it was obsolete by lunch. It took Nikon over twenty years to get from F1 to F3; it took about 12 to get from D1 to D3, which is actually seven or more cameras disguised as three. The curve of technology over time is getting scary steep.

One consequence of this, of the rapid advancement in metering and autofocus systems, is that it’s getting pretty hard to make a technically bad photograph. People get good-looking pictures more or less right away.

But there’s a big gap between a technically good photo and a good photo, a gap I’m painfully aware of when I look at Henri Cartier-Bresson’s work at The Economist and The Daily Beast.

It’s a strong reminder that all you really need is a good eye and a light-tight box.