When I was learning photography (so long ago I don’t want to think about it) the instruction came from other photographers; people that had a lot of experience with the creation of photographic prints from film negatives. They showed us their photographs, examples of their art created through technology. Their profession was making images and they shared their knowledge of photography.
Look at the current crop of photographic teachers. Pleasant people, very good at explaining the arcane functions of increasingly complex electronic contraptions and how software works. Have you seen anything other than “example photographs” in a book, or on a YouTube video?
We have reached a point where photography is so sophisticated we separate the instruction on camera operation, software and photography. We worry so much about hardware and software we have little time left for the aesthetics of photography.
An apprentice gunsmith in Williamsburg, Virginia works on the barrel of a rifle. This is a job that must be learned by putting hands to work. It can't be learned by watching a YouTube video.
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