Sometimes I hear this from my cohort of photographers that grew up with analog controls, film and darkroom processing. As a fellow grumpy old man I understand those looking askance at the young whippersnappers. I think us old fogies just might be missing the mark.
Craft in photography (whatever photography is, these days) has been transformed and our reliance on craft has changed. We don’t have to learn a lot of craft because we can rely on technology to do these tasks “automagically.” If your photographic history began with the digital age you probably don't know about “sunny 16,” hyperfocal distance, reciprocity, pushed and pulled development. That's OK. I'm still trying to understand why bokeh is so important.
Analog craft has been superseded by digital accuracy. If our digital camera says the perfect exposure is f/5.9 at 1/173 of a second then, our digital camera with electronic shutter will give us that exact (and perfect) exposure for the scene. We are not locked in to f/6.3 and 1/250 and hope we can fiddle with the development to make our image “come out.”
That part of craft has been thoroughly updated. Creating photographic artifacts still requires craft, but the skills are far, far different than those of us that grew up in the analog world. The craft requirement is still there, but it’s just very different.
The essential element, that is creating compelling content is still there no matter what type of photographic equipment you have.
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