Recently, a friend of mine was cleaning out his shed before moving house and gave me a pile of old photographic magazines dating from 1966.

Reviewing articles in these magazines, and comparing them with articles contained in my latest magazines, highlighted to me just how much photographic knowledge and competency has insidiously been “dumbed down” over intervening years, particularly with the advent of digital photography.

Apart from the fact photographic equipment prices were SO MUCH CHEAPER in 1966, compared to those of today, it was noticeable that articles in the old magazines went to greater efforts to improve photographers’ technical knowledge on all aspects of photography.  For example, many articles focused on educating photographers to design and build their own DIY projects.  Typical articles from the 1966 era include: “Establishing Guide Numbers for Electronic Flash”. “Understanding the Various Film Speed Systems”, “How to Make Your Own Soft-Focus Lens” and “Using Photographic Filters”; all containing very useful photographic background knowledge and advice that, I believe, is still relevant in today’s digital photographic environment.

Compare the above with many articles contained in today’s photographic magazines, which are invariably filled with testing commentary on the latest cameras, lenses and flash units; comments that are typically sponsored and/or written by product suppliers or paid influencers.  The only thing today’s photographers learn from modern magazine articles is that, whatever equipment one currently owns, it is simply no longer good enough.   If one wants to aspire to becoming a good photographer, then the path is always to own the latest and greatest new gear!  Possessing photographic knowledge and skill, it seems, is no longer relevant!

Reminds me of the old ads in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s spruiking the advantages of owning Olympus cameras.  In these ads, the famous English photographer, David Bailey (an ambassador for Olympus cameras at the time), is seen photographing celebrities and weddings with various “point and shoot” Olympus cameras.  In the process he is often patronized and scorned by professional photographers who are attending the same events photographing with “real” cameras, not always with good success.  The message in these ads was: possessing photographic skill will always trump equipment capability.