Is it getting too easy?

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bcgnz said:
what’s the precontext behind this question? Too easy that bird photography as a hobby is not as fun anymore?…
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That some of the challenge of getting the shot is missing. Using my history as an example, I think my D850 was a great camera but still offered technical challenges for getting the shot. For example a small bird takeoff or a swallow in flight. With my OM1 and Z8 frame rates, pro-capture, AI subject detection etc. I can get those shots without much difficulty. In other words, the camera does much more, in fact most of the work.

What remains for me is fieldcraft - finding and setting up for the subject - and composition - catching the subject in great light or background. These are still great fun for me but when I press the button, let’s face it, the camera is doing most of the work.

So maybe I’m just observing that AI and computational technologies are maybe making life too simple.

To extend my AI context to something completely different, while vacationing in Phoenix, we watched many driverless Waymos ferrying passengers here and there. Within a decade, I think many of us will be driving our vehicles on full autopilot. And, given the skills of the average driver, much more safely. But …. How will that feel?
 
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Brian L said:
That some of the challenge of getting the shot is missing. Using my history as an example, I think my D850 was a great camera but still offered technical challenges for getting the shot. For example a small bird takeoff or a swallow in flight. With my OM1 and Z8 frame rates, pro-capture, AI subject detection etc. I can get those shots without much difficulty. In other words, the camera does much more, in fact most of the work.

What remains for me is fieldcraft - finding and setting up for the subject - and composition - catching the subject in great light or background. These are still great fun for me but when I press the button, let’s face it, the camera is doing most of the work.

So maybe I’m just observing that AI and computational technologies are maybe making life too simple.

To extend my AI context to something completely different, while vacationing in Phoenix, we watched many driverless Waymos ferrying passengers here and there. Within a decade, I think many of us will be driving our vehicles on full autopilot. And, given the skills of the average driver, much more safely. But …. How will that feel?
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Interesting..

Sounds like you are stick shift type of guys…..
 
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Sometimes, as I process an image, I think "this is way too easy." but I never think that about making an image with the camera in front of my face. When taking wildlife shots my brain is whirring as I look for composition, color, elements of design, action, etc. plus "have I got this camera set correctly?" My brain is also busy already putting the shot through processing as I take it. There's a lot going on for me as I make a wildlife photograph. Both processing of an image and the making of an image are definitely in some ways, for some people, easier than in past years. Having said that, I think it still takes more than "a better paint brush" to achieve an image that is exemplary, saying "good" leaves too much open to opinion. And in some ways the new tech actually makes it more difficult for some people as they just can't figure it all out, too many choices. There are still many blurred shots, many shots with compositions that don't make sense to the human brain, many shots with absolutely no subject, or animal horns or tree limbs in places that don't work to create a cohesive photograph. Recently, on a shoot with a group, someone said "I can't get a sharp image." I asked what focus mode they were using and they said auto and I told them it might be better to use single point as auto would most likely pick up the grass in front of the subject: they changed focus mode and started to get more shots in focus; too many options these days and it's easier for some people to let the camera decide, even when that's not the right choice. So, yes, it's easier but also maybe harder at the same time, although in a different way. I love the challenge of making a shot that I find interesting and successful as well as figuring out the camera and the processing, that's what keeps me interested in photography.
 
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I’m an amateur. Z8 is my first proper camera. I have a hard enough time managing this while trying to get a beautiful shot… so for me personally, the easier, the merrier lol

Without the advanced eye tracking auto focus, I honestly don’t know if I would have the patience to pursue this hobby. It’s hard enough already with everything the z8 is offering lol


I believe it was thom hogan who said that between z50ii and z8, the latter is ironically the better option for hobbyists since more are automated.
 
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kmhphotography said:
A change of perspective might be in order. If camera equipment is getting better, then a photographer willing to put in the effort and work may go even farther than they did before.

Instead of being satisfied with what is now standard, stand on the shoulders of what the camera now allows you and use the same fight and struggle previously required - apply it in novel ways to reach newer heights.
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You’re right, I need to challenge myself more. To some extent, I am. I recently posted a series where I specifically went out looking for morning backlit subjects and compositions. So the focus (pun intended) was much more narrow than “spray and pray.”

That is the challenge, to use the camera’s capabilities to get images I wasn’t able to achieve before now.
 
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bcgnz said:
I’m an amateur. Z8 is my first proper camera. I have a hard enough time managing this while trying to get a beautiful shot… so for me personally, the easier, the merrier lol

Without the advanced eye tracking auto focus, I honestly don’t know if I would have the patience to pursue this hobby. It’s hard enough already with everything the z8 is offering lol


I believe it was thom hogan who said that between z50ii and z8, the latter is ironically the better option for hobbyists since more are automated.
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It’s a great camera. Have fun learning and mastering it. And Steve is a great resource, both videos and e-books.
 
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bcgnz said:
Interesting..

Sounds like you are stick shift type of guys…..
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You absolutely nailed it. For forty years of driving I drove stick and clutch. About three years ago I bought my first truck - a Tacoma - mostly to get into rough areas for this hobby. My first vehicle in decades without the stick. I’m getting lazy.
 
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Brian L said:
I started birds, wildlife and landscape photography in 2020 and, since then, I’ve accumulated an impressive collection of cameras and lenses. When I started, bagging a BIF or action shot was truly hit and miss. Let’s face it, the AF of the original Z6/Z6ii line truly sucked. So I went backwards,bought a D850 and fell in love with the hobby, my hit rate improving exponentially. Later, I acquired an OM1 and Z8 and the paraphernalia to go along with them. Lately, I bought a Leica Q3 43, probably my favourite camera so far. Partly because it’s maddenly inconsistent.

Now, I set up the camera(s) to shoot a ladybug - at rest or in flight - and, presto, I get images I never would have dreamed of a couple of years ago.

I still get a huge kick out of shooting but I find I’m much more picky and selective than I once was. In some ways it’s a bonus, I spend more time setting up for composition and backgrounds. But, let’s face it,it’s much easier to bag great shots.

If I was to pick the technology sweet spot for me, probably it was/is my D850. Fantastic camera, great AF, but it still needed a certain skill to get the best shots. And a lower keeper rate.

I understand we ain’t goin backwards but ….. the question stands. Is it getting too easy?
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Not for me! I have a D850 and just finished taking pictures of very small flowers. I can't seem to get the degree of focus I'm interested in achieving. I'm starting to wonder if I'm being unrealistic.
 
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I think that cameras have gotten so complicated but that's the very thing that lets us get those shots. But I think that level of sophistication is pushing photography forward, but also making us think outside the box in order to do something different.
 
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I think what we are experiencing is the expansion of possibilities brought about by technical advances.

I do not find however that everything is now simple. There are still plenty of challenges that technology has not solved.

Composition and getting the right background

Dealing with atmospherics

Getting a fast moving bird in flight in the frame in the first place

Dealing with sometimes inconsistent and imperfect autofocus

Need for better precapture

Just getting the birds close enough for a meaningful image

Culling through and managing thousands of images

And of course finding the perfect moment for the memorable image
 
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A better question may be asked or can be simply stated that “it is much easier to image now!” Compared to when you only had 36 exposures on a roll, split prism focus, manual metering etc etc. It is easier. On every aspect. Learning curve is different (cpu, raw, AF, insane iso, etc). But it is easier to get a sharp focused image. Takes less manual skill, because the camera adds so much to the focus tracking and WB , and auto iso. However, it may take more mental skill to use and set the camera gear.

My history stems from shooting 35mm film slides in 1980-2002, primarily fujichrome asa400 to be a dual purpose indoor outdoor travel landscape film, to the first 5/6 MP CP5000 and D70, and imaging indoor dance with D200 bodies in 2006/7 and being forced or required to own and use fast glass like a 85 1.4, 35 f2, 281.4 200 f2 etc, the AF inhaled iso noise was awful, you had to meter manually perfectly, plus the timing for jumps, leaps, had to be perfect because your shutter was always under 1/300!

The modern age of equipment helping so much started in 2008/9 with the D3 and D3s. It was a revelation for AF ability, speed, and higher iso ranges in the 3200+ range. Was game changing for both indoor dance and wildlife.

A next generation or dawn, is the new mirrorless bodies with the new tracking and wysiwyg viewfinders. As much change as the DSLR did in 2008 with high iso and Af bodies, and VR lenses.

Same can be said with post processing and cpu horsepower and AI, a new age.

So yes it is easier, however, is it to easy be artistic, know principles and elements of design? no,.

technology moves on….
 
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Brian L said:
What remains for me is fieldcraft - finding and setting up for the subject - and composition - catching the subject in great light or background.
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Add choice of depth of field, how movement will be rendered, the moment to press the shutter release, and you've got all the elements that go into making a great photo.

The camera functions workout any creative intent. It operates as designed by engineers and when commanded by the operator. The photographer adds a piece of their soul to the image-making process. That's what beings a photo to life.

However advanced the tools we use are or become, the biggest challenge is always the artist's willingness to lay themselves bare, to give themselves fully to the creative act of making a photo.
 
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When I think I'm starting to shoot the same subject the same way over and over again, I change course and tackle something new. Several years ago, I started doing architectural photography. LOVE it! I've done a lot of churches/cathedrals and have photographed 26 state capitols in the USA. Recently I started using a slow shutter speed for BIF's (hummingbirds) and moving subjects (running wildebeests). And decided to try to represent Africa in a very different way.....I gave infrared photography a go while on a trip to Africa.

It not the gear....it's the photographer.
 
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Not easier - just better. Now I can try things that were not previously possible with my older gear. Also, I am aging and the newer gear helps maintain the quality of the image I do shoot by providing "better" files and tools to work with. I can do things now that I could not do 10 years ago and loving it.
 
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Brian L said:
I started, a long, long, long time ago …… with a Nikon FG. Before that, well, my Mom‘s Brownie.
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So you've been photographing since the film days ( manual focus, Low ISO) and NOW, between 2020 and 2025, photography has suddenly changed so much that it has gotten too easy? If you had been using Sony in 2020. you wouldn't have thought there had been that much of a change at all. And if you had bought a Sony A1 in 2021 like I did, you'd be thinking there has only been relatively minor improvements since 2021.
 
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