Making photos more accessible: How photography has changed over the decade

The rise of digital photography is far from new, but advances over the course of the decade in cameras and editing software — paired with the rise of social media — has made photography more accessible in a historically elitist career.

Barbara Tyroler, a local photographer specializing in public arts and community projects, worked in Washington, D.C. before coming to the Triangle 10 years ago. She said she was shocked by the lack of interest in multimedia and alternative film development processes in local gallery exhibitions.

“They really didn't know or didn't use electronic media much," she said. "They were still stuck in traditional prints and framing."

Over the last decade, however, Tyroler said galleries in the Triangle have begun to catch up to the photography scenes of the D.C. and New York City areas. 

She said exhibitions with images projected on the sides of buildings were unheard of in the Triangle when she first moved here, despite its pervasiveness in the metropolitan areas she came from. Now these formats are catching on in local galleries, bringing photography off of the paper and onto the walls.

“Digital captures have to be collage, multimedia work that could be constructed in Photoshop, Illustrator or some kind of program,” she said. “The more complex it is, I think the more interesting it is for the public.”

Members of the Chapel Hill Camera Club, a group of local photographers founded in 1978, have also witnessed the shift to digital and electronic photography in the area. With meetings every Tuesday, members have the opportunity to share tips, receive constructive criticism of their work, and learn about new photographic technology.

Cal Wong is a member of the club and a macro photographer, which means he takes extremely close-up photos. Wong said the club provides members with a space to talk about art in a way they were unable to before.  It became especially helpful when digital photography increased in popularity in the area.

“Around 2005, people were deciding to do digital,” Wong said. “Nobody knew how to do anything and everybody had problems. So, we started a digital discussion group to help each other figure out the things that we didn't know.”

In addition to special discussions on digital photography, the club also designates one meeting a month to share information on a new movement or technological advancement to expand their awareness of the changes happening in photography.

“What we'll do is show videos or people will bring in a new piece of equipment they just bought and explain how it works,” Wong said.

Discussions range from the rise of the Japanese aesthetic known as Wabi-sabi, which celebrates the natural and imperfect, to the advancements made in digital cameras, like focus stacking, which combines multiple photos into one to create edge-to-edge sharpness.

Scott Van Manen, the president of the Chapel Hill Camera Club, said software has brought techniques from darkroom to digital photography through tools like burning — which darkens images — and dodging, which lightens them.

Van Manen and other photographers in the club, like Raymond Tice, have also noticed software now allows photographers to go beyond what they could achieve in a darkroom. Tice said photographers can now apply filters to digital photos that make them look like paintings, expanding the creative effects they have at their disposal. 

“They keep on doing things with software making it easier and easier,” Tice said. “The second thing is the training that is offered over the web, whether it be on YouTube or elsewhere.”

Resources like YouTube videos, blogs, training books and guided photo trips have served as a response to the dramatic increase in the number of people taking photos. 

“There's all this information that people have access to that they never had before,” he said.

The rise of social media has exponentially increased the number of photos people share and are exposed to, Tice said. Pairing this new platform for photography with the improvements made in cellphone cameras makes the field accessible to a wider population and less elitist. 

Tyroler said the immediateness of social media is exciting but also dangerous: While it provides a space to share photos, there are no standards that distinguish good photos from bad ones.

Having a solid understanding of the camera’s technical functions is essential before adding in the conceptual side of photography that allows a photographer to efficiently communicate a message to their audience, Tyroler said.

“It's just like learning a sport without having proper training — you learn all these bad habits,” Tyroler said. “So, it's sometimes hard to find really good photography if you don't really understand what a good photograph is.”

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