Some thoughts on the future of the photos we take now

JDFlood · Jan 8, 2013

I pretty much dropped paper from my life over the last four to five years. At work, personal research, books, magazines, papers, photography, home (receipts / bills records). So I am a bit surprised when I am in discussions about resolution and folks say, well what size are you going to print it. (I seldom do weddings) I don't often print a photo, except occasionally for my 80 year old relatives. I have gathered I'm a little ahead of the curve on this. But I wanted to bring up the perspective of thinking about photography tomorrow.

I process and view my photos on 30" monitors (2,560 by 1600)). If friends come over I'll show them on the iPad ( 2,048 by 1,536 ) or a 70" HD screen (which is very poor quality in comparison). Sharp just released a 32" 4K monitor (3,840 by 2,160) and has demonstrated an 8K monitor. So I am thinking that for photo work 4k screens will be approaching the norm in 5 years and 8K by 10 years (plus or minus given your income level). Hence, the monstrous Nikon D800 (7,360 by 4,912) files will just roughly fill an 8K screen. I am pretty sure that wall sized high resolution stuff is not far beyond that. My wife and I pass photos around between our iPads, large monitors, and her HD TV, so we haven't felt the need for paper for a long time.

I guess my point is, I am not shying away from large megapixel cameras, I am thinking about how well they will stand up on the technology twenty years from now and how much enjoyment my kids will get out of them. It seems like just a few weeks ago that 1024 by 786 were an asperation. I took a bunch of photos in the late 1960's and really enjoy seeing them pop up on my screen saver / slide show at work. JD

KmH · Jan 8, 2013

Well. One hell of a lot of people are still buying prints and other print products, which is why places like the Miller's family of print outlets, the WHCC print outlets, Bay photo, Nations Lab, H&H color, AdoramaPix, and many many other print labs are not only thriving, they are also expanding their product offerings.

I forgot to mention all the Walmarts, Walgreens, Staples, Sam's Clubs, and other consumer oriented print labs.

Years ago they said computers would make us a paperless society. :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

We use more paper now than we ever have. http://www.greenamerica.org/PDF/PaperFacts.pdf

Derrel · Jan 8, 2013

My understanding is that worldwide, demand for printed images is wayyyyyyyyy down from what it used to be. MORE photos are taken now than ever before, but far,far,far,far fewer images are actually PRINTED than before, as a percentage of photos shot, AND also as an absolute number. The inkjet printer business, and the supply of paper for inkjet prints to be made on??? Both headed to the crapper... Why??? Images can now easily, and affordably, be displayed in high-resolution on computers, TV's, tablets, and now, even small, high-resolution handheld devices like...smart phones. The developing and printing of film-based images? Formerly widespread, it is now a niche business with ever-fewer outlets every month.

Of course, there are still companies that specialize in prints and the making of prints, but the number of such outlets has dwindled considerably as digital has become so widespread, and as so many "alternative" ways of displaying images have been developed. It's a lot like film and the film industry...overall demand is down, and the number of vendors has decreased markedly, and so the few that remain sometimes report "higher demand", as more and more customers of other, bankrupt vendors flock to the remaining few outlets. We've seen this over and over, as retailers that sell film make asinine comments like, "we're selling more film than ever! Film use is on the upswing!"...when in reality, what has happened is that overall sales are nearly dead--except at the few retailers that now remain in business, and which carry the products sought by customers whose previous suppliers went bankrupt. This is why the mini-lab and photofinishing lab business is mostly "dead", except for an ever-dwindling number of big players that have the resources and the volume (and the business acumen and good fortune!) to not go broke in a declining industry. Oh...Eastman Kodak...uh...bankrupt.

Hewlett-Packard further troubled by decline in printing - Business - Ohio

Hewlett-Packard further troubled by decline in printing
By Steve Johnson
San Jose Mercury News
Published: December 25, 2012 - 08:42 PM
SNIP>"HP executives insist printers, ink and related products will remain essential for businesses and many individuals. But people arent printing as much as they used to, in part, according to some experts, because of smartphones and tablets, which enable vast amounts of information to be easily accessed from anywhere."

Yes, Photo Paper Usage is on the Decline

InfoTrends studies end-user photo printing habits | PMA Newsline

InfoTrends: Camera phone becoming preferred camera | PMA Newsline

Buckster · Jan 9, 2013

Even prints for wall decorations will be replaced by digital in the not too distant future, is my guess. Paper-thin displays and Ultra-HD are being showcased as we speak at CES 2013 and as that tech merges and gets cheaper with increases in both production and competition, it'll make wall prints on paper a thing of the past. Bonus: Change those images on your walls at will, probably with a remote wifi interface on a smart phone or something.

JDFlood · Jan 9, 2013

I had bought into the end of paper idea in the '80s only to order more and more printers. So my view on paperless got jaded. Recently business processes have increasingly become paperless. I think the thing that pushed the trend over the top was the iPad. Finally a paper replacement and with iPad 3 with the retinal display... so you cannot see the pixels. For me Photostream and iTV let's all devices effortlessly share photos and to all displays, I don't do with full size D800 yet.... but it is just a matter of time. Also the funtion of "throwing" your work from one device to another is nearly here. I saw it demoed at Microsoft a couple years ago. And yes, paper thin displays are on the way. I was thinking my ideal photo workstation has a 50" or 60" curved display.... So the head is equidistant from all parts of the display... near retinal. Can't wait. In the mean time I'm going to dream about duel 4k displays (and a new PC with dual video cards. That should be able to nearly fully display a D800 photo. Wow. So now, the optics of our cameras become the bottleneck for greater Rez. I tend to be on the cutting edge, but I'll still have to wait a couple years for the costs to come down to by the duel 4K rig. JD

jham1496 · Feb 13, 2013

IMO viewing a photo on a back lit screen is not the same as having a big print hanging up on the wall. You walk into a room and see a 20x30 or larger print hanging up and it makes a statement, more so than looking at it on a ipad or 15in computer.
This guy shares the same thoughts as me:

nola.ron · Feb 13, 2013

jham1496 said:
IMO viewing a photo on a back lit screen is not the same as having a big print hanging up on the wall. You walk into a room and see a 20x30 or larger print hanging up and it makes a statement, more so than looking at it on a ipad or 15in computer.
This guy shares the same thoughts as me:

Love his videos. Learned so much from them! Can't wait until I get something good enough to make a print like this for my wall behind my computers

KmH · Feb 13, 2013

I'm in the "Go Big, or Go Home' wall size print camp too.

Ilovemycam · Feb 13, 2013

Snapshot prints saved me from total loss when my negs got destroyed. I was able to scan them and recover a just doable print from the snaps. Now I make letter size master prints of anything that goes into my portfolio as a backup to the digital. Wish I had done more of that back in the day.

But prints are not a cure all...I lost lots of my work from using some of Freestyle's old Agfacolor paper that faded away in the dark. I'm in the process of printing up hand made letter size editioned books and spiral binding them. Don't know if they will sell, ($2500 each min) but will offer them to certain museums that accept my portfolios in their collection as a donation. Nothing like a beautiful print in hand!

JDFlood · Feb 14, 2013

jham1496 said:
IMO viewing a photo on a back lit screen is not the same as having a big print hanging up on the wall. You walk into a room and see a 20x30 or larger print hanging up and it makes a statement, more so than looking at it on a ipad or 15in computer.
This guy shares the same thoughts as me: YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VHuY4cIrSk

Hummm... Luddite. "What sets me apart is that I am doing is what everybody used to do in the past but bigger." It is also impressive to make a plastic hot dog 20 feet long... You could then call it art. The iPad is Great for sharing high Rez photos. Personally I far prefer viewing backlit photos. Soon LCDs TVs will jump to 4k and have sufficient Rez to appropriately view photos... 1090p is not high enough. Nothing wrong with enjoying old technology... It is just not for most people. JD