Value is an odd thing. It can be subjective and objective - or both.
Take cars for example. When a new one first hits the market its dollar value is specific (unless you're really good at haggling a dealer), then a few years later it has a value range depending on condition...which is then, again, subjective.
What about friendship though? Today I learned that it has a very high value, a value we often underestimate.
After getting half way through dinner prep I realized I forgot a key ingredient: peas. Stove burning, pot boiling, husband working late...and now I have to get peas while the stove's going or wait a bit and leave a half cooked dinner cooling. So on my way downstairs I popped my head in our neighbors Dan and Luann to say hi as I ran to the nearest Ralph's (Trader Joe's doesn't have canned peas you see). After a minute of chit chat they asked where I was off to - half way through my
elaborate explanation of the delicacies that is Tuna Casserole out comes Dan with a can of early peas; just what I needed.
How is this like photographs, you're probably wondering by now. With the quick like ninja speed and nearly error-proof photography at
everyone's fingertips good photography is fast loosing it's distinction as an art of recording history. Many people now expect to pay a little and get a lot; and often they're tricked into thinking they got it with all the people jumping into being "photographers" and giving away their images for nothing.
The value of a photograph is often left unrealized until the moment it matters most - at the passing of a loved one; when a grandparent thumbs through volumes of history with their grandchildren. Just as we take friends for granted until we need them, we have begun to stake the responsibility of our memories into the hands of hobbyists.
A clarification: every photographer has to start somewhere, so give room to let people grow in their abilities. However, deception of professionalism is an unfortunate reality we must begin to acknowledge.
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