The Internet is making us lazy

I’m starting this essay with the background knowledge that it may upset some people. Thats ok though, if it makes one or two think then I have achieved something.

So what to I mean by my title “The Internet is making us lazy” ?

Take a step back, take a sip of your coffee and think about the resource you have in front of you. If the internet did not exist you would not be reading this (I would not have written it), you would have probably found a far better resource of information, something far more useful to spend your time doing, however I digress. What I want you to think about are all the images you have seen on the internet, all the places, all of the inspiration for your work (I am assuming you are a photographer or artist).

Think about those images, on instagram now or if you have been around a few years, on Flickr or other photo sharing sites. Now extend that thought to the comments below “Great Capture”, “Inspired” etc… If the photograph was great or unusual it would not be far down the comments that the first “What Camera” question would occur, closely followed by “What lens?” “Aperture?”, “Shutter speed?”, “Why don’t you open up your exif data?”. The equivalent questions can be applied to many subjects but I’m a photographer and artist so I will stick to this realm.

When I first see a photograph that excites me, once the initial “joy” has ebbed away I start asking myself “how was this done?”, “how would I have done this?”. Once I have worked this out I start to question “why was it done this way?” .

Think how different that process is compared to just asking the creator how they did it. What do we learn if we are handed all of the settings on a plate ? Other than at that moment, at that place, with that equipment a person made an image in that way; thats not learning. If this information is taken and used in exactly the same way to create work, these works are not unique creations, they are copies!

Photography is an art, so lets cast our minds back to learning about art at school, college or university. Teachers led the way, examples and inspirations shown and discussed, the way forward was shown but the student had to find the way, make the mistakes and learn.

Some people say no, photography is not an Art, it’s a science! How about science lessons then? The theory was thought, a method for proof was explained and the student would be helped through the experiment to learn for themselves and understand the proof.

Take a look at the 10 Rules for Students, Teachers, and Life by Sister Corita Kent (yep you can find it yourself in the true spirt of research). When it comes to all creativity Rule 4 is the key.

I probably should have written this nearer the beginning of lockdown. I’ll admit whilst I know I should have been documenting these difficult times with a camera, for various reasons I have been studying, learning and creating with pen, paint and ink as well as video (take a look at https://julieedwardsvisuals.com for a hint of what I have done).

I started my JEX photography blog as a resource to help photographers using Fuji cameras and mobile workflow, it holds a lot of information but I always try to write in a way that guides the way as opposed to detailing every press.

There are a lot of resources out there for us all, (not all of it trustworthy!) If used in the right way it could fuel a generation of great creatives, however at the moment I am worried that its mostly fuelling a lot of copyists….

“Nothing is a mistake, there’s no win and no fail. There’s only make”
– Sister Corita Kent

Stay Safe
Julie