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Mike Richards's avatar

Hey Gajan,

Thank you for another great post. I can’t wait to see the book! Have you ever connected with Matt Day about laying out and organizing a long term photo book project like yours?

And in regards to you post… there’s another dimension about gear mattering that can directly affect some beginners and experts alike and that is closely related to efficiency in workflow - accessibility. This can be in relation to physical ergonomics, settings & menus, and how we interact with our images afterwards.

What I find interesting is that there is a huge gap in the middle of the spectrum of gear. Smartphones are so easy and intuitive to use that it makes up for very poor hardware ergonomics. The photos are easy to catalogue, manipulate, and share afterwards. They, for many like myself are/were the gateway drug into photography …then there are the almost fabled Hasselblad and Leica menus and apps but in between there are cameras like my Fujifilm X-H2 - very good ergonomics but the menus and the fact my Apple Photos app easily recognizes the camera but not the RAW but Capture One seems to want me to buy a new dongle just to get images off of my CF Express card… none of this is easily intuitive. None of this is accessible.

All this hassle can turn anyone off of photography or at least ‘doing the reps’ that are required to improve our craft. Especially people like me who are neurodivergent. Having brain injury doesn’t mean I can’t figure out all of the obstacles above but it means that to do so requires much, much more effort (and for somethings that effort is every time I interact with my camera). This would all be made better for everyone if all camera - and photographic software - companies designed with accessibility in mind. Ideally working together to develop a common set of accessibility standards… am I trading in my X-H2 to go back to a smartphone? Hell no! But I do wish it was easier for me to use.

What would photography look like tomorrow if more people could more easily express and develop their artistic vision and skills?

Thank you for the Church and Street Community Gajan!

Mike 📷

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Walktopia ( Ghi Kopera)'s avatar

Love the new logo. 👍🥰

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