What a Lifelong Photographer Has to Say About What Makes a True Photographer

The vast proliferation of cameraphones and even the digital age itself have created an explosion in the sheer number of pictures taken and shared with the world, and for many, that has blurred the line of where snapshots end and photography begins. This interesting video segment features one photographer as he gives his opinion on what a photographer is in the age of inescapable and omnipresent images. 

If you've never seen Ken Van Sickle's work, I highly recommend you check it out. It has a fantastic and imaginative quality to it, and yet, it retains a stunning immediacy that connects the viewer on a deep level with its subjects. In this great segment with PBS Newshour, he gives a quick walkthrough of a few of his photos, then gives his stance on what photography is in the modern world, and I think what he says is well worth internalizing, as we often focus on gear or wonder how to distinguish ourselves amongst the veritable onslaught of imagery: "technology doesn't change the way photography is; it just makes it available to more people." I think he gets at something really important here, that even as the methods and mechanisms evolve and proliferate at a breakneck pace, the core of what photography is remains unchanged.