About this Blog

Photo Writing is the web version of the Photo Writing mini-magazine produced by Limephoto and Emil von Maltitz since 2010. As of 2015 it is now completely online. Feel free to browse through the articles and please leave comments in the comments section if you would like to engage with us.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Nikon bought RED. Say what?



Yup, as of the the 7th March 2024 Nikon and RED have signed an agreement that RED will be 100% purchased by Nikon corporation. Of course this means that the internet world of photography has exploded, both with memes and opinions. There’s a fair amount to unpack here. Naturally the inclination by the overreactive internet is that this is the death of RED as we know it (well, yes, actually that is true, but not in the sense that the camera is going to disappear and the world come crashing down in flames), and that we are all bereft of an awesome cinema camera line. It’s also true that Arri are probably popping champagne bottles and crowing that they are now peerless and firmly on the top of the heap…or not. This is where I think Nikon have actually been quite astute.

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

The Price of Photography

The Price of Photography


Of late I’ve found that I’m simply not as interested in equipment as I used to be. GAS seems to be less of a thing. It’s not that I have transcended to some higher plain of photography where the image is more important that the gear that is being used. That would be a good thing of course. No, the reason GAS escapes more and more, comes down to the fact that everything is just so darn expensive these days.

Monday, April 11, 2022

The Catharsis of Photography



Maletsunyane Falls in Lesotho



Certain types of photography offer the practitioner something more than the act of creating an aesthetic image. Reading Susan Sontag’s “On Photography”, it is interesting to note that she sees the act of photography as something possessive, sometimes distancing, the result aesthetic or instrumental. The view is particularly cynical at times where she paints a dystopia-like world where the camera is a controlling force on people. Apart from the alarming levels of surveillance that she considers and which have become very much a fact of life post 9/11, there is the mind numbing mundanity that the all pervasive camera-phone has created. There isn’t a single thing or object that is not photographed now. It tends to be done without thought apart from the simple purpose to record and disseminate. But the photography created by this snap-shot culture is all about the product or result of the camera, and very little critical thought goes into the action. 

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

A Question of Ownership - copyrighting of ideas in photography

My version of the controversial 'red bus'...hopefully I won't be sued over it ;)



Owning property is a relatively simple thing. If I buy a camera it belongs to me. Proof of my ownership is exhibited in the form of a receipt from the company or person that I bought it from. Admittedly as the ‘thing’ becomes older the receipt as proof becomes less and less important and it’s simply taken as a given that this property belongs to me. If someone takes that camera from me without my consent, the law in just about every part of the world is fairly clear in that the person is a thief and has stolen the camera from me. For some types of property we continuously pay dues that confirm our ownership of that property (think of rates and taxes on our homes). Either way, the physical object has a definite owner.