The web loves an infographic. And we love cameras. So this infographic on the “Rise of Mobile Photography” naturally caught our eye. It tells a story we’re all familiar with: that mobile phone photography has become really, really popular, at the expense of analog film and point-and-shoots:
But I do have a minor quibble with this part of the infographic:
Really, DSLRs and digital point-and-shoots were replacing people’s film cameras long before smart phone cameras came on the scene. What has changed is the ubiquity of cameras –they’re now in our pockets – leading to the 4x increase in the number of photos taken since 2000 (from 86 billion in 2000 to 380 billion in 2011, according to the graphic). So naturally, with that increase coming mostly from digital, analog will take less of the pie, percentage-wise:
Sure, analog use and sales have taken a hit and Kodak is in bankruptcy. But this is also a bit of a numbers game. Either way, as the success of Lomography and The Impossible Project have proven, reports of the death of analog photography have been greatly exaggerated.
Let us know what you think in our comments section.
