What goes into a good photograph? For some folks, photography is simply the recording of memories. Getting it as accurately as possible is their goal. For others, photography is a way to express their artistic sides. They aren’t satisfied with merely recording a scene, they want to interpret it.

Over the years, the methods used to record images have changed drastically. In the beginning, photographers had to mix their chemicals. Later on film was invented making the process much easier, and much less deadly. Now we have digital cameras that make it even easier.

A strange phenomenon has taken place. The digital camera users seem to look down upon the users of film…and vice versa. Do they think that Mathew Brady or Ansel Adams would have insisted on using the cameras that they had and not use the modern digital cameras? Would Mathew Brady want to carry fifty or more pounds of gear and develop pictures in a tent rather than snap a digital image and move on? Would Ansel Adams want to carry his 8×10 view cameras and wait days or weeks before he could see his images rather than take a digital image and move on to the next mountain peak? Would either of them have hated Photoshop, even though it would have made their pictures better?

Photographers should worry less about how they take their pictures and more about taking good pictures. Both memories and art can be recorded with whatever camera you happen to be using, be it a Holga, Polaroid, Nikon, or iPhone.