What is 21st Century Photography?

Many of you have noticed that the 2009 Symposium is called the ‘f295 Symposium on 21st Century Photography’ and we changed the name of the f295 forum to f295: Exploring 21st Century Photography. But what is it? This section offers thoughts on this 21st Century photographic phenomenon.

Empowerment
The 21st Century Photographer remains open to the exploration and use of a variety of processes, techniques, and technologies so long as the chosen method(s) most concisely articulate their creative vision. A net result of this paradigm shift is not only complete artistic freedom but also a palpable sense of empowerment. Historically photography has marched down the long path of process obsolescence - one in which new techniques replace old in a continual cycle of progress. In a 21st Century approach, however, control is wrestled from profit driven agencies -corporations, advertisers, and the marketplace all promoting a consumptive photographic model- and given to the artist/photographer. By virtue of taking the responsibility of control, photographers allow themselves to use a pastiche of tools and materials to make pictures. It is this freedom -which is new for many- that empowers and fuels the 21st Century Photographer.