Hacker News Reader

Yes I see people taking pictures with their phones but do you really call this creating art? I think it gives them the _illusion_ that they're creating something, and maybe that makes them happy, but personally I think it's an act of self-delusion, and quite annoying too.

View on HN

Better email the Smithsonian and tell them to take all that photography out of the American Art Museum. Ansel Adams was merely under the illusion that he was creating something, but it was just an annoying act of self-delusion.

Photography isn't really proper art, especially if done using a smartphone, right?

I would agree with this. From my experience, most people in my demographic use smartphone cameras for sharing moments on Facebook, Snapchat, etc. which directly fuels content consumption. Relatively few seem to really aspire to be hobbyist photographers.

Yeah, before the smartphone, all photography was serious. Nobody wandered around with a 35mm compact taking photos of their friends and family and holidays in Disneyland. Everyone was trying to make great works of art with their cameras.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com