Mad Rambling Lady: Generation Instagram

I think I read an article somewhere about 'why instagram is killing photography'. The main point of it was that boring, pointless and dull photographs are made interesting by applying a filter, therefore this generation of aspiring photographers never learn how to take an interesting photo. After downloading instagram and running most of my existing iphone photos through it, I kinda see the point. But honestly, I don't think instagramming will ever actually replace learning photography, with a proper camera, without fancy effects and filters to make it look 'cool'. It has more of a social networking feel to it; upload photos of everything and anything. Se what your friends upload. Get 'likes'. Is it such a bad thing that there are tools available to let everyone feel they can create something beautiful, even without the talent? Surely, this has no effect whatsoever on professional photographers?

Outside the teenage no criticism <3 bubble, I think there are clear lines between popular instagramming and 'serious' photography. One is a bit of fun and available to everyone, the other is extremely difficult to achieve. Believe me, I'm still nowhere near becoming a 'serious' photographer. And even if instagram can make any old rubbish look presentable, practice makes perfect, and practicing framing and taking pictures will probably improve the eye for composition, which again is a step towards getting better at 'real' photography, art or layout.

All in all, yes, you do see a lot of rubbish about. But the feeling I get from the criticism of the phenomenon does resemble the common art snobbery that seems to make anything that is accessible to everyone bad art, or at least less valuable than that which is only accessible to the select few. If anyone can understand and appreciate it, it's bad. If just anyone can present a good looking picture, photography skills become less valuable.