There was a time, in the not-so-distant past, when photog...

There was a time, in the not-so-distant past, when photography was about film rolls. You could click just 32 photographs at one time (33-34 clicks if you are lucky). You did not have the chance to review the pictures, until you sent the roll to the dark room to be developed, and you received the prints, either in gloss or matte papers. Then, digital cameras were invented, and everything changed. Now, you could click insane amount of pictures at one time, and also, review your photographs real time. You did not need prints to see your pictures. With the coming of smartphones, the act of taking pictures took another dramatic turn. Selfie became a legitimate word in our language, and taking pictures, selfie or otherwise, became the national pastime. Today, you no longer print photographs. You upload them on Facebook, and if you fancy yourself as a photographer, then on photo upload sites like Instagram and Flikr.

Does this mean that photo printing as we knew it is dead? Yes and no. Photo printing is not dead. With the advent in technology, even photo printing has morphed into something else, a specialised service. Now, you don’t print pictures in 4x5 papers, you make a photobook, with vivid colours and various enhancements, which can make you look a million bucks. There are presses like the HP Indigo series, Xerox Versant and Scodix, which can help you achieve this. And there are service providers who will make you a photobook of your pictures the way you want it.

Talking about cameras, a shot of the Vintage Camera Museum, titled Museo Camera, curated by Aditya Arya, who displayed cameras collected from around the world, including some iconic cameras from the last 100 years, at the CEIF Photofair 2015, which was held in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, from 8 to 11 January, 2015, organised by the All India Photographic Trade and Industry Association (AIPTIA) and co-organised by the Asian Imaging and Photography Magazine.