I suppose the art community could argue that the invention of photography was the end of portraiture. Think of the progression. Before photography the portraitist interpreted the subject according to his mind and understanding. Photography changed that in some subtle ways. The artist no longer had the final say. The shutter did. Color was removed. As mechanization progressed the stoic frowns of 3 second exposures gave way to more realistic expressions but photographers retained the studio setting. Again as things progressed we had hand held cameras that could capture the decisive moment in 1/60th of a second. That opened a window of new opportunity. Now with digital cameras every drawback of staged portraiture is removed and you can have it all. Perfect captures. Decisive moments. Brilliant colors.

But did we gain or lose in that brief pageant of invention. At least we have the privilege of looking at every phase in the technological progression and picking one place we like best. There are strengths and weaknesses to be argued at every link in the long chain. For me, there is nothing more absurd and boring than the Hasselblad era we are just escaping from. I can look at Julia Margaret Cameron's pictures all day. The next person will think she was absurd, shallow, ridiculous. And so it goes.