Brian,

Unfortunately for you, it's not years ago, it's now, and now is not the best time for professional photographers, but it's the best time ever for amateurs. What you refuse to accept is that the 50 million people who fit the definition of photographer, are photographers. Some are more accomplished than others, some more active, others more knowledgeable, or more creative, fewer and fewer professional, but they are all photographers. I agree that in time the term photographer could take on a very different meaning and usage, similar to the term writer. There was once a professional class called scribes who had a skill few others in their time did; they were able to read and write. A scribe was not an author, but mainly a copier of manuscripts. Scribes were not valued for their creativity, but for their productivity, accuracy, and legibility. The word scribe is derived from the Latin, scribere "to write", so a scribe was literally, a writer. Technology caught up the scribe in form of Gutenberg's moveable type printing press, and typography. We no longer have much need of scribes, though it can be argued the manuscripts they produced are more beautiful, and required more learning and skill to produce than any printed page, yet no one who argues the printing press was bad for books is likely to be taken seriously. Authors remain a valued professional class, and are often referred to as writers, though the ability to write is commonplace, even among children.

Your characterization of the unscrupulous photographer preying on the ignorant consumer is laughable, and illustrates your lack of understanding of the way the market works. yes, I, the lowly amateur, dare to challenge you, the mighty professional, because, in this case, we're talking basic economics and the mechanisms of the marketplace, in which we all participate. As I've noted, and you've ignored, the standards of quality and value are defined by the consumer, not by the producer. I've already provided a historical example of this concept, but if you still don't get it, try this: the next time you're undercut by someone providing lower quality (by your standards) work for less money, go to the client and say, "You've been had! For 10X as much money I can provide you a product I feel is 20X higher quality, according to my standards, and I should know; after all I'm the professional." the only cure for ignorance is education, and I'm sure the client will thank you for it, and you can rest secure in the knowledge you've restored the reputation of all (real) professional photographers, everywhere.

I don't remember claiming to "love photography"; that seems a little dramatic and/or goofy to me, but my standards are my own, and the standards of others are of no concern to me. If you get excited about pictures of sand dunes, or piers in still water, or kittens under rainbows, good for you! I hope you truly enjoy viewing and/or making those images, but your standards have no impact on me. There are many, many photographers, and more every day, doing work I find interesting and inspiring, and I have my own work to do, to my own standards.

I don't put all photographers on the same level, but I acknowledge a person who makes photos, to whatever standard, is a photographer; maybe not a very good one, by my standards, but by definition, a photographer. If you think I am ambitious, or crave fame and recognition, you just don't know me very well. You might have noticed I've made very few references to my photography, and I think you'd have a hard time finding any claims by me of being a great photographer, because I understand that only an egomaniac would think in those terms. I'm quite happy to continue my experimentation and education, and do the work I'm motivated to do, and I don't need the approval or recognition of anyone to do it. I'm quite certain my attitude towards my photography is completely beyond your grasp, so Im not surprised to see it so grossly misrepresented by you.

I hope you enjoy your piano, and I'm sure it's very nice, and very expensive.

I don't feel the need to justify anything to someone I respect so little.

Self aggrandizement is two words, and you should know them well.