In the days before the digital revolution photography was still a popular pastime, but many people where put off by the necessity of buying film and then either processing and developing the film yourself or taking it to a Photolab, then receiving a set of 30 prints that had stickers on them explaining that the picture was out of focus or had red streaks on it because the film had been exposed to light or left in a drawer for 3 years before being developed.
Many photographers still use film (some even refusing to go digital) but the explosion of digital camera technology over the last 10 years has seen an increase in the popularity of photography. Social Media sites have also contributed to this rise, after all why write something when you can just take a picture on your smart phone.
The area of photography that seems to have the biggest boost is the use of SLR cameras, now known as Digital SLR (or DSLR) cameras. In the past many amateurs and snappers preferred point and shoot cameras because of their simplicity and ease of use. The SLR camera was for professionals and enthusiastic hobbyists. Now it’s almost impossible to walk down the street in any city in the world without seeing at least one person carrying a DSLR camera.
