Take a look at this photo. It’s in focus and well-exposed, but is it technically a photograph?

For the photo purist the answer is no. This is a frame grab from high definition video. Increasingly, our photo staff is covering assignments with video cameras now that our main emphasis has switched to the web. Then, almost as an afterthought, we are asked to produce a photo for the paper. You probably didn’t see this photo in the paper because it was buried in the features section as a one column black and white image next to the ads.

Every time technology makes it easier for us to make images, the purists have protested. Long gone, thankfully, are the Ansel Adams days of setting up a 4 x 5 camera and waiting for the perfect light to shoot that one perfect image. Auto rewind, auto focus, auto exposure, digital images - all have made it easier to make good images. And now comes frame grabs from video. No more waiting for the “moment”. Just shoot everything and “grab” the photo later. Is it really a photo? What do you think?