video: https://videos.files.wordpress.com/d3mhV94k/my-project-22.mp4
Audio: https://erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DIGITAL-CAPITAL.m4a
PDF, https://erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/BRAVE-NEW-WORLD-OF-DIGITAL-CAPITAL-5.pdf
# BRAVE NEW WORLD OF DIGITAL CAPITAL
Capital, capitalism, assuming you own an iPhone, any smartphone, assume you have Wi-Fi at the house or a 4G or 5G connectivity thing, assuming that you have a car an automobile etc.; and also, assuming that you don’t grow your own vegetables and groceries etc., then what that then means is you are a part of society and capitalism.
I think I figured it out… The notion of being a “hipster”, essentially it’s just a hyphenated form of saying hippies or hippy--
Funny enough, studying a bit of the etymology of the word hippie, comes from the word hip, like same hip as in hip hip-hop. Although now, we think of that weirdos vegan cults flower worshiping and war hippies and the like, not the gangsta hip-hop rappers that we think of today.
And actually what is very interesting, considering I was born in 1988, and grew up in the East Bay Alameda Oakland, Bay Area 510 rap hip-hop KEAK DA SNEAK, E40 hyphy movement ,,, my flavor of hip-hop and rap culture that I grew up was very different than the strange hip-hop culture today, and also a bit different from the mainstream 50 Cent gangsta idea that was popularized in the 2000s.
Anyways, I think what is so fascinating to me about capital, digital capital, digital capitalism and the like is how insanely paradigm shift it is.
So the first question is… Why or why does this all matter?
First, assuming you’re a photographer, digital photographer etc.; what that then means is you and all of us we are all implicated! And I think this is a good thing; **digital is good, digital is better!**
For example, besides what all these virtue signaling hipsters say, I really do think that **digital photography is 1 trillion times superior and now more virtuous than film**. I think film was a good fling, but now in the year 2024… And now that the new Lumix S9 Camera is out with the phenomenal 26 mm F8 pancake lens, there’s almost 0 reasons to shoot film anymore. And zero reasons to shoot any loser Leica camera.
## Your opinion will change with technology and the times 
Technology does matter; for example, in the past, it did make a difference. For example the original Leica M9 camera was a big deal at the time because full frame was simply too big, too bulky, not very accessible. At least in a small form factor. But now, in the year 2024 and beyond… **Technology has changed and shifted**.
## 2024 -- everything has changed!
For example, for a long time, film photography did indeed look superior to digital photos. But now with new digital technologies, I would actually make the bold claim that digital photos with the right image processing filters, can actually look superior and *more supreme* to film photos. 
For example, on the new Lumix S9 camera, we essentially have this “dynamic Leica monochrome” filter, with high contrast, grain added… the photos look phenomenal! Even deeper and richer contrast than my beloved Ricoh GR cameras?
Even a random thing that I never really expected… there’s this new “LUT” concept -- I think it’s from cinema or video or something, which I think is just a fancy word for color preset or film grading for cinema and media.
Anyways, one of the built-in included LUT filters is like this really lovely cross processing color filter which shifts and brings out this really lovely orange cyan hue -- the photos look beautiful! And also, when shooting 24 FPS video on it, it looks so beautiful and cinematic! **I call the new Lumix S9 baby Godzilla!**
