ABSTRACT
T HE future is very difficult to predict at the best of times, but even more soin this period of rapid technological change. In the last 20 years or so wehave seen the introduction of the personal computer that has made possiblethe digital processing of images. Within that time the language ofcommunication has shifted from a verbal linear mode to an iconic spatial character: from DOS to Windows. The end of the PC may now be in sight, with the internet providing programmes and information to a terminal that combines workstation and television. This may have the added benefit of placing greater emphasis on the broader areas of visual communication (in which photography has a significant role). Nonetheless, the traditional chemical analog photographer may achieve enhanced status as the operator of a professional medium who is able to produce greater possibilities for authenticity and evidence than the photographer with a digital camera which may become the province of the less serious journalism and the amateur market. In this context, photography (as we knew it 15 years ago) may become a specialist craftbased medium, as is print-making, yet with enhanced professional status as mentioned above.
