From selfies of world leaders, to never-ending Instagram, Facebook and Twitter feeds, the world is drowning itself in images and the art of photography is slowly dying.

We’ve taken what used to take hours of planning and preparation and turned it into something that takes no thought at all and is used for instant gratification.

I have a brother who devotes himself to the art of photography. He has spent hours outside searching for the perfect shot and fiddling with the settings to get just the right exposure. This takes time and effort and thought.

“The problem with photography today is that people are impatient and they want instant gratification and they don’t want to spend the time to put thought into it because they want to see the results right away,” Gilbert Klingler said. “That’s the beauty of film; it’s a mystery and you won’t know the results until they’re developed, and when you see it and you like it, it’s an indescribable feeling because I made it.”

Another thing that really rustles my jimmies is when people claim that Instagram is an art form. Sure, it’s convenient to be able to snap a pic of your breakfast, filter the crap out of it and send it to all your friends, but it is not an art. It takes no thought at all.

“I think Instagram is stupid because it allows for everyone to share their photographs, and someone does the exact same thing that you did, and it makes you feel like you’re not unique,” Klingler said. “What I do like about it though it that you can connect with people who share the same interest as you, which in my case is film photography.”

As we progress technologically, the meaning of the photograph is on a decline.

“The problem with this is that true photography as a craft takes hours. Even digital photography with a fine DSLR camera takes hours with proper post-processing. Photographers have spent years learning about the rule of thirds, how to take a professional photograph, and how to focus an image perfectly. They’ve learned the process of development, they know what a darkroom smells like, and they are truly devoted to taking some of the most interesting images in existence and capturing them on film. We’re losing our appreciation of photographers in favor of a love of people who snap a photo with their iPhone,” Melody Weister said in her personal blog.