But as the photodigital revolution begins to gather momentum, it is leaving countless, confused victims in its wake. Print magazines hurl techno-babble at thousands of readers who just want to test the waters...not swim the Channel. The hidden agenda, of course, is to induce them to buy expensive hardware and software they probably don't need and may never learn to use. It supports advertisers and advertisers support publications, and it's not always in the best interests of the readers. I have no affiliations directly or indirectly with any manufacturers...my allegiance is strictly to you.

I predict that film will be around awhile longer, but by 2025 it will be just a sweet memory...a curious process to tell your grandchildren about. Images will be captured on digital cards which will then be brought to the drugstore for photofinishing. A relatively small number will be printed out via personal computers but for the most part it is only the medium that will change, not the method. Time will be too precious for the casual shooter to get into digital imaging or printing.

But for more serious photographers it will be a different story and, hopefully, this column will be a catalyst for many of you to take the first step. The marketing director of a company that produces imaging software recently told me that in his many trips to user groups throughout the country, he found that photographers wanted to get into digital imaging "but were terrified by the software and hardware diversity and the perceived enormous cost."

A survey done a year or so ago found that of the 630,000 readers of a major photography publication, 40% of them (over a quarter million) owned computers capable of doing digital imaging. So why weren't they doing it? Just read some computer books or typical software documentation and tell me if it doesn't put a new slant on the phrase "English as a second language." How can you get into something if you can't understand it?

I enjoy making difficult things easy to understand...it's been a lifelong personal challenge. If I can understand it, then I can reduce it to an essence that just about anyone can grasp. As a photographer I do it intuitively...simplifying a visual moment in time by framing only those elements which are needed to tell the story and then, when they are in place, making the exposure. Photojournalist Henri Cartier-Bresson was a master at it, shooting at "the decisive moment," the split-second in which the essence of the subject is revealed.

Future columns will cover a wide range of subjects- all with photographic themes. The next few will show you how to get into digital imaging on a shoestring using the camera and Mac or PC computer you already own. I'll also discuss digital cameras, printers, hardware, software, Internet workshops, books, training videos and CD's, alternative output processes and many other topics...some of which will result from your requests. And because this will be an opinionated (but not adversarial) column, I expect we'll have some lively discussions as you and other readers add your own two cents (or more).

Feedback (and clarifications) from experts who know more than I do will always be welcomed because, as Pedro told me: " There is no room any more for people who think they know enough. Such an illusion will last at the most six months. No one, not even you, can even attempt to keep updated with all that is changing on a daily basis. So we must network. That is the beauty of it all. ZoneZero, with all the readers that come, and you, are the network."

Whenever appropriate, my columns will have links that complement, illuminate, and enrich the subject matter we'll be covering. There's very little point in rehashing other material if it's available in the original; that's the beauty and power of the web that other communications media can't offer (except, perhaps, your mother). And I hope you'll provide me with a list of your favorite links so all of us can share them.

Aside from the main topics covered, expect a bit of variety in each column. Not all topics will be technical. Some may even be philosophical (but guaranteed not to be boring) and others just plain anecdotal (and, hopefully, humorous). There will also be some projects I'll suggest you undertake to get you thinking in new photographic directions, and I may even ask you to submit digital photos on various themes if I can persuade Pedro to set up a special gallery for those worthy of display.

Before I close, let me tell you a bit about myself. I've been a photojournalist, filmmaker, writer, musician, university professor, inner-city elementary school teacher, TV news director, and Coast Guard officer, and have won my share of awards and honors in all fields. But most of all I've been lifelong practitioner and a passionate lover of photography, both as a documentary medium and a fine art.

I've lived and traveled extensively through the Third World and now reside in infamous Miami with about 20 cats that my wife, Carol, has rescued and cares for. I presently serve as Executive Director of the Children's Telemedical Health Fund, and you're invited to visit our site at http://www.cthf.org to see how this unique charity provides free medical care to needy kids through interactive television technology.

In closing, here's an anecdote to start off the New Year which you may find amusing and, quite possibly, useful. When I started working as a photojournalist in New York many years ago, I complained to my photographer friend, Al Francekevich, about a photo editor at Time-Life who'd requested some picky, little, unneeded changes to some prints I'd submitted after doing an assignment. After calming me down, Al told me about a time he'd been at an ad agency, waiting to show his portfolio.

These are his words:
I was sitting in a little reception room outside an AD's (art director's) office at J. Walter (Thompson Advertising Agency) when this young artist rushed in to show the AD a finished job. An oldtimer was also waiting with me, and the kid told him it was his first job for the agency.
Can we have a look?" asked the oldtimer.

The kid proudly showed us the painting. It was beautifully done. More than 70 couples in evening dress dancing on the moonlit deck of an ocean liner...exquisite color, mood just right, perfect in every detail.

The kid was called in and, in due course, came out. He looked devastated.

"What's the matter?" asked the oldtimer.
"Look at this," said the kid, obviously agitated now, "he wants me to turn all the couples just a little to the left. That'll mean doing the whole damn thing over again."

The oldtimer nodded sympathetically. "This AD always changes things so he can boast about his creative genius...he did the same thing to me until I wised up. Tell you what you should have done. See that beautiful woman in the foreground? You should've painted a big hairy arm on her."
"But that would look ugly!" said the kid.
"Sure it would," agreed the oldtimer "but he'd have said, 'look at that ugly damn arm...get that ugly damn hair off her arm,' and you could've fixed it with a couple of brush strokes instead of doing it all over again."

See you soon, and don't forget to tell me what you'd like covered in future columns.

Arthur Bleich