ThirstyFish

DUMBO, with its Belgian block pavings, historic buildings, Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and abundant street art provides the unique the backgrounds that attract professional and amateur photoshoots. Models and cute couples can be seen posing throughout the neighborhood.

In the old days, life photography was much easier; Every country, every region, every block had a distinct culture and imagery. If you captured an image somewhere, it would remain interesting to an audiance far away. Not any longer. Images of people, their demeanor and their culture, have already been captured in millions of photographs. But what is more disturbing is the globalization of culture. In the land of tea, China, Starbucks is expected to open 1500 stores by 2015. Over 3000 KFC fast food restaurants already exist there. In a matter of few decades there will be little that distinguishes Shanghai from New York.

Take, for example, the Art Wolfe images of Kazakh eagle hunters in Western Mongolia. In a short time, that culture will most probably erode and hunting with golden eagles will possibly become a sport entertaining enthusiasts all over the world. Consequently the images of Eagle Hunters will become historical documents.

Culture has always been organic; evolving and re-forming eclectically. What is unprecedented is the simultaneous merging of most world cultures into a single global one. With the risk of sounding fatalistic, just as humans could not survive without biodiversity, we also probably will not survive without cultural diversity. Plus, it sucks to be forced to take the same photographs wherever you go!