photography rant

First let me be the first to say I'm not a photographer; If anything, I'm in the "interested about photography" group. I don't spend all day on photography websites (ok, I do spend some of it), looking at pictures and photography critique.

But anyway, I have a camera ...

... and there are a few small annoyances that come with having a camera.

First, there is the hmmm, so you make good pictures argument; The bigger (and maybe more professional) your camera looks, the more people expect you to make good pictures.

I mean ... photography is an art; right?

That doesn't make me necessarily an artist; this is not what it's all about; At most, maybe an aspiring artist and that would be if I were constant about it; if I were to use - or express - my talent; or inspiration; or vision; or whatever it is; I don't care much to explore what makes photography into an art-form at the moment.


What most people seem perfectly content to ignore is that in all this expressing something above, the camera is not in that "something". It's missing!

I mean ... you don't go to a painter, look at one of his brushes and go

that's a 7mm, blunt tip, horse hair oil-paint brush you're using; you must be a very good painter!

It's ridiculous! It is painfully obvious that it's not the brush, but the one behind it; Why is it then so difficult to understand?

The camera has a very minor effect on the pictures you take. I'm not saying it's not there; It's just minor.

The camera is a specialized tool, and that's that; The differences between cameras are the same as the differences between different hammer types (sometimes you need a bigger one, sometimes a lighter one, sometimes a hammer with a sharper tip or one protected by rubber).

And once you're good enough, even though you get to appreciate the specializations for different purposes, you can make do with whatever you have.



Second, there are all those can I get the shots you didn't show anyone? requests;

... and the answer to this one is a resounding No!


I have heard all the justifications for that request, like

Even if you don't think they're good enough they should be ok.

I mean ... gee ... well ... thanks! It's flattering; But stil No.

I just want to see them.

Well ... Stil no. (And M. wants a Porsche.)

I just want to see how I came out in them.

Well ... I didn't consider them good enough, and it's not for how you came out in them; It might be the light, the framing, composition or bokeh. If I were to take the pictures for somebody else, then they might see all of them; But I'm taking pictures because I like to; It's for me.


Regardless of the answer I were to give to each request, it doesn't matter; They're private! Just part of the process. They're the ones I went over, to get to the successful ones.

You don't go to a woman and say

I like your hair; What color was it before? Can I see that to tell you if you look better?

For example, if you were to go over all my four attempts on the same subject you'd go:

Hmmm ... This one is moved; too bad! It would have been ok;
This is same as before ...
I don't like the light in this one ...
I think this one is "actually ok".

... instead of just looking at the last one picture without it being "the fourh of anything with the same subject" and saying

I like this one; Framing is good, light is good, it's expressive / dynamic / whatever!

The bottom line is that is't not for you to look at and select my attempts; that's for me to do; once I get to where I want, you can look at the end result and decide you like it or not.

I'm finished with ranting for now :o)
utnapistim.