When everybody is a 'photographer'

[ApolloLXII]

An article that I found that would be of general interest regarding the wide availability of photographic technology.

http://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/2012/may/270512-When-everybody-is-a-photographer.htm

[I @ M]

Ho Hum.

More of the same old same old.

Give me 5 minutes to get my popcorn and settle in to watch the debacle unfold.


My thoughts ---- may whichever deity they follow bless them all because quite simply the more the merrier.

Pure mathematics and business sense are behind my thoughts for wanting more photographers out there on the streets.
The more people that buy a camera, the more profit (hopefully) the manufacturer makes.
The more profit the manufacturer makes the more money that is spent in the R&D department.
The more money spent in the R&D department means better cameras.
The more cameras being sold means competition between the manufacturers to snare customers.
The more competition between manufacturers means price wars.
The more price wars we see mean better cameras at cheaper prices.

Hint of the day!!!

Urge your children to reproduce early in life and then give your grand kids a camera for their first birthday, get em hooked young and keep the number of photographers out there growing so that we may live in our old age surrounded by beautiful picture taking machines at (pension) affordable prices.

[ricktas]

Hmmm. another lament! Same as those that say "I remember when petrol was $0.40" or when I could get a bag of lollies for $0.05c.

Ultimately we can either waste energy fighting change (and lose) or accept it, embrace it, and move forward, with new ideas etc.

I wonder how many of the photographers of the 1850's thought the same way as camera's improved.

[Kym]

So should we limit the availability of photography? NO!

Lets face it George Eastman made things accessible 100+ years ago

Stupid whiny article really.

[arthurking83]

“What exasperates me is that people are so quick to call themselves photographers. It took me five to six years before I could call myself one. Label yourself a hobby photographer if you please, but be respectful of photography as an art form.”

[Quote from article]

Seriously!!!

Maybe his English is not so good, or (more likely)he's simply pretentious or precious.

it was at this point that I closed down that web page and set my router to block it hereafter!


pho·tog·ra·pher:
a person who takes photographs, especially one who practices photography professionally.

Whilst the meaning also encompasses the idea of the professional photographer, it's not strictly limiting the use of the noun for professional photographers.

Take a photo(even if it;s only one) and at that point you are a photographer .. do it over a lifetime as a passion, or hobby and you may be a good photographer or amateur photographer.. get paid to do so and you are (strictly speaking) a professional photographer (although the professionalism of the person may be in question, the term can still be applied to any paid photographer, even tho they lack professionalism in their vocation).

Become extremely good, or great, at the craft and you transcend through to another status(that I know, only the Anonymous Critic has ever achieved this level ... and we have yet to categorise it)

[Bennymiata]

My father was a very keen photographer and has FAPS and FLAPS after his name, and he tought me to take photos from a very young age, giving me my first SLR when I was 11 (an Exacta) and my first brand new SLR for my 13th birthday (a Canon FT QL) - this as a VERY long time ago.

I've been hooked ever since, and I guess that because I started out on cameras with no built-in lightmeter or other special features like auto focussing, I learned the old way and so operating even a modern camera in manual mode instills no fear for me.

Yes, start them young!

[Kerrie]

Grandson due in June......first Xmas gift? ' my first camera '.

[Kerrie]

This person explains it nicely I think.....I just googled ' not a photographer'

http://notaphotographer.com/contact


And this one......well, it takes on another approach to this subject lol



http://youarenotaphotographer.com/

[ApolloLXII]

What the article highlights is that people are no longer seeking out the services of professional photographers mainly because camera technology has advanced to the point where it is becoming easier for just about anyone to take a decent photograph. High quality images used to be obtainable only by those who had the money to spend on gear and lenses and now, even a simple point and shoot camera is getting to the stage where it is capable of taking pictures at a fraction of the cost of the expensive gear. The wide availability of camera technology will never kill off photography, particularly its' artistic form, but it will become incresingly harder for professional photographers to ply their trade but it won't kill off the professional photog either as there will always be a demand for images that are taken with a certain amount of style and flair.

[ApolloLXII]

This person explains it nicely I think.....I just googled ' not a photographer'

http://notaphotographer.com/contact


And this one......well, it takes on another approach to this subject lol



http://youarenotaphotographer.com/

I got an "Error 404" on the second link .

[ApolloLXII]

So should we limit the availability of photography? NO!

Lets face it George Eastman made things accessible 100+ years ago

Stupid whiny article really.

If the availability of camera technology is increasing then it's inconceivable that you are going to be able to limit the availabilty of photography.

[Kerrie]

I got an "Error 404" on the second link .

Theres a new thread by another member with this title ( you ae not a photographer) and he uses same link as above. Check it out there . Not sure why this one didnt work

[wlehman]

It is easier with the cameras on the market for anyone to take photos and with memory cards it’s easier to take 100 photos and hope one works where with film you only had a set amount of shots and you had to make them count.
Sort of a side note with this, I do love my new canon 7d and all the technology in it, but my favourite camera is my Minolta x300 with 50mm lens. There is something about the fill of it.