I'm not sure about anyone else but I find myself shaking my head and wondering why I bother sometimes. If it wasn't for the fact that I truly love photography I'm not sure why I would even keep my camera. I am on YouTube this evening and I come across yet another "digital fly by nighter" and I was thinking to myself just how common is this? A young lass with a Canon 1100D and a kit 75-300mm lens (I'm guessing) who is (to her credit) taking photos at such things as sporting events like motorsport, equine events, triathalons, etc and selling these on her website on canvas (this is the only option) for quite steep prices ($330 for a 24"x40"). The quality of her images are as you would expect from the setup she is using. Almost every image in her slideshow is soft or is peppered with motion blur. Some are poorly photoshopped with colour vibrance and saturation set too high. I'm sure her photography skills will improve with time but over the last 12 months or so (according to her slideshow) not much has changed - I would hint to say many of the photos are taken in 'sports' mode. But this young lass seems to be making money from this venture by selling canvases of these images. Don't get me wrong, it's great to see someone getting a win and doing well.

Many of us on this forum have spent thousands (and thousands) of dollars buying the best bodies, best lenses, best flashes that we can afford or money can buy. We have spent countless hours trying to master these so we can take amazing photos on demand. We have travelled (and worked) away from home and our families, at times just for the experience and not for pay so that we might be amongst some of the best at what we do. So my question is, how are the people who put in the time and effort and money different from the people who have just bought their first DSLR and fluoro vest? Competition is so fierce and people (potential customers) are bombarded with images like the ones I spoke of above thinking they are awesome...they must be, she was wearing a fluoro vest...right?

My photography concentrates primarily on motorsports and in particular motocross. Over the last 3 years I have supplied Williams Event Management with images from over 6 different rounds of the MX Nationals, some of which have been published so I think I have a keen eye for that type of photography. Not saying I'm the best, but I can take great shots. It left me angry seeing what will pass for 'saleable images' perhaps because customers haven't seen anything better.