Photography, expectations, standards, originality

[sapper]

Originally Posted by Naughty Nigel

Do you remember 110?

That was fairly recent

[Naughty Nigel]

Originally Posted by sapper

That was fairly recent

1970's if I recall, so not that recent.

But the [bad] memories live on.

[DerekW]

I had in "internship" at Kodak Stevenage in the work study department. One of my tasks was to do work study of the various assembly stages of the Instamatic cameras.

So my GAS affliction started with the birth of some cameras. I also got to visit the Retinette assembly line in Germany, this confirmed my GAS affliction.

[RobEW]

Originally Posted by Petrochemist

It seems to me that photographic clubs vary hugely.
From what I hear some of the local clubs are all about competitions, so that no one will share tips/techniques as that might give others an advantage in the competitions. Very sad IMO.


The club I go to regularly calls itself a photographic workshop and is all about learning together. I've found that explaining basics repeatedly helps give a fuller understanding of them, and even complete beginners can ask questions that open up new approaches. At least half our members are experienced photographers so there can be some quite advanced stuff too

The club I belong to has competitions but it also has lots of mutual help and support, and collaborative shooting experiences. A good mix I think, to appeal to a wide variety of photographers.

[RobEW]

Originally Posted by Naughty Nigel

I don't think your hobby is being belittled; it is more a case that photography, like many pursuits, has been seriously 'dumbed down' in recent years, and that rarely ends well.

I'd say popularised rather than dumbed down.


It is sad though that the high standards achieved by some are no longer always demanded, and happy snappy pics are used in contexts where professional images would previously have been used.

[RobEW]

What a fascinating and illuminating discussion. :-)


I have a feeling that people are spending less on some forms of professional photography now they can create their own images, with varying degrees of accomplishment.

[drmarkf]

Originally Posted by RobEW

The club I belong to has competitions but it also has lots of mutual help and support, and collaborative shooting experiences. A good mix I think, to appeal to a wide variety of photographers.

Yes, so's mine.

One hears of clubs that are dominated by cliques of competitive nerds, and unless you already know some of them (or are an established competition winner who'll increase their club's competitiveness) you might as well not bother.

Large clubs can be daunting at first no matter how hard they try to be welcoming, but I'd say you've got the best chance of finding a range of educative and social activities in one that will grow your photography in an enjoyable way.

Competitions are a great way to build skills, but a thick skin is absolutely essential since even the best judge is only human, and all bring their own prejudices (regardless of what organisations say about training and impartiality). Some people don't like their work being analysed in that way, and that's fine: entry isn't obligatory.

It must be said that the skills competitions build best are those involved in doing well in British Club Photography competitions! There's much more to photography than that.

[Cas69]

I belong to a small club and while we have a competition once a month in house and a few inter club ones during the year the main emphasis is on learning.
We have 2 nights each month that are dedicated to tutorials of varying sorts. We also try to have some outings as well.
The experienced members are always willing to give help and advice to less experienced members.

[iso]

When debating whether this, or that, sort of Club is preferable, the other factor to consider is whether the individual is a 'Clubber'...

[OM USer]

Originally Posted by Ricoh

This is what Henri Cartier-Bresson had to say:
"If there is no emotion, if there is no shock, if we do not react to the sensibility, we should not take a photo. It is the photo which takes us."

Sounds like the bunch of fools from Sky Arts Master Of Photography. Why do you need to shock? I can get emotional over a nice landscape and try to capture it in a photo but I'm not expecting the reult to change anyone's life or make them think about resolving human conflict. In fact the whole thing about landscapes can be the complete absence of person angst.

[Ricoh]

HCB musings can be difficult to understand at times; he was a deep thinker but my interpretation is this: He's saying if you don't have an emotional response to the scene, don't bother taking the shot. Remembering, of course, he was a reportage / street photographer with (mainly) human content, so an emotional response is his expectation. Contrast his images with the utter rubbish presented today by every Tom, Dick and Harry who think they're street photographers.
I've considered for some time attempting to reflect myself through my photography. Meaning capturing my emotional response to the scene, be it street, architectural, abstract or whatever. A simple example would be making a picture of a homeless person (incidentally I do not take the homeless), if you feel deep sympathy for the person, how would you express your feelings pictorially, it's all too easy to aim the camera and fire off a frame or two showing the person, but not showing your empathy. There for the grace of God etc... It's difficult to capture your own emotions but I'm working on it. The result is I'm taking far fewer photographs because I have to be more inward facing when I consider a scene.

[chorleyjeff]

Originally Posted by sapper

I remember when 6X6CM was considered miniature.

Blimey. You are even older than me. In those olden days size really did matter.

[chorleyjeff]

Originally Posted by DerekW

I had in "internship" at Kodak Stevenage in the work study department. One of my tasks was to do work study of the various assembly stages of the Instamatic cameras.

So my GAS affliction started with the birth of some cameras. I also got to visit the Retinette assembly line in Germany, this confirmed my GAS affliction.

Aha. Perhaps you saw my Retinette1A being built in 1958 when Kodachrome with an asa of 10 ruled.

[chorleyjeff]

Originally Posted by iso

When debating whether this, or that, sort of Club is preferable, the other factor to consider is whether the individual is a 'Clubber'...

How very true. At my local club you have to be a successful competition photographer or socially confident gregarious person to be fully engaged with club activity. Sadly I am neither so sit on the sidelines inspecting the ceiling tiles, carpet squares etc.

[Naughty Nigel]

Originally Posted by chorleyjeff

How very true. At my local club you have to be a successful competition photographer or socially confident gregarious person to be fully engaged with club activity. Sadly I am neither so sit on the sidelines inspecting the ceiling tiles, carpet squares etc.

Are there any funny handshakes involved?