On 9/26/2016 5:58 PM, Bob W-PDML wrote:
What they need is a professional selfie consultant to advise them,
compose the picture, arrange the lighting, perhaps a touch of makeup,
and maybe push the button at just the right moment. That would
improve selfies enormously.
Oh, and rather than that dull-looking woman in the pant suit, have
someone in the background who's orange with candy floss on their
head.
B
Apparently she told them if they wanted to take a selfie, they could all
do it together & she'd wait; then went on with her speech once they'd
finished.
That may be fairly clever, letting them get it out of their system so
they would then pay attention to what she had to say.
On 26 Sep 2016, at 22:48, Daniel J. Matyola <danmaty...@gmail.com> wrote:
The image is humorous, interesting but quite sad.
A curse on selfies and all who take them!
Dan Matyola
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola
On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 10:08 AM, Igor PDML-StR <pdml...@komkon.org> wrote:
This morning someone sent me a link to a brief blogpost on Cnet, which got
me (re)evaluating - (re)thinking certain aspects of photography in our
lives. The photo was of a crowd in front of a famous politician waving at
them, while most people turned their backs and taking selfies of themselves
with the famous people being the background.
(The link is below, but first the thoughts.)
Over many years of taking photographs, sometimes as tourist (i.e. in very
touristic places, etc.), - I've been offered by others (friends, relatives,
bystanders) to take a picture of _me_. ... or rather of _me__being__there_.
Not that I was against those (and sometimes I did want some picture,
especially with friends or family), but I was not particularly ego to get
those. I wanted to take some interesting (at least to me) of the views from
that place.
One of the repeated questions/comments I had (usually not from close
friends or relatives who already knew what I am after, but from more
distant friends): "Why do you need those? - See there, they sell cards with
this view already printed."
Why was/am I taking those photos?
1. I enjoy _taking_ them and
2. I enjoy looking at them later, as they remind me of good time I had
there. And often, aftre many years, I remember the photos I've taken even
without looking at them: they are a connection for that place, person,
event. ... even though I might not be in those pictures myself.
(As an aside, - I appreciate the fact of being in some of those photos
more now, as my daughter is growing up, - so, that she can see her dad in
those photos too.)
Now, getting back to the conclusion quoted in the Subject of this message.
Yes, selfie is the fad du jour [is that tautology?].
To this date, most of the selfies I've taken are with my SLR (with a
tripod or a mirror help). But I don't want to judge those people who enjoy
selfies: to each of his/her own. And to some extent, those people aren't
that much different from those stranger on the street who are ego to pose
for you even though they are never going to see that photo. (This was a
very frequent situation with kid groups in Japan.)
My understanding of the said blogpost is that someone is trying to
question of how polite it is to take a selfie with a famous person (and
hence turning one's behind to her/him) as opposed to piercing with your
eyes and listening.
That brought to memories yet another story. Long time ago, one famous
Russian poet wrote a song that was "thinking" about a family being
photographed in front of the monument to the famous Russian poet Alexandr
Pushkin. The idea was based on the juxtaposition of the timelessness and
greatness of someone whose fame survived the test of centuries, and
"todayliness" of the concerns and that-minute problems of that family. I
remember that a friend was thinking that the author was criticizing the
family, and that that type of photo was awkward or even ridiculous due to
the contrast. While I understand that point of view (and I personally do
not like taking photographs of people (and myself) specifically with
someone's _personal_ monument), I never felt comfortable with that
criticism. And I've always thought that the song's author was just bringing
up the contrast as a way to highlight the simultaneous distance and
closeness of the great and small, old and contemporary, timeless and
transient.
But back to today's photo, here is what I am curious to hear from you,
deal PDMLers:
As photographers with different preferences, views and reasons to take
photographs, what do you think about what is shown in the photograph
discussed in that blogpost?
(Please, let's not digress into a political debate about the specific
politician, so, let's keep the political comments on mute.)
Here is the blogpost in question: https://goo.gl/VC5fU3 .
Thanks in advance to all who will respond.
Igor
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