> Subject: Of course, anything Mike says is by definition right....
I should reply more seriously: I strongly believe that there are no rules with any of this stuff. One PJ says four lenses is the max, and Elliot Erwitt takes along everything he owns! Well, point disproved, eh? Because Erwitt is certainly one of the greatest. I really think that if one person uses only one lens and refuses to touch anything manufactured after 1978 and has to develop his prints in goat urine, well, that's cool, and if another person buys everything the day it's introduced and picks his lenses based on what he's wearing that day and shoots only in the morning, WHATEVER! There just is no right and wrong...except if it's what works and doesn't work for each of us. It's a HOBBY, and we're having FUN,* and that means whatever we choose to concentrate on is okay. People used to call me at the magazine and apologize for this or that technical interest, as if it were somehow shameful to collect old box cameras or make spreadsheets on d.o.f. for each focal length or experiment with developer additives. Why apologize? If it's fun and you think it's useful, do it up. I really think anything goes with this stuff. I even think that some of the widely accepted "truths" are bull, too. For instance, does a "good" lens make for better pictures? Not in my book. Is what matters the finished work? Don't bet on it--I know plenty of REALLY GOOD photographers who've never gotten any recognition or remuneration. And so what if somebody sucks as a photographer but enjoys shooting, or learning about some aspect of photography, or collecting something or other? Why does the fact that their pictures suck make the hobby any less enjoyable? It may, but it may not, and, if it doesn't, then I say screw it and enjoy yourself. It's one of the nice things about this list that people are generally so tolerant. JCO is crazy about Spotties and Aaron's got the 67 bug, and I had that little psychotic episode where I felt it was up to me to justify digital, and there are even a few people who don't even shoot with Pentaxes, and everybody seems to take all that in stride. Which is ENTIRELY the right attitude about photography as far as I'm concerned. So am I always right? Just for me. I've got my mojo worked out and yeah, I believe in what I do and I'm enthusiastic about it, and I'll tell anybody who wants to listen. But if I hate cat pictures, so what? Does that mean somebody else can't exclusively concentrate on cat pictures as a life's work, and refuse to look at any photograph that doesn't have a cat in it? Of course not. That person is just doing THEIR thing. I'm doing mine. We're all cool. Now I'll stop before I start sounding any more like a retread hippie. <g> --Mike * You might say that some people are professionals and it's all business for them. Well, I say that's bull too--they're doing this because they love it too; they're just being more serious and sensible about the hobby, is all. I've never met a photographer who didn't dig photography. - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
