On 17 November 2010 11:43, CheekyGeek <[email protected]> wrote:
> If I'm not mistaken, a lot of what Miserere was saying in that article
> was with tongue firmly planted in cheek.
> Or maybe I just need new batteries in my sarcastometer/ironicalgraph.
>
> Darren Addy
> Kearney, NE
You are correct, Darren, in your first assertion. I have a particular
loathing for gimmick photography, which seems to pervade our little
hobby/profession. I do my best to stay away from gimmicks myself, but
one day, when I'm bored and feel like 15 minutes of fame, I'll come up
with some gimmick and put it into play. Don't worry, I'll still talk
to you guys. Or maybe I'll have my assistant type messages to the
PDML.
As far as what you're saying about Sam Abell I believe there is some
truth to it; i.e., most semi-talented photographers could've been
dropped in Ethiopia and they would've come back with great
photographs. What many amateur photographers don't understand is that
professional photographers aren't hired to take "Great Photographs",
they are hired for the following:
* Be at the shoot location on time.
* Be sober, or drunk if that's how he/she works best.
* Take photos that the magazine editor wanted and that will work
within the chosen format EVEN IF THE SUBJECT SUCKS.
* If shift happens, the photos will still be taken and nobody will be the wiser.
* Have those photos on the editor's hard drive a few short hours after
the end of the shoot.
* Make it back to base alive.
* Be ready to do this again and again and again with consistent
results EVERY TIME for years to come.
Any idiot can press a button while pointing a camera in the general
direction of the subject, but being consistent and delivering results
under pressure time after time is no idiot's chore.
Regarding equipment, I'll quote myself, simply because I was writing
about this the other day; I'm preparing a series of articles on street
photography and concerning gear I wrote in part:
"Sooner or later every Photography website will print the dreaded
overused words: 'The camera doesn’t matter'. The problem with this
statement is that it’s paradoxical and almost entirely misunderstood
by most beginning photographers. Saying the camera doesn’t matter is
like a millionaire saying that money doesn’t matter or a tennis
champion saying the racquet doesn’t matter. These statements are
perfectly true, but only if you have millions in the bank or Dunlop
makes a custom racquet for you. What this means is that for the camera
not to matter, you need to have a camera that matters."
All these pros can say the equipment doesn't matter because they have
the best available most of the time. They also say it because if they
handed this equipment to the average Joe in a camera club, Joe
wouldn't take as good pictures as they. "Know thy camera" is probably
the best advice nobody ever gave me.
To end my post, I'll agree with you that a good photographer is
capable of taking a mundane subject and making it appealing. However,
this doesn't mean that when presented with a Great Subject they'll
take a photo that's vastly superior to what you or I would take. Some
photos just take themselves.
And with that, I'm off to take a Great Photograph of some carpet fluff
with a large format camera.
Peace,
—M.
\/\/o/\/\ --> http://WorldOfMiserere.com
http://EnticingTheLight.com
A Quest for Photographic Enlightenment
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