photography as a group exercise

this may not be the right forum for this question but anyway...

 

I was very briefly associated with a camera club whose members met

on weekends and participated in, what they called, "photography

outings".They would select a topic(a monument, for example) and all

would descend on the subject,clicking away simultaneously.I thought

it was quite absurd.

 

Photography may be a solitary pursuit but I'm sure there is value in

a group exercise. Only, methods may differ !

 

Comments, anyone?

It sounds fresh, you could find who has the most original view of all of in your club.

Everybody can take a picture of a monument (if you have a camera) but the special one is the different one, the original one.

It sounds fun for to do it once or two but not always.

It is only my opinion.

Rgds

When I first joined the PSA the local chapter contacted me to ask if I would like to participate in something like this. They had a list of outings similar to what you are describing, but the only one that sounded interesting was to a local alligator farm during heron nesting season. Generally speaking, I don't care for photography clubs because they seem to always focus primarily on competition, so I never went anywhere with them.

 

Large groups like that seem intrusive to me and I just can't get into the right frame of mind with that many people milling around snapping away. Some things seem to work better for group exercises, like bird watching, where there is a benefit to having more eyes looking out, but for photography, I prefer to shoot alone. This is an interesting topic, thanks for posting it.

 

- Randy

The best group shooting events I've been on ended up in a bar.

I see this often in Japan which must have more camera clubs than any country in the world given the number of them I see out on weekends. They go to a park, shrine, temple, or scenic location and set up and then someone (hired?) or a member discusses the artistic possibilites. Then they fire away and move on and repeat the process. I'm told they produce photos to show at the next club meeting for critique.

 

Sometimes I like to shoot alone and sometimes I prefer good company. And then that bar Jeff mentioned...

 

Conni

When out photographing, I don't even like the sound of my footsteps breaking the silence.

The best group shooting events I've been on was entirely at a bar.

When out photographing, I like the sounds of breaking glass and bar stools.

Nowadays, the thought fills me with horror. But when I was starting out, I learnt a tremendous amount (both in craft and vision) from membership of a camera club.

 

I owe a great debt to those I later dismissed as "old duffers" or "sheep". They made me (first through learning from them, later through learning from reaction against them) the individual I now am. It doesn't pay to be too judgemental.

 

Felix

AAAAAARRRGH! There are groups of people and there is photography. But there is no such thing as group photography. Other people are a distraction. They get in your way. They clutter up your shots. Photography is standing in the corner of a field for two hours with my camera and light-meter, waitng for the right cloud to pass over a clump of trees. As Jean-Paul Sartre said, "Hell is other people".

<i>Photography is standing in the corner of a field for two hours with my camera and light-meter...</i>

<p>

That's called 'killing time'.

I'll take the sounds of a bar and a loud band on stage any night, over meeting with a bunch of people who want to shoot during the day. I like working alone but enjoy a bodyguard close by. Mary

Just by way of perspective, I have been taking photographs for over 60 years. In that time, I have gone on exactly one group exercise. I liked it. It was nature-oriented. Mostly I liked it because I had previously admired the work of one of the photographers in the group, and I learned from watching him crawl around to set up his pictures. There were a couple of wildlife photographers I suppose you would call them with big glass lenses. They found themselves a good place to sit and point their tripodded lenses where they thought birds would land, and I was amused by the fact that they didn't look for pictures but waited for the pictures to come to them. I guess that taught me something too. But that once was enough. I might do it again if I could go out with someone whose work I admired. Otherwise, I don't think so. I am a solo-shooting kind of guy, except maybe on the times when I can get my wife out with me. She has a good eye for stuff, and she knows how to move slowly and not be a nuisance, and I appreciate that about her. The karma is terrific.

I think there is something really positive about the group photo activity. In my experience the group selects some "place" and off goes the group. What you get out of the trip will depend on your experience and how you approach things. I like them because I always go on trips to places (covered bridges) or activities (hot air balloon races) that would be hard for me to find on my own. I don't expect so much in the way of great photos from these outings, so much as some insight into good spots to go back to for those great pics.

I have read the comments and I can only say that for me it is mostly a solitary pursuit,with me and the "game." I recall a thread some time ago where the pros and cons were tossed out,and some folks eschewed company and some welcomed company and sometimes at the same time,even. Not so much spouses company,though off topic here..<p> For my part, I am not patient enough to wait for others,even the canny ones, and shun being pushed ahead either.Sounds too much like "This is a Kodak Photo Spot,check your guidebook people"-- I exaggerate,but still. The bird blind might do for a somnambulent/careful approach.Maybe,a workshop that is truly great might do it where the group gets to live,eat and suffer together at the hands of the maestro. Like an Outward Bound Photo Excursion in Utah. Gerry

I never try group photography, I usually travel alone and bring my camera to everywhere. I do seen these group ocassionally on a street. My thoughts are, why let other people tell you how to shoot? I rather read books knowing how to approach to an object, observe it, imagine it... Also, group mean time constraint...I have my own time to spend.

I'm not into group photography either but it does get people places they'd never go on their own.