Your photog does it matter much with others?

I have been thinking about this lately. A few that I talked who enjoy photography sees it as an isolated activity or else it is chilling and holidaying with the family and friends and as it is now with this time of the year. We are in the southern hemisphere so it is summer but with rain (!).

 

Maybe it is a camera nerds thing to think about all the equip all the time. Many of the others simply just share photographs on the Internet right or with things like WhatsApp. Heck one could still used a 6MP camera and it might be perfectly OK. They could also just used a $200 phone camera or just scanned some cheap film D&P 40yrs ago which they developed and printed at Walmart / Kmart. Scanned the print not the negs cos most people don't have a film capable scanner or simply use their phone to take a picture of the print.

 

In the past I have offered some people a convenient 6x4 print but 1 or 2 of them politely declined. What have your experience been? At one time I wanted to delete my Flickr's camera phone backups but deleted everything, I did repost the other images under 1,000 right to be free since I keyword them in my photo database. Still none of my friends and families and followers noticed, haha. Maybe the photos people matters a bit more but we might need all of that and if my own photography typed photos were gone, how much would that matter .....

 

 

Cheers.

For me, it's an artistic and expressive outlet. I like sharing my photos with others, whether online or in print. I hang prints in my gallery and enjoy people coming over to see them. I like that more than sharing online but online is easier and I can share with folks out of town. I've given prints to friends and sold a few. I usually wait until they request one, but I've offered when I was pretty sure they'd want one.

 

I think about equipment as rarely as possible, and consider mine decent for my needs.

 

How much my photography matters to others ... those that love me support me in it because they see how much I get out of it. How much it will matter in the long run I don't think about much.

 

What me worry?

I have been thinking about this lately. A few that I talked who enjoy photography sees it as an isolated activity or else it is chilling and holidaying with the family and friends and as it is now with this time of the year. We are in the southern hemisphere so it is summer but with rain (!).

 

Maybe it is a camera nerds thing to think about all the equip all the time. Many of the others simply just share photographs on the Internet right or with things like WhatsApp. Heck one could still used a 6MP camera and it might be perfectly OK. They could also just used a $200 phone camera or just scanned some cheap film D&P 40yrs ago which they developed and printed at Walmart / Kmart. Scanned the print not the negs cos most people don't have a film capable scanner or simply use their phone to take a picture of the print.

 

In the past I have offered some people a convenient 6x4 print but 1 or 2 of them politely declined. What have your experience been? At one time I wanted to delete my Flickr's camera phone backups but deleted everything, I did repost the other images under 1,000 right to be free since I keyword them in my photo database. Still none of my friends and families and followers noticed, haha. Maybe the photos people matters a bit more but we might need all of that and if my own photography typed photos were gone, how much would that matter .....

 

 

Cheers.

 

Excuse me, but your post is a little incoherent. You seem to be jumping from one subject to another without a clear focusing point to your argument ? Are you shooting for yourself or for others ? If you expect a pat on the back for each picture you take it's not going to happen. Remember that a lot of famous artist only gained recognition after they were gone for a while, unfortunately. Not to say that no one will recognize you while you are still alive, it just means that you have to find the right audience...

Edited December 23, 2020 by hjoseph7

Other than the photos I take for my work (buildings, project sites, etc. for documentary/marketing purposes) my photography is a hobby primarily for my own enjoyment. I print and frame images that I like, and then enjoy gifting them to others when they are appreciated. Currently I've been busy providing decor for my recently married children, so my walls are somewhat bare. I need to generate some more prints to give away. I also very much appreciate the feedback I receive on the images I post here.

I have been thinking about this lately. A few that I talked who enjoy photography sees it as an isolated activity or else it is chilling and holidaying with the family and friends and as it is now with this time of the year. We are in the southern hemisphere so it is summer but with rain (!).

 

Maybe it is a camera nerds thing to think about all the equip all the time. Many of the others simply just share photographs on the Internet right or with things like WhatsApp. Heck one could still used a 6MP camera and it might be perfectly OK. They could also just used a $200 phone camera or just scanned some cheap film D&P 40yrs ago which they developed and printed at Walmart / Kmart. Scanned the print not the negs cos most people don't have a film capable scanner or simply use their phone to take a picture of the print.

 

In the past I have offered some people a convenient 6x4 print but 1 or 2 of them politely declined. What have your experience been? At one time I wanted to delete my Flickr's camera phone backups but deleted everything, I did repost the other images under 1,000 right to be free since I keyword them in my photo database. Still none of my friends and families and followers noticed, haha. Maybe the photos people matters a bit more but we might need all of that and if my own photography typed photos were gone, how much would that matter .....

 

 

Cheers.

I think I know what you're getting at. And I tip my hat to you for being an early riser. ;-)

 

Anyway, yes, for most people, they don't put much thought into the technical aspects of photography. Which is fine, but it's also what sets us apart from them. They pay us (sometimes) because we know what we're doing, and we live and breathe it. For 99% of the time, the typical non-photographer will be happy with what looks good enough on Instagram. And today's phones, especially the iPhone, are so good that in most cases, most people won't think of a dedicated camera.

 

Back maybe 15 years ago, some photographers were using the Leica Digilux 2 (a Panasonic camera with a Leica zoom lens) professionally. It had a 2/3" CCD with 5Mpx. At base ISO it gave pretty nice files. You could us this camera today, as long as there was enough light, and as long as you did not aim to enlarge too much. Today, 5Mpx is more than every iPad except the 12.9" iPad Pro. I don't know what that means, if it means anything. But if you wanted to view the entire 5Mpx file from that camera on the screen of a mobile device, there is only one iPad that lets you do it.

 

In some cases, I think we can learn from non-photographers. Personally I am getting closer to being completely liberated from post-processing, just like it used to be with slide film. This is thanks to mirrorless systems with features that you cannot find on DSLRs. Non-photographers usually do not want to waste time with pissing about on a computer - they want to take photos, and if they want to play computer games, they have Nintendo for that.

 

Today's phones owe their performance to computational photography (which becomes less useful the bigger the sensor, but I digress). And so, because of this convenience, you have to do almost nothing at all after the fact. In recent years, the novelty of applying Instagram filters (which I hope eventually disappear as options) is wearing thin, and most people know that filters reduce engagement. This is good, as we are seeing the photograph respected for what it is.

 

Some of the promises of digital are clearly not coming true. One such false promise is that digital files do not deteriorate when duplicated. Which is true per se, but this is rendered meaningless when you're scanning prints, or when the only version of an old photo that exists is on Instagram or an MMS. So, we're back to the way it was, although in some cases it's worse. Even I have misplaced some RAW files, although it should not have happened. So if photographers lose data, the typical non-photographer will also lose data.

I think I know what you're getting at. And I tip my hat to you for being an early riser. ;-)

 

Anyway, yes, for most people, they don't put much thought into the technical aspects of photography. Which is fine, but it's also what sets us apart from them. They pay us (sometimes) because we know what we're doing, and we live and breathe it. For 99% of the time, the typical non-photographer will be happy with what looks good enough on Instagram. And today's phones, especially the iPhone, are so good that in most cases, most people won't think of a dedicated camera.

 

Back maybe 15 years ago, some photographers were using the Leica Digilux 2 (a Panasonic camera with a Leica zoom lens) professionally. It had a 2/3" CCD with 5Mpx. At base ISO it gave pretty nice files. You could us this camera today, as long as there was enough light, and as long as you did not aim to enlarge too much. Today, 5Mpx is more than every iPad except the 12.9" iPad Pro. I don't know what that means, if it means anything. But if you wanted to view the entire 5Mpx file from that camera on the screen of a mobile device, there is only one iPad that lets you do it.

 

In some cases, I think we can learn from non-photographers. Personally I am getting closer to being completely liberated from post-processing, just like it used to be with slide film. This is thanks to mirrorless systems with features that you cannot find on DSLRs. Non-photographers usually do not want to waste time with pissing about on a computer - they want to take photos, and if they want to play computer games, they have Nintendo for that.

 

Today's phones owe their performance to computational photography (which becomes less useful the bigger the sensor, but I digress). And so, because of this convenience, you have to do almost nothing at all after the fact. In recent years, the novelty of applying Instagram filters (which I hope eventually disappear as options) is wearing thin, and most people know that filters reduce engagement. This is good, as we are seeing the photograph respected for what it is.

 

Some of the promises of digital are clearly not coming true. One such false promise is that digital files do not deteriorate when duplicated. Which is true per se, but this is rendered meaningless when you're scanning prints, or when the only version of an old photo that exists is on Instagram or an MMS. So, we're back to the way it was, although in some cases it's worse. Even I have misplaced some RAW files, although it should not have happened. So if photographers lose data, the typical non-photographer will also lose data.

 

On at least one occasion they forgot to ask me to take my "serious" camera. Yeah I was thinking my phone is quite old, nowhere as modern as many of theirs. I am looking at upgrading my phone in 2021 bc running out of memory and storage and apps don't perform correctly, the chat apps like WhatsApp doesn't always notify me of messages and sometimes can logoff by itself. Anyway so they asked me to just use my 4.5yr old phone it cost something like $250US probably $200US cos the USA is more competitive. I got the same feedback and the same amount of it, compared to the serious camera. Yep, apart from myself with myself or among the few photographers I know (hobbyists) with the others it doesn't matter. I coulda just taken this $200US phone and travelled the world and saved all this money, LOL. I've also since my last new D600 Nikon from the year 2013 I have gotten a second hand Fuji XT1 and a Ricoh GR first version both woulda been 5 or 6yrs old when I got it. In a way is a bit like getting my normal life back without all that camera weight and the difference in optical isn't seen much by many anyway.

 

Oh as a early riser? I am in New Zealand. ;-)

 

 

 

Excuse me, but your post is a little incoherent. You seem to be jumping from one subject to another without a clear focusing point to your argument ? Are you shooting for yourself or for others ? If you expect a pat on the back for each picture you take it's not going to happen. Remember that a lot of famous artist only gained recognition after they were gone for a while, unfortunately. Not to say that no one will recognize you while you are still alive, it just means that you have to find the right audience...

 

Either way. I could be photographing the group or you are asked to do so then they are shared online now right like Christmas, New Years, birthdays, a trip to the beach or the park with a BBQ, baptism etc etc Or it could be my own overseas travels or domestic trips to a remote place to see lakes and waterfalls. Not complaining. These days they just look at them on their devices, the few people might like it or post a comment and that is about it. Printing, I guess 1 or 2 accepts it but many might think it's a task to store away but I don't do that anymore b/c over the 8 or so years no one has requested any files or any prints, they just want it online. The comments online have always been, where did you guys go, where is this, what restaurant, you look pretty and skinny, looks yummy.

 

Speaking of an 5MP camera. With the 6MP Nikon D70 I printed a A0 print for a work colleague she paid the lab fee (no profit) and was interested in it. My much better 24MP D600 has only done a A3 and the client was myself ;-)

OP, photography has inundated the world. While it can be pretty worthless, it can also be highly prized. And some of the highly prized photos can look like crap as far as I'm concerned. Usually the name is what people are after. So that can make up for sub par work.

 

I'd tell you to foremost make yourself happy with the photos OP.

 

Good luck!

My 2cts:

 

- the vast majority of photos/photography don't matter to the vast majority of other people

- most of the photos that matter to people are for personal reasons (holiday snaps, snapshots of family life, photos of each other that family and friends share on social media, etc.)

- some photo's (that are exhibited or publicized in some way) matter to others; often because of the content, sometimes because of their innovative value in visualizing the results of a documentary, artistic or photographic project; and sometimes a combination of the these

- 'good'' (innovative/artistic) photography probably matters most to others photographers

 

I watched the video below some years ago. The message is "nobody cares about your photography(unless it matters)"

 

In recent years almost all of my photography has been (as a volunteer) for local social work, running clubs, etc. I do my best to take photos (published with articles) that matter. In the sense of visually drawing attention to the article and visually supporting the content.

 

Other than the photos I take for my work (buildings, project sites, etc. for documentary/marketing purposes) my photography is a hobby primarily for my own enjoyment.

 

 

me too

 

Photography was an integral part of documenting my professional work, but I also did, and still do, take lots of shots just for me and my "hobbies" - Utopian communal sites, architecture, and so forth.

My friends and associates may not have completely appreciated my slide shows.

 

My colleagues called me the "Marquis des Slides" :rolleyes:

 

I did learn one thing, however, "less is more";)

my photography is a hobby primarily for my own enjoyment.

Same here. I do share online and if images are appreciated by others - icing on the cake.

I agree with Mike. The OP should get a fuckin’ life.

 

Which why I have sold and donated various stuff over time to do something else with my life. Including film. I bought a bulk roll of HP5+ sat in my freezer and I pretty much sold every roll but 4 rolls for myself and literally just the 1 or 2 rolls I used at the start and I've also sold other films I had.

 

Still have a RB67 and a 500CM and I have thought about why not just have 1 of them for the time being at least the value has got a bit up. I am also not getting more stuff. There are more compact film stuff like rangefinders but I figure if I don't have the time or it is not suitable then just shoot 35mm film, or a more compact digital.

I mostly shoot for the internet and seldom print. It is a hobby and a passion. Outside of this place and a few family and friends no one really gives rats ass about my work. Why would they? Edited December 25, 2020 by mjferron

My colleagues called me the "Marquis des Slides" :rolleyes:

Funny how my appreciation for grandpa's old slides and prints has evolved over the years... Now I wonder if my own grandchildren might one day find value in whatever of my images survive the anticipated multiple changes in archival format we can expect in the next 50 years? Will they even be able to read old drives full of DNG's? Will it matter? Not important to me. It's not something I need worry about. I'll find joy in my art, such as it is, and if others find joy there too, so much the better.

 

It’s almost as if the ramblings of old men are justifying the OPs ramblings

Ludmilla, please grant us our ramblings. Some might even suss out something useful. (Now, where did I leave my readers...?)

I don't share my photos that's all.

<snip>

Apologies, too, for my previous post. I obviously thought I was on flickr (profanity is encouraged)

Com'on: Where would we be without a little profanity?;)

All in moderation.

Merry Christmas to all! (Just my opinion.)

Funny how my appreciation for grandpa's old slides and prints has evolved over the years... Now I wonder if my own grandchildren might one day find value in whatever of my images survive the anticipated multiple changes in archival format we can expect in the next 50 years? Will they even be able to read old drives full of DNG's? Will it matter? Not important to me. It's not something I need worry about. I'll find joy in my art, such as it is, and if others find joy there too, so much the better.)

 

Well said David - something like I would have written but your version is better. Thank you.

Photography has always been a means of artistic expression for me; just a very natural thing that I enjoy. It's nice when I show photos to people they often ask if they could have one! I also get requests to take photos of families, kids, weddings, etc. because they know me and my work. A neighbor recently asked me to take a photo of their two girls on their front porch with decorations for their Christmas cards. I've known them since the girls were born and I was glad to to do it.

Galleries I've visited representing a single photographer often have a dozen or fewer art or landscape images, offered in different sizes and frames. The tents at art fairs might have two dozen different images on display. I have maybe five images others (non-relatives) have seen and liked well enough to want a copy. That's out of nearly 200,000 in my files, and who knows how many non-keepers gallery photogs have on the side.

 

That kind of batting average would not earn a place on a church ball team, but I suspect it's not unusual even amongst experienced pros. So in response to the OP, cheer up, you're in good company. Secondly, don't give up if it gives you satisfaction. Finally, don't quit your day job.

Edited December 28, 2020 by Ed_Ingold

As long as I'm happy, I'm happy.

Sorry, about that, it was slightly tongue-in-cheek. TBH, I’m rather partial to the odd ramble myself.

 

Apologies, too, for my previous post. I obviously thought I was on flickr (profanity is encouraged)

 

Ahhh, screw that...

"As long as I'm happy, I'm happy" Charles

 

There you go.

 

Nice too share though.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Allen Herbert

I've just recently started 'curating' my slides and putting them on Flickr. I find this an absorbing and 'curative' (haha) pastime. It gives a sense of a life well spent (some of the time). I don't want to push these images down the throats of family or friends. I have annotated and referenced assiduously, so that some chance seeker may stumble on them thanks to online searches. I dislike FB because it floods my inbox with random images. I think your images have meaning for you, and if you can share them with little stories about your learning efforts, your experiences of places, people, mores and times, on some online or print media, that would be justification enough. Cheers!

It's horrible to think that when you die, your wife's next husband will throw out all your pictures.o_O