Copycating- Annoying Behavior

[steve_rasmussen]

Have any of you had this situation happen to you? You are in a scenic area with other people who are using mostly point and shoot cameras and you set up for a shot with tripod etc. Next thing you know, there is someone standing in front of you to copy what you have set up to shoot. Most of the time they just stand behind me to copy what I'm doing and that only bothers me a little. Photographers should be independent, not followers. If shooters are not creative and just copy other's work, it would be hard to call them photographers.

[tony_cunningham]

Steve,

 

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This is a common phenomenon worldwide. If you have not experienced it

much before it is probably because you spend your time photographing

in exotic or wild places! I cannot offer you a solution.

 

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My most astonishing experience in this respect was in Europe a couple

of years ago where I had carefully set up a sunset cover shot from

the bottom of a motorway embankment. Although only 20 yards from this

busy freeway during rush hour, I had had to lug the P67, tele lens

and heavy tripod about half a mile to the position. I had been

waiting (not at the location!) for 2 years for the exact lighting and

cloud formation that I wanted at that spot. All was perfect and I

stared to shoot an entire roll of film.

 

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Suddenly, as I was on about frame 2, there was a screetch of brakes

from the freeway and two people jumped over the barrier, leaving the

car doors open and engine running during the rush hour on one of the

busiest roads in Europe. They charged down the embankment and took up

position on either side of me, each with a point and shoot camera.

For a few seconds until I saw the cameras, I thought it might be more

shoot than point.

 

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Anyhow my photos were fine and I notice, thinking of another current

thread, that they were on that much criticized competitor to Velvia.

It was a free sample, all I had with me, and I have never used it

since. The photos are very good, perhaps I should buy some and try

again!

 

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In cental China I have had as many as 20 (friendly and interested)

people around me when using the P67. The only time I have ever taken

any action was at a botanical gardens in Montreal. I had gone very

early on a weekend morning and after about an hour completely alone I

found myself being followed (hunted actually) by a group on one

specific nationality. I had done what I wanted to anyhow, so I spent

an interesting half hour by turning my camera on them. It was highly

entertaining for a while.

[steve_rasmussen]

Tony, thanks for the hilarious response! You're right, I don't

photograph in areas with many people very often. The annoying behavior

was at Yosemite National Park and I figured that mid winter would cut

the tourist numbers down somewhat. Well, it did, but not enough to

stop the copycating. The tropics are so nice to shoot.

[arden_sampsel1]

Last spring Jerry Spence wrote an article in �View Camera� that noted

this behavior, he was writing about the Tetons and wrote,��those

majestic mountains that proudly withstand the cruel assault of tens

of millions of snapshots each year,� and � � the next moment some

passer-by will haul out his throw-away and mercilessly, without

investment in the mountains, attack with it.�

 

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So, yes I�ve encountered copycat/me too point and shooters, but only

near popular locations.. Usually all it takes to get the copycats to

move on is to talk shop, watch them panic, then get away from

the �know it all.� The only thing that, will sometimes, �bug� me

is when I hear �he has one of those cameras that take good

pictures.� The only time this has not worked was this past fall in

S.W. Colorado in one of the old mining ghost towns. A woman followed

me all over the site while I looked for compositions and while she

tried to stay out my way I could tell she was not going to go away.

I asked if there was something I could help her with and of course

there was, she respectfully asked what I was looking for and why.

Rather than over react I treated it like a genuine question, told her

what I hoped to convey and how I wanted to accomplish it. Strangely,

her eyes did not glaze over and instead of point and shooting she

took the time to ask, learn, then do. So, lady where ever you may be

I hope you got some shots you are proud of and on that September day

photography got another convert.

[patrick_drennon]

Now I'm pissed! No one EVER follows me around. If I never

knew where I stood before.......

[gene_crumpler8]

I had a similar experience recently on a bus tour of Ireland. I had my

hasselblad with me and when ever I would head off to get a different

angle, several people with their P&S' followed. I guess they thought

because I had a "professional" camera, that I knew what I was doing,

which often times is not true at all!

[1ev]

It gets really annoying when all the (useless) p&s flash mess your 30+ seconds exposure...

[michael_tolan]

This story is once removed from the theme here, but I think it still

applies, as I think it �traces� the same sort of thought. While in

South America, I stopped in Arica, Chile on several occasions. It is

a beautiful beach town, surrounded my huge sand cliffs. On at least

two stops there, I found Chilean photographers actually taking

pictures of postcards (yes, set the postcard on something, and take a

picture of the picture on it!). On one occasion, I asked a friend to

ask the guys what, exactly, they were doing. My Spanish is rather

limited and I didn�t want anything lost in translation; my friend was

a native speaker. The guys (some of the many parque central

photographers all Latin American cities have), were taking pictures

of a postcard/photo of the famous Eiffel-designed Church in Arica.

Well, if you looked about 60 meters over his left shoulder, you would

see the Church itself. The conversation between my friend and the

photographers seemed like something out of the movie, �This is Spinal

Tap�. When asked what they were doing they replied, quite seriously,

capturing a postcard photo. When asked why they didn�t just take a

first generation photo of the Church instead of making a second or

third generation pic by using the postcard, they seemed dumbfounded,

and while staring at me like I was from another planet,

responded: �Because this is a postcard photo�. The conversation, as

dumb as it was, went on for a few minutes, in this same vein. Their

assumption, I guess, was that a copy of a pic a �pro� had taken was

in some way superior to one they would take. It seems preposterous,

but it was the only explanation I could come up with, based on what

they said. Needless to say, there is not a lot of copyright

enforcement South of Texas (on the Chilean island Chiloe, I found a

guy selling photocopies of another author�s book, right outside the

author�s book store!). I guess if most all the electronics sold on

the street are going to be �Soni�, �Sunny�, �Somy�, etc., (instead of

Sony), there might as well be someone selling photos of postcards.

[mark_smith10]

Steve:

Sympathize with your complaint, but consider that 1) Your

personal vision can not be duped, esp. w/point and shoot 2)Your

powers of concentration, focus, and expertise should soon dissolve

any annoying distractions and perhaps most importantly 3)We as

serious photographers are continually excluding unwanted elements in

our compostions. Consider them as merely harmless ground clutter!