glen_x Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 <p>So I'm at a family graduation/birthday party, and I have given myself the self assignment of grabbing some candid photos of the family and the graduate's friends. Now, among my family I've been known to take good pictures, as I am sure most of us on this forum are, when compared to our family and friends.<br /> The thing that gets me is when they focus on the camera. "That's a nice camera, I should get one or should have got one." My rant is that I have gotten tired explaining that the camera isnt completely responsible for making the photo; the photographer has to know composition, exposure, DoF, etc.... Anyway, I just answer the questions, and move on.<br /> What did Ansel say? Something like, "The most important piece of equipment is the 12 inches behind the camera?" Anyway I'm no Ansel, but I'll just continue to answer the "how much was my camera" and "how many megapixels is that?" questions. lol</p> <p>Take care</p> <p>Just thought I'd share. LOL</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 <blockquote> <p>"The most important piece of equipment is the 12 inches behind the camera?"</p> </blockquote> <p>If that's true I'd want to know who's standing behind me breathing down my neck. I have a big head but it's nowhere near 12 inches from my camera to my brain.</p> <p>Mebbe it's the ghost of St. Ansel.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertdarmali Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 <p>12 inches behind the camera? Must be using point&shoot with an EVF then.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonjb Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 I'd always heard that 6 inches was the average... but maybe I was thinking of something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeljlawson Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 <p>"You must have a real nice camera" is probably among the more annoying statements I hear. However, you have to take into consideration this is the "Non Photo Enthusiast's" way of saying they like your photos. I've learned to accept the compliment on behalf of my camera, thank them, and move along.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertdarmali Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 <p>But I do have a nice camera and to be honest it would be hard to take nice pictures with crappy cameras.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph_leotta Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 <p>Ask them If you gave them paint and canvas, could they paint the Mona Lisa?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossb Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 <p>I just tell them my camera is obsolete and they should look at the newer gear. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossb Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 <blockquote> <p>"The most important piece of equipment is the 12 inches behind the camera?"</p> </blockquote> <p>Ansel was probably referring to his large format camera.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen_x Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 <p>http://www.focalpower.com/app/quote/authors/6/</p><p>Like the 13th quote from the bottom. No sources cited though.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeljlawson Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 <p>Nothing wrong with your quote Glen. You simply haven't been around long enough apparently to have met with Lex's sense of humor. You will find very intelligent sarcasm, and many Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy references (Which are my personal favorites).</p> <p>Someday I hope to meet Lex and buy him a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster at the Restaurant at the end of the Universe. In the mean time you may want to abandon this thread and search the forums for others that feel the way you do. This subject comes up on a pretty regular basis.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen_x Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 <p>No offenses taken. I have a huge head too. People call me "watermelon head."</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G. Dainis Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 12 inches behind the camera? Is this some sort of a smut joke that I'm missing? I use MF with a waist level finder. Anyway, the "You must have a really nice camera'"thing has been around for a hundred years or so. When Jack London had his portrait made by the noted San Francisco photographer Arnold Genthe, London began the encounter with effusive praise for the photographic art of his friend and fellow bohemian, Genthe. "you must have a wonderful camera...It must be the best camera in the world...You must show me your camera." Genthe then used his standard studio camera to make what has since become a classic picture of Jack London. When the sitting was finished, Genthe could not contain himself: "I have read your books, Jack, and I think they are important works of art. You must have a wonderful typewriter." I forget which utube video it was but it involved a demonstration of going from a mundane studio shot to a dynamic shot via studio lighting techniques. The last thing one heard as the video ended with the dynamic shot was a girl's voice gushing, "Wow! You must have a really nice camera!" Everyone hears it, if they are good. James G. Dainis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonmestrom Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 <p>you get too easily upset. Get over it.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray House Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 <p>I just did a wedding reception as somebody who just happened to bring a camera. The couple will get a DVD of some 130 images in a slide show including music as a surprise. I'm bummed though that nobody came up and said anything about my camera! Oh well.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_ferling Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 <p>We are a materially driven species, SUVs, big houses, big guns. It shouldn't matter, a big camera follows the same logic. Also, in social circles, it's a safe bet to point out the obvious and be regarded as an intellect, so comments like "nice car", "I just love your house", and "that's a cool camera" are considered a safe means to break the ice, pay respect, or strike up a conversation. </p> <p>I explained this before. However, there is a story about Henry Ford whom hired a German engineer to help build his Model-T plant. One day the plant shut down, and desperate, Henry had the man return to fix it. After a minute of fiddling with some wires, the plant came back to life. Later, Henry would receive a bill for the tune of $1000 (not sure the exact figure, but it was hugh). Upset, Henry called upon the man asked that he itemize his bill to justify his fee for "fiddling" with some wires.</p> <p>He received the itemized bill with only two lines:<br> 1. For fiddling with wires: $1.00<br> 2. For knowing which wires to fiddle with: $999.00</p> <p>Regardless as to why someone comments about your gear, remember, your the one with the camera and it better be a good picture, and we all know how important our role is in the process. Otherwise, it was nothing more than a simple compliment.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acarodp Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 <p>Well it happens to me occasionally that somebody says "what a nice camera". I agree. It is a nice camera. So what? We are too sensitive to this I think. Most people only mean that I have a nice camera. Il like "you have a nice watch" I heard from the guy cutting my hairs some days ago. He happens to like Omega Speedmasters. He did not mean I cannot read the time just fine on any other watch.<br /> So perhaps what they mean is just that they like your camera, and they would like to own one too. It does not necessarily imply you cannot take good photos without it.<br /> Even the more explicit version "You take such good pictures, you must have a nice camera" can mean "because otherwise you would take bad pictures". But it might be simpler than that: since you take good pictures, you seem to like and understand photography, so likely you own a nice equipment. Which makes a lot of sense and is true for all hobbies, everybody knows that: if you are expert and passionate about something, most likely you use the best tools you can afford.<br /> So perhaps, this is all they are assuming.</p> <p>And now that I come to think about it, the assumption of nice camera -> nice pictures is not falsified by the statement "a good photographer can take good pictures with a crappy camera", as true as it is. There is the far more obvious daily example of tons of crappy pictures taken with fine gear.</p> <p>L.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccommins Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Wait until your at a show and someone ask you " did you take all these pictures" or have family members say "you take good pictures because of the expensive camera you own." I have taken pretty good pictures with a small inexpensive p & s. I just ignore the family, I try to be polite to people at the shows. Its part of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathonswersey Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 <p>Glen - everyone knows Lex has 2 heads - it's what gives him his perpendicularity super-power - so the distance between the camera and one of his brains is spot on ;-)<br> Sometimes, my family drives me nuts with that too. I am still a beginner - and have a long way to go - but I've learned to shake it off and now take it as a complement. One thing I do is share an occasional phone camera pic - that usually quiets people down - most folks have a camera phone - so when they see a good shot - they know its skill. I started a short lived thread to get people to share camera phone pics - http://www.photo.net/alternative-cameras-forum/00TZ7D Rob Bernhard posted a pic that blew me away.<br> I think we all get that if you gave Roger Fedderer an old wook racquet, he'd still kick our graphite wielding butts in tennis.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alvinyap Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 <p>I usually just smile, nod and agree, try to make casual conversation etc. It's actually a very good ice breker!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_ Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 <p>Ansel usually worked with a eye for scene before going to the camera, so if you were to consider taking in a overall view of your image subject(s) -- his quote may be very correct.</p> <p>With a digital camera, some folks need the 12-inches <strong>to chimp</strong> their shot to see if it was <em>good or not</em>.</p> <p> </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangoldman Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 <p>The most insulting thing i've ever heard in reference to my photography was: "Oh, no wonder you take good pictures, you have a really expensive camera" (eyeing a rebel350d with 70-200 F4). I didnt know how to react so i just looked at him and turned away. Same guy told me a story, with some strange sense of pride, of how he bought a grand worth of equipment, shot with it once, got frustrated, and traded it all on a cheap pair of binoculars. I just dont understand some people.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_rockwood Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 <p>"I think we all get that if you gave Roger Fedderer an old wook racquet, he'd still kick our graphite wielding butts in tennis."</p><p>Off topic, but the quote above reminds me of something from my childhood. We used to rent rooms to college students. We had a ping pong table, and when the renters thought they were getting pretty good at the game, my father, a former state champion in ping pong, would play them. He would play them left handed (he is a rightie) and use a frying pan for a paddle. He always beat them soundly.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_gillette Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 <p>The family is noticing that you paid enough to have an obnoxiously obvious chunk of camera gear. Worrying about their comments isn't going to mean much to them. They think they said something complimentary. Accept it as such. It beats having them ask somebody else to take pictures because "they've got a camera and even with that big pro looking camera, X can't take good pictures."</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benniehoff Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 <p>I was just at a graduation party this weekend also, and got the usual questions/comments about my camera: what camera is that, how many megapixels, etc. Someone at least asked how new it was, which allowed me to explain it was almost 3 years old. Being a family heavily into computers, they see 3 years as ancient history. :)</p> <p>As others have mentioned, I don't really think it's worth getting upset over. I think I responded something like "Yeah, I like it" and let the conversation drift in another direction. I can't get very good photos if my camera is the center of attention anyway.</p> <p>One person asked me about my lens instead. She had brought an ancient Nikkormat and 50/1.4 non-AI lens (it says Nippon Kogaku on it). I thought her camera was more interesting than mine. She was amazed to learn that Nikon is still using the same lens mount. She's gotten way more out of that camera and lens than I'll probably ever get out of my equipment...that Nikkormat has been all over the national park system and still working fine after 30 years...</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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