edward_caliguri1 Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Hi! This is just a fleeting thought � but why do the truly GREAT nature photographers never post? Lanting, Rosing, Angel, countless National Geo folks, Middleton, Fitzharris, Dykinga etc., etc. never post here (or in other forums for that matter)? Oh � a couple have here and there � but not the ones you see in Nature�s Best or high end publications on a regular basis. Why is that? Are they too busy actually working? Don�t give a flying you know what on what others think? Just a thought �not meant to infuriate anyone, honest. But ever wonder that? Why? Peace, Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_frank Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 because they're too busy making money at this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j._scott_schrader Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 One reason is certainly that they are too busy! Many of them are shooting/traveling 10 months out of the year. This is an educational forum where people come to learn. I doubt that they would learn enough to make it worth their while to spend time on this site. They are not Gear Heads they are photographers in the true sense of the word. They are not defined by the equipment they carry, but rather what they are able to produce with whatever equipment they have. There seems to be a mentality here that it is the gear that makes you a real photographer. They probably don't give a rats ass if someone in an open forum decides that their image would be stronger if cropped to a square format, or if someone thinks they should clone out that branch in photoshop. I guarantee that if one of the best shooters on the planet posted images on this forum annonymously they would probably get the same comments that everyone else gets. What would be the point? What would they possibly have to gain? Their time is better spent out shooting or running their business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_potts1 Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 I think a fair number of well known nature photographers deal with people like us through their own websites. There are folks over at NPN who have recognizable bylines and contribute regularly. Arthur Morris makes a comment there once in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_haykin Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Why cast pearls before swine? *~* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_ito Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Michael Frye posts regularly on CalPhoto's Yahoo groups site. He doesn't gain anything financially from doing this, but freely gives advice and reports conditions in Yosemite. There are some helpful pros out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elf Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 What's NPN? and how do I get there? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick_ginkowski Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 I am sure most working pros are, as stated, very busy working and have alternate means of communicating. I take some exception, however, to the implication that "truly GREAT nature photographers" do not post. No doubt the names you mentioned are great photographers but they are also full-time working professionals meaning they do this for a living. That alone does not justify greatness. I suggest you go find a copy of the book "American Vision" which contains images by amateur nature photographers. Without exception the working professionals who helped compile this work agreed that the amateur work product depicted therein was exceptional. You may not have intended to "infuriate" anyone but you sure have insulted a lot of folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j._scott_schrader Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Thanks Dick! I have a copy of that book, and I was lucky enough to be a contributor to that project. It sounds like you may have been published in there too. (I'll have to go back through it and look for your by-line.) My interpretation of the term "truely great" in Edwards question was "well known" ...maybe I'm interpreting more than I should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maury_cohen Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 J. Scott hits the nail on the head.They're busy working at photography. Business is a full-time occupation; creative work especially. It's almost two jobs, doing the art and maintaining the business.The working pro's also aren't seeking the feedback of other photographers, their immediate and valid feedback is the check they receive for their work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick_ginkowski Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Scott, I did not submit anything for that, having blown the deadline. I was, however, with Bill Fortney when he was telling me of the quality of what was submitted (this was long before the book came out). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mskovacs Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 NPN: http://www.naturephotographers.net/ ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS GROUP. The only website I have ever paid money to support. (optional) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_terry Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 A few well known people used to post here from time to time in years past (fishing for customers for their guided tours ?), and added a lot to the discussion from time to time, but i see less and less of it. If i was into photography as a profession (it is Strictly a hobby for me), i would not be here either. I would be chasing my hobbies and interests outside of work (like i'm doing right now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_dunn1 Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Because they know that people would try to show them up. Remeber what happened when editor of Shutterbug (Bob Shell) posted on photo.net? Look through the archives. It wasn't pretty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg s Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 The question is unanswerable since only the GREAT ones know their reasons yet will not know the question has been asked since they don't visit. I've wondered why some who do visit don't have any photos archived. When someone gives advice or whatever they have to say/write, I'm always interested to see their work. Often times I see a 0 for photos on this site and no link to a private site. This makes it difficult to put their ideas in context to their photography. Just a thought I've pondered for awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan_bundick Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Just read some of the initial thread that Bob Shell was on and I thought I had seen some rude treatment before, but........ No wonder prominent names don't show up very often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted February 26, 2003 Share Posted February 26, 2003 Exactly. Why would they subject themselves to abuse? In general a famous name seems to bring out the worst in people (jealously?). Of course sometime the abuse is deserved, but we don't want to open THAT can of worms... What would they have to gain by posting here? I doubt many leading cardiac surgeons post on health forums and I don't suppose many formula one race drivers spend a lot of time posting to racing discussion forums. They have better things to do with their time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Ridgeway www.Scott Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 What do you mean, "the great nature photographers never post things?" I been posting lots of things lately. :-) Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick_ginkowski Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 Great answer, Scott! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leif_goodwin8 Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 They would be opening themselves to abuse, and having people with more mouth than experience making know all comments. It is of course possible that some do ask questions using an alias so they can blend in and relate on an equal basis. For pros photography is a business and a competitive one at that. For many it makes sense to develop their own site to promote their own brand rather than someone elses. They might also consider that the best way to learn is to do. Although I am a software engineer by trade I avoid software related sites if at all possible. I also avoid most software/computer magazines as they are often written by nerds obsessed with what is new, rather than what gets the job done. In fact I often find that books are best as the web is not a free lunch, despite the early idealistic beginnings. I expect similar comments could be made by pro-photographers in relation to photo sites. I read this site for learning and relaxing as it lets me forget about work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mats nilson photography Posted March 2, 2003 Share Posted March 2, 2003 Because this isn't REALLY a photographer's forum, is it? It seems to me to be more of a computer-enthusiast's-with-an-additional-interest-in-photography forum. If we spent less time in front of the dumb screen and more time in the field, we would also be truly great. Well, maybe not. If we had had that potential, we wouldn't be sitting here in the first place... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leif_goodwin8 Posted March 2, 2003 Share Posted March 2, 2003 <P> Hi Mats. Your posting made me laugh. But I don't agree. This really is a good place to discuss photography and learn. I once asked what filter I needed on a flash to correct for an 81B on the lens. I got an answer. I recently asked how to get fill flash with an F80 + AIS lens. I got excellent helpful answers. Goodness knows how I would have found answers otherwise. Photo Net works. </P> <P> If it was a haven for computer geeks, I would be out of here PDQ. Of course some people here have a passing knowledge of computers (guilty) but I suspect that is because photography is an expensive hobby and computer people are decent earners. </P> <A HREF="http://mysite.freeserve.com/ukfungi/mainpage.html">Leif</A> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cham_saranasuriya Posted March 3, 2003 Share Posted March 3, 2003 I agree with Leif in that I have learned a lot and have had some excellent advice from photo.net which otherwise could have spent hours reading books to find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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