ed_pierce2 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Yesterday I was set up beside a back road in the northern Vermont mountains. Before me was a swamp/flooded pasture, dead trees angling into a mackerel sky, thier reflections mirrored and altered in the water. I was waiting for something to happen...the clouds to move into a pleasing arrangement, a moose to step out of the woods, etc. Meanwhile a voracious horde of black flies feasted on me and flew into the camera whenever I opened it. Along comes an older lady in her car. She stopped, got out and came to see what I was doing. Turns out this is her property, so she wanted to know. We had a pleasant chat. The bugs didn't bother her. She looked blankly at the scene before us, wondering no doubt where the moose was. She eyed my 4x5 camera with an amused look. Probably thought to herself I must be in pretty bad shape if the best camera and tripod I could afford were made of wood. "What are you taking a picture of?". I pointed out the reflections. Oh. She asked if I was a pro and I explained no, I have a real job, but I'm an artist in my free time. "Oh", she says, "My daughter is an artist...she paints the most beautiful pictures". "Great" I say, "I use this camera". With a dismissing wave, she walked off, saying "That's easy!". !^*&^*&*?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcrisp Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Ed: Take it as a compliment, you have to be really good to make it look easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_coppin Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 You made a mistake. You called yourself an "artist". Everybody knows photographers aren't artists, don't you know. Shoulda stuck with "pro". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen hazelton Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Well, she's right. It is easy- at least easier than painting the scene AT THE SAME QUALITY LEVEL (anybody could swab some colors on canvas and call it a swamp). That's WHY we use cameras. Go find her daughter. Tell her that your son is a sculptor and carves all images out of solid granite. She'll say, "I just paint." Then wave your hand dismissively, say, "That's so easy!" and walk away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin gulstene Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 If you could ask my grandmother, she would tell you that I am the most talented person she knows and that _I_ make the _best_ art. Is it possible the comment was about her feelings for her daughter more than a critique of the two art forms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_cook1 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 I used to have a little protest against clients who felt like this, back in the days when Kodak still printed literature. I would go on a location shoot with a Kodak pamphlet sticking out of my hip pocket called, "Having Fun Clicking in Color". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_feldman2 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Steve's Law: "Nothing is easy". Corollary to Steve's Law: "If it was easy, everyone would do it". See Steve's Law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne_crider4 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 The old lady with her car run into the water and looking lost while her heads out the window would have been the shot. Your model was there and you didn't even know it. What kind of artist are you again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squareframe Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 well Ed, artist or not, it does seem pretty easy to take pictures of reflections and wait for a moose or two. doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan n. Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 "they" all consider photography is "easy" and not "Art" and photographer is not an "Artist" because the click. When "they" labor for days on a piece of craft for Christmas they call themselve "artist".... Cheer up and be happy... Whatever they call you is not important.. it's on the mind.. I'm happy with the photography community and that's enough.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_gerndt1 Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 The real answer is: "I just do it for myself." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_galli4 Posted May 17, 2003 Share Posted May 17, 2003 Next time tell her you're the "chain saw massacrist" and you just set the camera up hoping little old ladies will stop and ask inane questions. Their last of course. ....rrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrr... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin_cozine Posted May 17, 2003 Share Posted May 17, 2003 Heh, taking photographs can be very easy, or very hard depending on how much work you put into it. Considering that most modern 35mm camera are auto-everything, all a photographer might need to do is press a button. The thing i ask myself when critiquing images is: "how is that image different than what a tourist with an expensive camera might shoot?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cxc Posted May 25, 2003 Share Posted May 25, 2003 I shoot LF and also paint, and I agree with grandma, that the work of photography is easier than the work of painting. A photo might take me as much as half an hour to shoot, but a painting can easily exceed a hundred hours. Most people think my photos are better. Just because something is less difficult, doesn't make it worse. Also, I wear a walkman when shooting (or drawing) in public, it keeps away the onlookers. Needn't be actually turned on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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