starshooter

<p>I was teaching a class in Beginning Freelance Photography and one student asked me if he could make money taking photographs of images on his TV screen. I told him those images were probably copyrighted and actually owned by somebody. He flunked the course. Anyone who doesn't get the idea that you have to get off your dead duff and go out and make your own images flunks.</p>

<p>Fabulous camera. I wish I still had mine. It fell apart. Interestingly, my Yashicamat is still takin' pictures and I've used it for more years than I had the Rollei. I'm not saying the Yashicamat is built better, I'm just saying this was my experience. You never know.</p>

<p>Don't know about over there but here stealing is not an "innocent mistake," Send them a bill. Make sure the big shots see it. That may awake some small bit of honesty there is in their corporate makeup -- if there is any. I don't use my neighbor's water when he is out of town or steal pies off his windowsill when they are cooling.</p>

<p>I'll bet you a Nikon and raise you a Canon that this is really about food and booze -- that is, greed. They want you to spend bug bucks for their overpriced munchies and beer.</p>

<p>Great stuff. Sound like the cameras are typical Russian products. They made their warplanes and tanks in the very same way. If you think they are cranky, try an Exacta. Perhaps you have. Thank you. I really enjoyed the info and the pix.</p>

<p>A professional photographer needs to know when there is the need to fire clients. The fantasy that there is only one crummy place to take photos in a presumably corporate building is a cruel joke. Some flunkie is trying to make it easy on himself or maybe he really wants his brother-in-law to take the photos. You have to tell them they are acting in a very unprofessional manner and say "no." It is a very powerful word.</p>

<p>Never, never be sarcastic. Folks who dwell happily in cloud-coo-coo-land have little sense of humor.</p>

<p>My very favorite optical trick is taking a photograph with a "normal" lens, printing up and 8x10 from that and pretending that we have a close approximation of what the eye sees. The eye is a fisheye. If you extend your arms out from your body and pull them forward just a bit you can wiggle your fingers and see them wiggle. You can't do that with a "normal" lens. The eye is sharp in the center and fuzzy around the edges, like a fisheye. It also has a zoom capability.<br>

Us photographers have been conning the public for years with this phony "normal lens" stuff. It's a hoot.</p>

<p>Longer lenses that let in a lot of light can be expensive especially if you choose a, say, Nikon or Canon lens. I think you should look at third-party lenses like Sigma. There is some amazing "glass" out there these days.</p>

<p>It seems like it takes half a lifetime to learn the rules and another half to learn when to break the rules. Great stuff. I am putting together a Crown Graphic from spare parts. I bought one without a back or lens or lensboard. The camera and the springback I have purchased are in fantastic condition. They look like they are not more than a couple of years old. I have film holders I bought for a buck apiece ten years ago because I knew someday I'd have a Graphic again. I'm getting there, slowly but surly.</p>

<p>I know nothing about this company but the "we'll put you I our book and your career will be made" pitch goes back at least to the 1950s.<br>

In my opinion it looks like another con. Do you know anybody at any of those "500 advertising and creative agencies across the earth"? If so call 'em and see if they ever heard of the books. Are these "creative" people so backward they can't utilize the Internet? I seriously doubt they would waste their time with a book when the Internet is there, free, doesn't clog up their shelves and has millions of images to look at.<br>

In my opinion there are a lot of rotten people in this world just itching to take advantage of people. I cruised their website and I can't even figure out what they do.<br>

Are you any relation to Lady De Winter, famously portrayed by Lana Turner in the flickers?</p>

<p>A couple of points. I one lightly overdressed for an interview for a staff photographer's job and got mildly rebuked by the editor (who gave me the job anyway). Dress like they do, more or less.<br>

As for ties -- I hate them too. But as for chicks -- Linda Ronstadt who was a heck of a looker and a fabulous singer liked her men in a suit and a tie. That tells me a lot. I assume in the music business she'd gotten her fill of scruffy looking dudes. Don't judge a woman until....well, you know about the moccasins.</p>

<p>Oh, boy. One of the non-joys of photographing kids which is usually fun because kids are fun is the "cheese" business. I'd have wonderful photos set up of school kids and at the exact wrong moment the teacher says "say cheese."<br>

At least we are beyond the old "is that a Polaroid camera?" when you shooting with a Nikon or Hassey. You have to assume the "cheese" thing is going to come up sooner or later and be prepared for it.<br>

In some cultures people think you are stealing their soul by taking their photo so things could be worse. You have to assume control of the situation. If that is not your innate nature do not worry, you'll learn how to fake that before long. You need to do whatever it takes (in a nice way) to get those photos that are just right. It ain't always easy.</p>

<p>If I listened to Steve my abode would be empty. I am in the process of using oddball-sized film cameras (127, etc.) with paper negatives. One-shot wonders. Some of these cameras are amazing and I can't help it if film companies are short-sighted.</p>

<p>Cloud-coo-coo-land.</p>

<p>I would send them a stiff bill for what they pilfered. The same thing as I would do if they stole my car. I don't recognize that stealing an old car is okay but swiping a new one is a felony. I fear there is an attitude in the land that it is okay to steal if it is easy and you can get away with it. You don't have to help the bums take what is yours.</p>

<p>People who think watermarks cannot be erased are as smart as the Flat Earth Society people. Dream on...</p>

<p>I do not like PhotoSlop, I do not use it I will not use it. So where is the problem? If Chevy says you have to park their new model you just bought in their parking lot in Detroit every night you buy a different brand.</p>

<p>Yeah but in Chicago murder is considered a sport. Everybody it seems is tryin' to beat Big Al Capone's record on Valentine's Day no less.</p>

<p>I think the shot is great. If it works for you that is all that counts. It doesn't have to say "Leica" on the camera or "f1.2" on the lens to make good photos.</p>

<p>What a delicious little camera and a treasure. It's the 1954 De Soto of cameras, an awkward beast. There was a De Soto that you could buy in pink with matching luggage and umbrella that the company just knew women would flock to the dealership to buy. Not. The wimmin wanted a good, reliable car and didn't think ya had to put lipstick on a pig. I think you can say this thing is over-engineered for what Kodak thought the public wanted. But I love it and will keep my eye out for one. A film digital or a digital film camera. You made my day with this post.</p>

<p>Yes, everybody was taller, better looking and had perfect hair in the "good old days." You are wrong. I was there. Many of the top and bottom photographers worked endlessly to get the right combination of camera, film, lens, angle, light and on and on to get first class photos. And the "right" thing was a moving target. Film was lousy. I worked for a firm that helped pioneer 35mm news photography and we could not use tri-x for ordinary situations because it was too grainy. We used Super Double X (for still cameras) or Plus-X for most things and Tri-X for available light despite grain the size of baseballs. Ever used a Leica 3f with a 135mm lens? I had one. A nightmare. But better'n nothing at the time.<br>

Sure some folks are a pain in the neck with their (sometimes imaginary) high Megapixel count but the PITN photographers have always been with us. There were those Polariod snapshooters who claimed our Leicas and Rollies were worthless because we had to wait so long to see a print. Our photos are in the history books, not theirs.<br>

I think perhaps you need to stop letting "cool" photogs or alleged photogs bully you. You are playing their game.</p>

<p>You never. One day the light bulb might come on and you will figure out some great way to use this beast and we will all be jealous. When the North Koreans, in order to hopefully (for them) ruin our economy, go ahead and zap the Internet Polaroid will look pretty darn good. It will be the latest thing, again.</p>

<p>Do you have a LIGHT meter or a FLASH meter? There is a big difference.</p>

<p>Why not hire a photo assistant who drives and has a car?</p>