What has become of us all?

[loccdor]

Being surrounded by throngs of people when using a camera gives me a lot of nervous tension. I prefer photographing that gives me a feeling of relaxation, like hiking, or 1 to 1 with someone I know well. I rushed to get a shot last week as someone was approaching me for conversation, even though I used tripod and cable release the picture came out with camera shake.

 

[photogear]

There is a difference between a selfie, a self portrait and using oneself to create an image (I don't think anyone would call Cindy Sherman's pictures "selfies").

The endless stream of pictures showing a person in front of different things are typical selfies and of little or, to be honest, mostly, of no interest.
A self portrait usually require some thinking and conveys something more than "I was there" if it is to be considered successful.

excellent point of view IMHO

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

What's the point of shooting photographs of your vacation if you don't include some of the landmarks of the places you visited, including yourself and family? I'm referring to shots other than artsy ones.

 

[Tel]

One of the joys of retirement is not having to travel during high-lemming seasons. That, and not caring about taking selfies to show your friends....

 

[Pieter12]

What's the point of shooting photographs of your vacation if you don't include some of the landmarks of the places you visited, including yourself and family? I'm referring to shots other than artsy ones.

Maybe don't take pictures, just enjoy yourself.

 

[fdonadio]

I never bothered being in a picture before a historical site or some sort of attraction to prove "I was there"...

I remember a time when telling friends “I was there” was enough for them to believe you. And they were much more interested in seeing what you saw, instead of seeing you there. Crazy times.

 

[CMoore]

I love the smell irony in the morning.
It smells like .................. victory

Members of photography forum scorn people on vacation for taking pictures during their vacation

 

[Pieter12]

I love the smell irony in the morning.
It smells like .................. victory

Members of photography forum scorn people on vacation for taking pictures during their vacation

Why should it be ironic? Not all photographers gravitate towards all forms of photography.

 

[MattKing]

What's the point of shooting photographs of your vacation if you don't include some of the landmarks of the places you visited, including yourself and family? I'm referring to shots other than artsy ones.

I think there may be more of a demarcation in your thoughts than some other might with respect to the perception of different types of photography.
I think I'm a bit different - I tend to perceive how much artistry is employed in photography, not whether or not there is any.
Back when I was helping lots of different people with their photography I wouldn't tell them to stop taking record shots of their trips or adventures or social situations. Instead we would concentrate on how to improve the qualities of and interesting nature of those photos - in other words increasing the amount of artistry imbued in them.
Photographically speaking, the problem with most travel shots is how artless they are, not that they are taken.

 

[Pieter12]

I think there may be more of a demarcation in your thoughts than some other might with respect to the perception of different types of photography.
I think I'm a bit different - I tend to perceive how much artistry is employed in photography, not whether or not there is any.
Back when I was helping lots of different people with their photography I wouldn't tell them to stop taking record shots of their trips or adventures or social situations. Instead we would concentrate on how to improve the qualities of and interesting nature of those photos - in other words increasing the amount of artistry imbued in them.
Photographically speaking, the problem with most travel shots is how artless they are, not that they are taken.

I make it a point of determining before I travel whether the trip is to take photos or to take a vacation. When it is for the latter, I will usually just take a small digital camera, and pretty much let my wife take the vacation photos. It can be quite liberating.

 

[MattKing]

I make it a point of determining before I travel whether the trip is to take photos or to take a vacation. When it is for the latter, I will usually just take a small digital camera, and pretty much let my wife take the vacation photos. It can be quite liberating.

I get joy out of taking photos, so like to take a camera and to use it when it is fun and interesting.
Usually smaller camera and bag and I only use things like a tripod if we are driving and there is room in the car for it. It may or may not be used.
There have been a few vacations where photography was part of the goal, but mostly not.

 

[fdonadio]

I love the smell irony in the morning.
It smells like .................. victory

Members of photography forum scorn people on vacation for taking pictures during their vacation

In the end, I ended up not scorning as much as I could. I’m gonna tell a nice story about my latest trip. I went to the Chamonix-Mt. Blanc valley, in France, close to the border with Switzerland.

On a very nice afternoon, golden hour, I was walking through the streets in the village of Chamonix, when I see this bridge with a beautiful railing and a gorgeous landscape, just behind it. I had to stop and take a picture.

But there was this girl and her boyfriend, right in the middle of the frame I wanted to shoot. She was posing like a model and he was taking pictures of her. She would go and look into the phone every two or three clicks. Then she would try a different pose. Then without the jacket. Then with a hat. And another pose… I was just patiently waiting for around 15 minutes. And they wouldn’t quit.

I wanted to get a shot of a passing train, just around 80 meters from there, and the time was getting closer and closer. So I walked to the train crossing, chose a nice place to stand on (where I wouldn’t risk harming myself, others or someone getting into my shot), framed, metered, focused and waited. I clicked the train exactly how I wanted it.

Then I headed back to that bridge. Light was still good enough that my own shadow wasn’t getting in the pic. But the couple was still there! I was about to ask how much they paid to rent the bridge for their “photo shoot”, when they finally left.

I had already metered and focused. I pointed the camera, clicked and that was it. Two girls came, looked at my camera and asked me to take a picture of them with their phone, which I did. Three different clicks, one in landscape, another in portrait and another one with a little “zoom”. They were happy and went away. And so did I.

 

[CMoore]

Why should it be ironic? Not all photographers gravitate towards all forms of photography.

Two complete different scenarios................

1. I play football, but i am not much of a baseball player and do not really follow the sport.

2. I play football.
I went to our local track to do some jogging, and every Mom and Dad was there with every kid.
It was so crowded i could hardly even walk a lap, much less jog a lap.
These families are not even serious runners. Why don't they simply stay home so us Real Athletes can do what we need to do

So YES, of course it is ironic that members of a photo forum would be bitching about all the people taking pictures

 

[fdonadio]

1. I play football, but i am not much of a baseball player and do not really follow the sport.

2. I play football.
I went to our local track to do some jogging, and every Mom and Dad was there with every kid.
It was so crowded i could hardly even walk a lap, much less jog a lap.
These families are not even serious runners. Why don't they simply stay home so us Real Athletes can do what we need to do

I am not sure if I get your point here.

But I do get mad when I go to a skatepark and there are adults with kids that are using the skatepark as sliders (not skating). Or even madder when the kids are unsupervised.

And the most ironic: there’s always a playground really, really close to the skatepark.

You know, some people practice serious skateboarding in skateparks. And small children running around with no idea of what’s going on around them is a recipe for disaster.

And just try to explain this to the parents!

 

[CMoore]

I am not sure if I get your point here................................

No Worries

 

[Pieter12]

So YES, of course it is ironic that members of a photo forum would be bitching about all the people taking pictures

Why not? I bitch about a lot of stuff all the time.

 

[chuckroast]

I remember a time when telling friends “I was there” was enough for them to believe you. And they were much more interested in seeing what you saw, instead of seeing you there. Crazy times.

All of modern photography was built on snapshot photography with cheap cameras and film processing to encourage film sales. This migrated to vacation slides, slide shows, and Polaroids.

For nearly a century, everyman capturing the days of their lives photographically was a staple that built Kodak, especially, into the monster they were.

Cell phones are just the latest instrument in an unbroken chain that started with Brownies and ended with SLRs.

It is an idealized fiction that the Good Old Days were better and that people on holidays were more engaged with the environment. Then-, as now, it depends a whole lot on the person and the venue.

The only thing that is almost unarguably worse today, is the larger society's lack of decorum, politeness, and mannered behaviour which is really what underlies the obnoxious habits noted in this thread...

 

[chuckroast]

Why not? I bitch about a lot of stuff all the time.

As a dear, now departed, friend of mine used to say, If I don't take a contrary position, how will we have an argument?

 

[fdonadio]

The only thing that is almost unarguably worse today, is the larger society's lack of decorum, politeness, and mannered behaviour which is really what underlies the obnoxious habits noted in this thread...

Exactly.

 

[fdonadio]

I bitch about a lot of stuff all the time.

Mostly everyone does. Some don’t recognize it, though.

 

[photogear]

Mostly everyone does. Some don’t recognize it, though.

it takes an opinion for another one that goes the opposite way.
this is how a forum goes most of the time...

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I think there may be more of a demarcation in your thoughts than some other might with respect to the perception of different types of photography.
I think I'm a bit different - I tend to perceive how much artistry is employed in photography, not whether or not there is any.
Back when I was helping lots of different people with their photography I wouldn't tell them to stop taking record shots of their trips or adventures or social situations. Instead we would concentrate on how to improve the qualities of and interesting nature of those photos - in other words increasing the amount of artistry imbued in them.
Photographically speaking, the problem with most travel shots is how artless they are, not that they are taken.

It's not mainly that they're artless. It's that there are too many of them and often multiple pictures of the same thing. How many photos of the Eiffel Tower do I need to look at before I want to kill the photographer?

 

[Milpool]

Mostly everyone does. Some don’t recognize it, though.

I’ll take the bitching every time over the patronizing, sickly-sweet all-sidesing goo.

 

[Pieter12]

It's not mainly that they're artless. It's that there are too many of them and often multiple pictures of the same thing. How many photos of the Eiffel Tower do I need to look at before I want to kill the photographer?

I am prepared to die.

 

[MattKing]

Not mine, but one of many of Paris taken by a good friend, Jean-François Cléroux.
Somewhat ironically, it is rather on-topic for this thread!
Borrowed from his currently work in progress website, found here: https://www.cleroux.com/

Which reminds me - I need to phone Francois to talk to him about his latest website tweaks.