Man interviews members of a photo club

Man asks members of a photo club what they like to photograph most.

Hobby photographer #1 says, I like to go deep and deeper into details how everything works.

Hobby photographer #2 says, I like to read photographers's books from the past and try to understand how I can do the same.

Hobby photographer #4 says, I like to collect cameras and lenses and expose them in a new cupboard I just bought.

Hobby photographer #5 says, I'm spending all my time to reverse engineer camera's and scanners and how to build them better.

Hobby photographer #6 says, I shoot like mad and sometimes I get a keeper, however, I have a huge backlog developing and printing.

Hobby photographer #7 says, I don't care, I'm still figuring out how to earn money with it.

Enfin, after a strenuous evening talking to everyone, hobby photographer #22 came as a surprise.

Hobby photographer #22 says, I'm not a specialist, you can shoot everything and make a piece of art from it.

Billy Axeman said:

Enfin, after a strenuous evening talking to everyone, hobby photographer #22 came as a surprise.

Hobby photographer #22 says, I'm not a specialist, you can shoot everything and make a piece of art from it.

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Nice one. Do any of the other hobby photographers still talk to him

pentaxuser

Billy Axeman said:

Hobby photographer #6 says, I shoot like mad and sometimes I get a keeper,

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This is the approach I least understand. If photography is an act of communication and response to a subject, why make negatives or digital files with no engagement? I've seen people who own fairly high end gear like the Nikon D850 or Fuji GFX cameras behave like this on the some of the digital photography forums, cough, DP Review...

In my experience, most "hobby photographers" are actually camera gear enthusiasts, not photographers.

I think most folks tend to be a combination of the numbers, from 1 to 22...and are different combos at different times with different subjects.

Vaughn said:

I think most folks tend to be a combination of the numbers, from 1 to 22...and are different combos at different times with different subjects.

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Sometimes talking gear helps avoid having to be polite about someone's not very engaging work...

PFGS said:

Sometimes talking gear helps avoid having to be polite about someone's not very engaging work...

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In my group, we are polite Canadians, if no one comments on my image, I know it is not good. If I get a comment, listen, they probably have comments worth noting.

I'm a member of two groups. The people in both groups are really great - we have a lot of fun, we help each other out a lot and we encourage thoughtful critique and suggestions.
Our mutual respect is strong enough that we don't worry if a discussion becomes spirited.
One of my friends in one of those groups - who is a very good photographer - presented some prints of landscape scenes and asked our opinions.
Our relationship is strong enough (and our senses of humour are sufficiently similar) that when I said that those particular prints reminded me of the plastic place mats one found at a roadside diner, the response was genuine laughter and thanks for the comment!
Like with any other group, the quality of your experience is directly related to who is in the group, and how much each person brings to it.