Photographic Snobbery & Other Annoyances...

[Sparky]

Snobbery in photography for me is when the photographer believes his or her photographs are better or more important or more pure due to the choice of materials and tools they use.

No - that's just insecurity. NOT that anyone HERE does that... but I've seen MANY people who try to compensate for lack of talent that way... just as others make up for lack of technical skill with talent. Whatever - we're all mixed bags.

 

[Sparky]

So - I was thinking about this thread this afternoon - driving around in the car. One of the things that did occur to me - perhaps one of the most short-sighted, pretentious and ridiculous things... was 'destroying one's negatives' after a run of prints. I personally think that's just plain stupid - and stems from the fear that one's work won't be taken seriously as art. Seems to me photography is all about reproduction. (there's a joke in there in another context maybe!)

... and another thing is 'the archival print' - in certain contexts, let's say. Who the hell do you think is going to care about your print in a hundred years? Or, in some cases now...?

do i sound bitter?

 

[michaelsalomon]

I am not referring to any one person or group in particular. The snobbery to which I referred in my own experience has been from a small group of photographers who judge the photographer based on the equipment and materials they use, lets say a guy with a nikon f5 thinking he's a better or more serious photographer than another guy with a canon rebel, or a guy proclaiming he's a better or more serious street photographer because he has a leica and the other guy isn't because he has a nikon f.

 

[Sparky]

The snobbery to which I referred in my own experience has been from a small group of photographers who judge the photographer based on the equipment and materials they use....

OF COURSE!! That's what it's all about!! We only take photographs to give us JUST ENOUGH 'street cred' to back up the materialism. Come live in LA where a man is judged solely by the similarity of his car to either;

1. A black or silver BMW, 500 series and above
2. A black or silver MBZ, 300 and above
3. a black or yellow hummer or geländeswagen....

Me, I drive a '92 cherokee - and proud of it!

 

[bjorke]

I am not referring to any one person or group in particular.

Oh come on. You can tell us.

 

[michaelsalomon]

not for nuthin' but I really wasn't referring to anyone here when I wrote my post , and my apologies if anyone takes it that way - like I said, snobs are all around us, lets just ignore em' and shoot. Anyway I'm going to go put some Tom Waits on and have a glass of chivas, hoping to wake up early tomorrow to go do some shootin'

 

[Sparky]

tell us! tell us..!!

 

[michaelsalomon]

glad I don't live in LA - I drive a 99 jimmy and I love it!

 

[michaelsalomon]

Oh come on. You can tell us.

and face the lash? No thanks.

 

[Mike Té]

If the OED says it is of obscure origin -- and they are noted for some rigour in these matters -- then I have little faith in such a contrived invention as the one quoted.
R.

That's also close to the definition given by some French language sources. At the time of the French Revolution, schoolchildren were noted as being s. nob., or sans noblesse. In the context of the Revolution, this was an important distinction, leading to an elevation of the status of a snob.

 

[removed account4]

Monsieur Du Snob Fulbert Anselme ( about 1/2way down)

 

[Craig]

Scott,
I didn't say I agree with the OP or Brooks' point; only that the OP was not the only one voicing it.

Pardon my ignorance, but what's an OP? The only place I have heard that abbreviation was referring to Fairbanks Morse opposed piston diesel engines, and somehow I don't think that's what's being discussed here!

 

[Sparky]

original poster.

 

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

I don't think anything listed is really snobbery unless you're a snob about it...

 

[rjas]

"Ctein"

 

[Roger Hicks]

"Ctein"

He's OK. Just doesn't suffer fools gladly.

The name comes from a mix-up in a college newspaper, as far as I recall. He explained it to me once. It started out as an affectation and became a habit.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Roger,

Do you know what his real name is?

Tom.

 

[Leon]

If the OED says it is of obscure origin -- and they are noted for some rigour in these matters -- then I have little faith in such a contrived invention as the one quoted.

Also, what's that filthy row when you click onto the alleged definition? Enough to put anyone off, I'd think.

Cheers,

R.

hence the apparently

Damn - why isnt there a [sarcasm] [/sarcasm] to inform those who dont get it???

 

[davetravis]

Here's some tounge-in-cheek:
"Hyperfocal distance vs DOF"
"Film is soooooo retro"
"The print doesn't matter, only the image"
"My lens is longer than your lens"
"I would never use anything but Bogen tripods"
"You must use a stop bath after development"
"Photography is not really an art form, like painting"
"My digital darkroom"

 

[Roger Hicks]

Roger,

Do you know what his real name is?

Tom.

Dear Tom,

I think I did, but I've forgotten it if so. Sorry.

Cheers,

R.

 

[haris]

Every field has it's special jargon and slang so it's not worth worrying about. Learn the words and use them or not depending on your own preference.

Specialized jargon is another tool which diference "US" and "THEM"

 

[Chuck_P]

"Hyperfocal distance vs DOF"

Snobbery? Guilty. f/ 32 or 45 (or whatever) and be there............ doesn't always cut it. Genuine use of hyperfocal distance can be smart, not snobbish.

 

[haris]

And while we talk about snobbery, what do you think about word Leica...

 

[jstraw]

Specialized jargon is another tool which diference "US" and "THEM"

Oh nonsense. Do you think a recording engineer refers to headphones as "cans,: a floor monitor as a "wedge" or the cable from a mixing console to a microphone distributuon block as a "snake" in order to make visitors to the studio feel like outsiders? All professions have slang and while the unititiated may not be familiar with it, neither the origins nor the purpose generally have anything to do with the unititiated.

 

[Kino]

This has the makings of a fine troll...