Pictures OF cameras looked down upon

[John_Nikon_F]

Try boxers, amigo!

I don't know who is making you feel bad about your passion, but whoever it is... Ignore them.

Better yet, try a kilt. *chuckle*

With respect to the camera porn stuff, I think it's ok for us to do it in moderation. I try to limit it to the "what's your latest new (old) camera?" thread, tho. I have what some people may consider a collection, but I do use the gear, instead of leaving it in a display cabinet. I also am willing to make changes to a piece of gear to make it more comfortable to use. Case in point... Just replaced my black F with another black F, since the previous body had shutter curtain bounce issues and a chipped casting. Only issue was that the replacement body was a 706xxxx body and the previous body was an "apollo". Yes, stuff got swapped over. Have the more comfortable plastic-tipped advance and self-timer levers installed on the older body. Sacrilege to some collectors, now that the camera isn't 100% period correct, but, ya know, it's a lot nicer to use now.

-J

 

[frank]

Agree with what you're saying Frank. I've said many times while there is a continuum of seriousness levels, in the end we're all glorified hobbyists, and whatever aspect(s) of the photographic process gives each of us enjoyment, that's what counts.

I've also said I don't see any correlation between artistic talent/craft and the level of interest/disinterest in the more technical aspects of the process (from gear to chemistry). You can love owning 100 cameras, obsess over developers and films, and still either be a "serious" artist producing wonderful work, or produce nothing, or anything in between. At the other end of the spectrum, you can be dogmatic about owning one crap camera, one crap lens and using only one film, and still either be a serious artist producing wonderful work, or produce nothing, or anything in between. There is no monopoly on snobbery. It goes both ways. In the end you might be good, or you might suck, and hopefully you enjoy it either way.

With a clear head, I can state that you've said it better than I!

 

[blockend]

Well, I remember John Sexton saying it quite succinctly, in reference to (most) photographers and our relationships with equipment and materials: "We like stuff".

Some of us like stuff. Years ago I used to work for a professional photographer who kept his Hasselblads and Nikons and their lenses piled up in a large box. They went in for service once a year whatever, and so far as I could tell he had no relationship with his camera equipment whatsoever. In the darkroom on the other hand, he was an absolute obsessive and could produce 16 x 20" prints from 35mm negatives as well as any I've ever seen, though his bread and butter was medium format with the occasional 5 x 4.

He saw his cameras in the same way a joiner viewed a hammer, necessary but not something to fuss over.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

It's a bit weird: people into cars or motorcycles would probably appreciate artistic pictures of same. They enjoy driving, wrenching on, and looking at them. As far as tools go, I think the finest craftsmen respect their tools and are not dismissive of them. I feel the same, including cameras, and am not ashamed to admit it.

But I think there is a view among some photographers, who want to prove how serious they are, by stating that all that matters is the final resulting image, and collectors and fondlers are frowned upon. While that's a fine attitude for working commercial photographers, the majority of us on photo forums are hobbyists.

My question for you is: Why limit the enjoyment you can receive from our hobby by taking on the dour attitude of "serious" working photographers and being dismissive of those who can add to the enjoyment of a fine image, with an appreciation of our tools as objects of art in their own right, just as classic cars and motorcycles are not just means of travel from point A to B. Product photography is legitamate genre, and I get enjoyment out of creating and looking at creative/artistic Images of cameras. If you do too, don't be intimidated by the shaming culture of the too-serious photographers posing on our hobbyist forums.

At my advancing age, I am less and less worried about what others think, and simply look to maximize my enjoyment of my hobby, which by definition is "a pleasurable pastime." There are many facets of photography that make me happy, not just the final image, and I'm okay with that.

My advice to others is to lighten up and not take yourselves too seriously.

I totally agree;It's not just about the final image that counts;sometimes it's about the journey and not about the destination.

 

[removed account4]

michael

the thread is directed towards people like myself who suggested
that the camera is subordinate to other things in the creative process
( thomas' thread from a week or 2 ago ) ... unfortunately there is a divide
between gearheads and people who don't care as much about gear ...
there are people who believe that their expensvei camera will make
a better photograph than some dime store pice of garbage .. when it
really doesn't matter.

use what you have, and have a good time ... cause it doesn't matter anyways

 

[blansky]

While I agree that life should have balance and a hobbyist in almost anything doesn't have the stress/needs as a professional does, I still believe that he has to place a certain degree of pressure upon himself to achieve.

And as the OP just had a medical procedure done, as I've had a few, when it's over you have a just happy to be here euphoria. BUT in all my activities, and sports I play, there is still a desire to do it well and do it right.

We just have to decide for ourselves, since in the end nothing matters, just how much matters in the middle.

 

[blockend]

Quite a few years ago I remember an article (perhaps in the BJP but it may have been elsewhere), where a female photographer bemoaned the fact Pentax were no longer supporting parts for the Spotmatic. She'd had her Pentaxes for many years and claimed to be completely intuitive with regard to them, being able to tell what aperture and shutter speed she was using simply by the feel of the dials in her fingers. She's tried other cameras, but none gave her the same feedback, and the possibility of no longer having her favourite camera was a personal disaster.

I can completely understand that kind of relationship with a camera, especially one that demands instant responses as in photojournalism. The response is practical, not fetishistic. She wasn't claiming the Pentax Spotmatic was the best camera ever made, just that she knew hers in every detail and wanted the relationship to last as long as possible. That's a far cry from recording a collection. There's nothing wrong with either but the emotional involvement is very different.

 

[frank]

My emotional attachment is simply an appreciation and admiration for well designed and built mechanical contraptions, like cameras, watches, motorcycles.

 

[John_Nikon_F]

Looking down upon my daily driver F...



;-P

-J

 

[David Brown]

Years ago I used to work for a professional photographer who kept his Hasselblads and Nikons and their lenses piled up in a large box. ... as I could tell he had no relationship with his camera equipment whatsoever.

I used to hate those guys!

When I was starting this "hobby", I couldn't dream of affording a Hasselblad. I used to say that I would have been afraid to use one if I had one anyway. They were too precious (to me). Things change, of course. Forty years later I can afford anything I wish (via the combination of years of earning power and prices dropping). I still don't have a Hassie, but I've got most (more) than I need. I'm still pretty protective of the gear, however.

I understand the pros for whom gear was an expense, and the individual tools are/were expendable. They were able to do that from a financial standpoint. I was not, and still don't choose to look at it that way.

YMMV

 

[Theo Sulphate]

...
I understand the pros for whom gear was an expense, and the individual tools are/were expendable. They were able to do that from a financial standpoint. ...

Also, for some, their gear was bought and provided by the newspaper or magazine they worked for.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I used to hate those guys!

When I was starting this "hobby", I couldn't dream of affording a Hasselblad. I used to say that I would have been afraid to use one if I had one anyway. They were too precious (to me). Things change, of course. Forty years later I can afford anything I wish (via the combination of years of earning power and prices dropping). I still don't have a Hassie, but I've got most (more) than I need. I'm still pretty protective of the gear, however.

I understand the pros for whom gear was an expense, and the individual tools are/were expendable. They were able to do that from a financial standpoint. I was not, and still don't choose to look at it that way.

YMMV

Come on Dave, we are waiting for you to take the plunge. You know that you want it. Why are you waiting?

 

[blockend]

The old pre-AI Nikons were built with the assumption that they would withstand a degree of abuse, there's no reason to carry that amount of gravity around your neck if you don't expect it to take the occasional whack. Fifty years on we treat the survivors with more respect, but that was not the life they typically endured.

In the bigger picture we're free to shoot what we like, and if it's for our own use, who cares? I enjoy looking at pictures of abused or pristine examples of a camera, but can't see why people would post pictures of their camera on a public forum unless it was unusual in some way. There must be thousands of examples on the net already. With all the world to photograph, cameras photographing themselves seems to lack a degree of imagination and adds to the fetishisation of certain models that has an adverse effect on the market. Adverse unless you're a collector that is. I'm old fashioned in thinking cameras are made to be used, unless they are so rare as to belong in a museum.

 

[frank]

It's not abused, pristine, or unusual, but I think this is a pleasant to look at image of one of my cameras. I like to see how things look photographed, including cameras.

 

[John51]

When I was young and keen, I had terrible GAS. To the point of convincing myself that I couldn't take a decent pic without equipment I couldn't afford. Bought a copy of Amateur Photography and Victor Blackmans' column had a really nice beach photo. It was a quarter neg crop taken with a Kodak Instamatic.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Some people just like to photograph the tools of their hobby, whether it's cameras, motorcycles, kayaks, or cars. The internet is full of sunsets, beach scenes, mountains, or whatever. Even though no two are the same, after a while it's all the same.

If everyone here who had a Nikon F2, or whatever, posted a photo of it, I'd look at each one and wouldn't mind.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Looking down on a Minox B

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Looking down at my F5.

​

 

[Vaughn]

I am an artist who uses cameras, film and alt processes to make art. My tools are important -- as important as any other part of the artistic process. It is as simple (or complex) as that.

 

[frank]

Nice to meet you, Vaughn.
Here's a new lens that arrived this morning.

 

[pentaxpete]

My Kodak Brownie i was given -- reminds me of the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye with which I started in 1951-- it was my mum's camera got by saving 'Black Cat' cigarette coupons in the late 1930,s and as she didn't smoke it took a LONG TIME --- !

 

[DREW WILEY]

Now that lots of pictures are being taken by drones, how do you look down upon them? With another drone?

 

[DREW WILEY]

Vaughn - no,no, no ... Not a Ries tripod and Wooden folder and REI cargo shorts in the same shot. No.No. No. And something has to be done
about those sandals. Don't you have a pair of old leather karachis with hand-carved tire soles left over somewhere from the 60's?

 

[Vaughn]

I yam what I yam...

A old hippy with permanently Teva-tanned feet...

 

[Mick Fagan]

Now that lots of pictures are being taken by drones, how do you look down upon them? With another drone?

Satellite.

Mick.