So tired of the iPhone culture

Rafal Lukawiecki · Dec 12, 2012

BradS said:
Why can't people just leave me the F&%^$ alone and let me photograph stuff like all the iPhone wielding people?

I seeyou need to get a darkcloth. You put it over your head, which sends a most polite signal to the onlookers. Underneath, you listen, search for a business card, and wait. At first, they may be puzzled, but eventually they get bored and go away. The odd ones who stay behind deserve some recognition for their level of interest. Pass a card now.

removed account4 · Dec 12, 2012

just shrug your shoulders and make believe you don't understand a word they are saying.
and if they don't relent, blurt out nonsense from a restaurant menu ..

ChristopherCoy · Dec 12, 2012

BradS said:
Y "Why would anyone use that?" - this invariably comes from somebody who is old enough and has the experience to know damned well what I'm doing and what is involved. It just seems combative.

So turn it back on them... Point to their phone and ask "why do you use THAT?"

summicron1 · Dec 12, 2012

BradS said:
I was out for eats and drinks at a local jazz place the other night and all around me folks are whipping out their smart phone, taking photos and doing whatever they do with 'em after that.

Nobody gives this kind of activity a second thought these days...

so why is it that every time I pull out a camera, I get at least one, usually several people standing around staring at me and asking dumb stuff like,

"What kinda camera is that?"
"can you still get film for that?"
"how many mega pixels is that?"
"Is that black and white?"

and the one I really dislike....

"Why would you use that?"

Why can't people just leave me the F&%^$ alone and let me photograph stuff like all the iPhone wielding people?

and your answers are: better than yours; no, I just like carrying it around; it measures pixels in terabytes, and no, just black.

then i show them my M4 or speed graphic or nikon f2 and say "My (fill in the blank) could crush your iPhone/digitalthingy and photograph the remains."

ChristopherCoy · Dec 12, 2012

lxdude said:
I used have a cell phone. I lost it and didn't replace it. Sweet freedom!

I often think about loosing mine, and setting a personal limit of one hour a day for the Internet.

I'll be the first to admit I'm highly addicted to both my phone, and the net.... And my iPad only enables me even more.

BradS · Dec 12, 2012

Ah...you guys are cracking me up! Thanks!

hdeyong · Dec 13, 2012

I also don't have, and never will have a cell phone.
When the telephone became available, after a while, people thought they couldn't live without it. Then the cell phone came along, and now people think they can't live without that.
They're wrong.
When people ask me why I still shoot film, I tell them I enjoy the process more, and try to limit the amount of time spent in front of a computer. Many of them look quizzically, wondering why I would want to limit my time in front of a computer.....
You can't win. Just shoot and be happy.

Curt · Dec 13, 2012

Picture this: a camera on a tripod with the darkcloth over the photographer when someone stops and asks what's going on. The photographer lifts the darkcloth off revealing an iPhone on the tripod. The person who stops says, "Oh, I see, never mind."

iphones and cell phones are icons of modern life supplanting the once ubiquitous film camera.

lxdude · Dec 13, 2012

jnanian said:
just shrug your shoulders and make believe you don't understand a word they are saying.
and if they don't relent, blurt out nonsense from a restaurant menu ..

That should be interesting...

"Bacon, eggs and toast, four ninety-nine; hamburger, fries and a Coke, five ninety-nine; chocolate pudding, two fifty; T-bone steak, baked potato and salad, twelve ninety-nine...."

They'll either back away slowly looking at you funny, or just leave to get something to eat.

benjiboy · Dec 13, 2012

cliveh said:
Steve, mobiles are handy if your car breaks down or you lose the wife in Tesco's.

It depends "if you lose your wife at Tesco's", if you have any wish to find her

AndreasT · Dec 13, 2012

What is Tesco's?

Mainecoonmaniac · Dec 13, 2012

Here at work, they're offering some staff Iphones. If they offered it to me, I tell them no. It's a free ball a chain to put me on call so I can work for the 24/7. Sorry I have a life outside of work. I'm not that important.

pbromaghin · Dec 13, 2012

Mainecoonmaniac said:
Here at work, they're offering some staff Iphones. If they offered it to me, I tell them no. It's a free ball a chain to put me on call so I can work for the 24/7. Sorry I have a life outside of work. I'm not that important.

Bingo! If they pay for it you HAVE to answer when it rings and respond to stupid emails in the evening and on weekends. I have refused it for a couple years now and still have a very simple cellphone. I come in on Monday morning and there are all these email threads involving the people who got sucked in. It's not worth it.

Benoît99 · Dec 13, 2012

BradS said:
I was out for eats and drinks at a local jazz place the other night and all around me folks are whipping out their smart phone, taking photos and doing whatever they do with 'em after that.

Nobody gives this kind of activity a second thought these days...

so why is it that every time I pull out a camera, I get at least one, usually several people standing around staring at me and asking dumb stuff like,

"What kinda camera is that?"
"can you still get film for that?"
"how many mega pixels is that?"
"Is that black and white?"

and the one I really dislike....

"Why would you use that?"

Why can't people just leave me the F&%^$ alone and let me photograph stuff like all the iPhone wielding people?

People are naturally curious about unfamiliar things. In that context, the questions you mentioned are not at all "dumb"; they are normal and understandable.

If you were driving an antique car, people would ask about it. Likewise for riding a unicycle, setting up an easel and painting, hunting for meteorites in the park with a metal detector or any other activity that is unfamiliar to most people.

Steve Smith · Dec 13, 2012

AndreasT said:
What is Tesco's?

Tesco is a huge building you wander around with your wife while she puts things into a trolley. Before you are allowed to leave they empty your wallet. I'm sure you have similar places.

Steve.

BradS · Dec 13, 2012

Benoît99 said:
People are naturally curious about unfamiliar things. In that context, the questions you mentioned are not at all "dumb"; they are normal and understandable.

If you were driving an antique car, people would ask about it. Likewise for riding a unicycle, setting up an easel and painting, hunting for meteorites in the park with a metal detector or any other activity that is unfamiliar to most people.

Hmmm.....Yes...obviously and yet, sometimes, I still want to be able to whip out my camera and snap a photo without anybody thinking it unusual - like the iPhone folks.

It wasn't so long ago that nobody even noticed a guy wielding a Spotmatic.

StoneNYC · Dec 13, 2012

BradS said:
I was out for eats and drinks at a local jazz place the other night and all around me folks are whipping out their smart phone, taking photos and doing whatever they do with 'em after that.

Nobody gives this kind of activity a second thought these days...

so why is it that every time I pull out a camera, I get at least one, usually several people standing around staring at me and asking dumb stuff like,

"What kinda camera is that?"
"can you still get film for that?"
"how many mega pixels is that?"
"Is that black and white?"

and the one I really dislike....

"Why would you use that?"

Why can't people just leave me the F&%^$ alone and let me photograph stuff like all the iPhone wielding people?

I was out using my Kodak Autographic Folder and a couple came up to me asking me questions about it and saying exactly those things "you can get film for that still?" etc, the best part was when they admitted that they were a "professional" photography team/couple and thats what they did for a living, and they knew nothing about film, they actually said "I didn't know an f stop could go to 45... wow!" haha I offered my card/contact info, both the antique car owner and the couple never contacted me, shame, I got a really nice 30 second bulb exposure at f/45 off of the car...

BradS · Dec 13, 2012

Steve Smith said:
Tesco is a huge building you wander around with your wife while she puts things into a trolley. Before you are allowed to leave they empty your wallet. I'm sure you have similar places.

Steve.

I think we yanks call that kinda place "Sams Club" or "Costco".

At Costco, each time the wife drops an item intothe cart, they take another $10 (minimum) from your wallet.

benjiboy · Dec 13, 2012

AndreasT said:
What is Tesco's?

Tesco is a chain of supermarkets Andeas, like your Aldi.

tkamiya · Dec 13, 2012

I wonder if we can make a HUGE i phone look-a-like LF camera?

Felinik · Dec 13, 2012

StoneNYC said:
... they actually said "I didn't know an f stop could go to 45... wow!" haha I offered my card/contact info, both the antique car owner and the couple never contacted me, shame, I got a really nice 30 second bulb exposure at f/45 off of the car...

Is that scale related in some way, to the scale we know of today?

Mainecoonmaniac · Dec 13, 2012

You can. Sort of..

tkamiya said:
I wonder if we can make a HUGE i phone look-a-like LF camera?

Get a tripod socket for an Ipad and put a focusing cloth over it. You can be the 21st century Ed Weston!

NedL · Dec 13, 2012

My older No. 1A autographic Jr. uses the "US" scale for aperture... ( "Universal System" ). Easy enough to convert, but you get to set it to a whopping 128 for F45... Then my Weston meter used "Weston emulsion speeds" instead of asa or iso. When I got my newer autographic, I had to convert F-system back to US system to understand what I was doing... round and round and round... All of which is a lot more satisfying than pointing a telephone at the scene...

AndreasT · Dec 13, 2012

Steve Smith said:
Tesco is a huge building you wander around with your wife while she puts things into a trolley. Before you are allowed to leave they empty your wallet. I'm sure you have similar places.

Steve.

They don't let me in, my wallet is empty already.
Besides these new cultural sights are not my kind of culture.

kintatsu · Dec 14, 2012

I often get asked "Can that old camera make colored pictures?" Other than the absolutely dumbfounded look I give them, I tell them any camera can, it depends on the film. They usually say things like "Oh, I thought they didn't make cameras for color until the '60s or '70s." What's most surprising is it's usually older folks asking!

The surprise to most observers, I think, is that someone is trying to learn and make an effort. You're not sitting around letting your camera do the work, and this takes away from the joy of socializing without joining society. We live in a throw away, have it now world. The cheapest camera can make your picture for you, freeing you from the burden of knowledge or effort, and we all know at least a dozen folks free from the burden of any practical knowledge, right? If you have to learn to make pictures and wait for them, how can you enjoy photography, or Facebook every shot you make?

So tired of the iPhone culture

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