Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
General Photography
This Summed it up for me.
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="theregsy" data-source="post: 17399" data-attributes="member: 4398"><p>From Vision is Better by David duChemin</p><p></p><p><span style="color: blue">At least a couple times a week I get a great email from someone with something nice to</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">say, some piece of advice they’re seeking, or just a general “hey how are ya?” and that</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">email will say something like “I’m just an amateur photographer, but…”</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">Just?</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">That word elicits some pretty mixed responses in me. It makes me angry at</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">an industry that’s erected such stupid and unnecessary walls. It makes me sad for what</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">these walls have done to so many people, because somewhere along the line people</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">have come to believe that there is a hierarchy.</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">And there most certainly is not So this is a short post. I get verbose at times</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">and I’m going to really reign it in this time. Because nothing I can say will stop the egos</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">and divas out there from thinking that their professional status makes them something.</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">That won’t change. Give a guy a publishing credit or a paycheck and suddenly he’s</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">Ansel-freaking-Adams. Except I’d be willing to bet Ansel was a good bloke who wouldn’t</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">tolerate this crap anyways.</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">All I really want to say is this; let’s drop the “just.” You are not merely an amateur</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">photographer any more than I am merely a professional. What you are, what I am, is a</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">photographer who loves and wrestles with his craft. We have good days and bad days.</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">Sometimes we do exceptional work for free and sometimes we do crap work and we get</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">paid well for it. So what? We are, I hope, all growing, changing, evolving. We are learning</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">what it means to express ourselves through the lens, to speak the visual language. Does</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">age matter? Not a chance. Joey L was 18 when I first heard of him and he’s freaking</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">amazing. Does getting paid matter? Not in the slightest. I’ve seen crap from all kinds</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">of professionals and been responsible for creating some of it myself, all while getting</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">paid.</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">So what matters?</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">It sure as heck isn’t whether you have a brand new Leica or an old Canon AE-1.</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">It’s not whether you have books to your credit.It’s not how many people know your name.</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">It’s this: that you love it. That you’re learning to see the world in a way that’s unique to</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">you, and you’re taking the time, with what talent you’ve been given, and what hardearned</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">skills you possess, to show the world that vision in clearer and clearer ways.</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">Just an amateur? Amateur comes from the same word from which we get words</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">like Amorous; it means to love. You merely do photography for the love of it? I can’t</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">think of anything more noble to say of your motives for doing this. It should be the</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">pros out there who long ago lost their love for the craft – and there are as many who</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">never have – that should write with such apologetic tones. Stop comparing. Stop</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">worrying about the labels. Pro. Amateur. Whatever. If you love this</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">craft and you’re a passionate student of it, then you are a photographer. No</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">less. If we must qualify the label, let’s find something more meaningful to which</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">to aspire. I read recently that a great many photographers are struggling</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">and frustrated. If that’s so let’s make it because the craft is hard. Expressing</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">ourselves is hard. Let’s not make it harder for ourselves with unnecessary labels and</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">comparisons. Do it for the love of it. That’s enough. And don’t let anyone tell you</span></p><p><span style="color: blue">otherwise.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: black">I am reading through the book at the moment and after a few discussions areound the 'Pro' issue I found this quite interesting. The book is a collection of blog postings, so it chops and changes a bit and doesn't have a huge amont of techincal info, but provides excellent insight into the world of a 'Pro' who has the same problems as the rest of us, forgets to change settings and does it really because he loves it. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="theregsy, post: 17399, member: 4398"] From Vision is Better by David duChemin [COLOR=blue]At least a couple times a week I get a great email from someone with something nice to say, some piece of advice they’re seeking, or just a general “hey how are ya?” and that email will say something like “I’m just an amateur photographer, but…” Just? That word elicits some pretty mixed responses in me. It makes me angry at an industry that’s erected such stupid and unnecessary walls. It makes me sad for what these walls have done to so many people, because somewhere along the line people have come to believe that there is a hierarchy. And there most certainly is not So this is a short post. I get verbose at times and I’m going to really reign it in this time. Because nothing I can say will stop the egos and divas out there from thinking that their professional status makes them something. That won’t change. Give a guy a publishing credit or a paycheck and suddenly he’s Ansel-freaking-Adams. Except I’d be willing to bet Ansel was a good bloke who wouldn’t tolerate this crap anyways. All I really want to say is this; let’s drop the “just.” You are not merely an amateur photographer any more than I am merely a professional. What you are, what I am, is a photographer who loves and wrestles with his craft. We have good days and bad days. Sometimes we do exceptional work for free and sometimes we do crap work and we get paid well for it. So what? We are, I hope, all growing, changing, evolving. We are learning what it means to express ourselves through the lens, to speak the visual language. Does age matter? Not a chance. Joey L was 18 when I first heard of him and he’s freaking amazing. Does getting paid matter? Not in the slightest. I’ve seen crap from all kinds of professionals and been responsible for creating some of it myself, all while getting paid. So what matters? It sure as heck isn’t whether you have a brand new Leica or an old Canon AE-1. It’s not whether you have books to your credit.It’s not how many people know your name. It’s this: that you love it. That you’re learning to see the world in a way that’s unique to you, and you’re taking the time, with what talent you’ve been given, and what hardearned skills you possess, to show the world that vision in clearer and clearer ways. Just an amateur? Amateur comes from the same word from which we get words like Amorous; it means to love. You merely do photography for the love of it? I can’t think of anything more noble to say of your motives for doing this. It should be the pros out there who long ago lost their love for the craft – and there are as many who never have – that should write with such apologetic tones. Stop comparing. Stop worrying about the labels. Pro. Amateur. Whatever. If you love this craft and you’re a passionate student of it, then you are a photographer. No less. If we must qualify the label, let’s find something more meaningful to which to aspire. I read recently that a great many photographers are struggling and frustrated. If that’s so let’s make it because the craft is hard. Expressing ourselves is hard. Let’s not make it harder for ourselves with unnecessary labels and comparisons. Do it for the love of it. That’s enough. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.[/COLOR] [COLOR=black]I am reading through the book at the moment and after a few discussions areound the 'Pro' issue I found this quite interesting. The book is a collection of blog postings, so it chops and changes a bit and doesn't have a huge amont of techincal info, but provides excellent insight into the world of a 'Pro' who has the same problems as the rest of us, forgets to change settings and does it really because he loves it. :)[/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
General Photography
This Summed it up for me.
Top
