Types of Photographers

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MegapixelSchnitzel said:

Oh, I'm just saying that when I was younger I DID want to do it professionally. I simply didn't have the courage to put all my resources on the line and take the plunge. It takes a lot of heart and determination to do fine art as a living. Now, I take great joy in creating and printing in retirement. The freedom is actually very nice.

I started photography as a hobby at about 10 or 12 and did it all the way through Vietnam where I did it for the engineer corps. Had a chance to shoot second camera when I got back from Vietnam and turned it down as I did not think I was ready for that. Quit to raise a family. The farm is paid for and I started again. Would like to supplement retirement doing it part time. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I had taken the chance and shot second camera.

snakebunk

What does it mean to shoot second camera?

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An example would be shooting candid shots at a wedding when the main photographer is shooting the posed shots.

snakebunk

Thanks!

MegapixelSchnitzel

"I started photography as a hobby at about 10 or 12 and did it all the way through Vietnam where I did it for the engineer corps. Had a chance to shoot second camera when I got back from Vietnam and turned it down as I did not think I was ready for that. Quit to raise a family. The farm is paid for and I started again. Would like to supplement retirement doing it part time. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I had taken the chance and shot second camera."

Same thing! I had a Yashica rangefinder that I dragged around with me between Pleiku and FB Ripcord. Half my film got ruined in that place before I could get to the PX for any developing and printing. The Yashica had fungus inside the lenses by the time I rotated back.

[Deleted User]

So having spent many years trying to live photography as an art, and i have come to the following conclusions:
1. Photography is and i expect will remain illustration first and formost.
2. Though we can see and make images that are artistic in nature or perhaps even expressive, there is not enough control of every centimeter in an image to declare that one's vision can be realized.
3. We also cannot control the light except with flash, so we are like plein art painters without a real choice in palette.
4. The closest we can realize art in photography is in b&w which is abstract enough to allow a possible vision to unfold without the distraction of color.
5. In color photography one us blinded by the color to such a degree that form and construction are subjucated to the flashes if color itself. Therefore oversaturation frequently undermines the construct of vision.
6. This is why i enjoy shooting 4x5 film as depth is retained far more than digital and the exacting color contrast does not subdue the definition but enhances it.
7. Photo artists with clear vision include for me Salgado and Aue Sobol, both B&W proponents (primarily).
8. So why do i shoot color still? because i enjoy the results more in my own work and dont readily see in B&W.
9. The most enduring images are those which include the human element, and perhaps wildlife. All others are shall we say of lesser consequence. I love color lanscapes but ultimately they never make a statement about me.
10. We can speak about photo artists all day including westendfotos desire to realize that objective with his own work. Reality is none if us controls the image (leaving out post manipulation for the moment), the camera does within its limits and the photographers' skill. Photography as art is mostly whimsical dilusion and should be accepted as such. But the human race is frought with vices of self dilusion.
11. In the end labels dont matter as long as we enjoy the experience and the end results of our efforts. As a famous poet once said, what we love remains, the rest is dross.
12. Lastly we are only a master in others' eyes. Elevating ourselves to this level is folly and narcistic. It's easy to think more of ourselves when we have the ability to easily eliminate barriers that would possibly inhibit others who have far less discretionary income.
13. We can all aspire to personal goals without stepping on others.

Flip

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MegapixelSchnitzel said:

Same thing! I had a Yashica rangefinder that I dragged around with me between Pleiku and FB Ripcord. Half my film got ruined in that place before I could get to the PX for any developing and printing. The Yashica had fungus inside the lenses by the time I rotated back.

The army issued us a 4x5. I used mostly a pair of votghtlander (spelling?) slr's I had shipped from home. Traveled most of the country taking construction photos for engineer's. We had our own B&W lab. When we moved out of Sigon I built our new lab. Aside from the general we had the only air conditioning. Changed to Nikon in 67 just before I came home. A Nikon F and a Nikomat F.

Saw most of the country, with a security clearance I went places some could not.

spraynpray

@flip: Right!

Symphotic

I am an "enthusiast" photographer that uses my business as a justification to buy cameras and lenses for my job.
Since I manufacture and sell cameras for use underwater, it is not difficult to justify having the latest above water hardware as well.
I'm pretty knowledgeable about hardware and theory, having been in the optics business for all my adult life, but have not had much time for recreational photography in the past. Now I am trying new things in composition.
Some of my photographs are better than others: I don't sell my photographs, other than those that go in the operator's manuals we publish, but I have noticed that I take photos of adequate technical quality, but not of brilliant composition or artistic merit.