| eddieputera's PHOTOGRAPHY BLETHER : Photographers who forget to take pictures|

[azmibogart]

Well done bro..., it is a life cycle...

[Kerry28]

After asking him how many years has been a professional photographer he said 2 weeks! Sensing that he saw me as some uncle who didn't know the digital world, I asked him one more question. What color space to you use and what is the difference between sRGB and Adobe RGB. I noticed the blank stare and ceased to ask him any further questions. My point similar to Eddie is the these folks can not distinguish the difference between the tree's from the woods. They are so caught up in gear that they don't know the difference between a good image and bad image let alone a great image. So lets continue with the "Lang Lui " images and see how sharp or unsharp they are.

Just my 2 cents...

Talking about in-camera, software technicalities, I don't think we can judge whether one is a good photographer or not if he know about technical stuffs of digital photography. I read about one legendary veteran of Nat Geo photographer who now shoots with digital but doesnt really know about the techical stuffs of his camera. And he even doesn't use PS coz he admits he knows nothing about it...But you can be sure that this legendary photog does takes lots of pics with a soul!

Then there's one famous british glamour/advertising photog (forgot his name) that admit he didn't even know how to explain 'megapixels' & all its technical terms. Again, this chap, kept producing pictures that are so different from others pros that attracts big & well known international clients

I learnt a lot from these type of photogrpahers. I learnt that sometimes, you can do something that many others think 'impossibble'. For example, shooting soccer with 'only' a 4 FPS camera.

If I told you guys to shoot soccer using a 4 FPS camera, many of you must say "crazy you...stupid or what? u Need a 10 FRAMES PER SECOND CAMERA FOR THAT"!!! Well, try to say that to Bob Martin, a sports shooter maestro from UK. He used to shoot high speed, unpredictable sports such as soccer using 1DS Mark II!. And try look at his portfolio, then you know why in in one year, he won more than 20 prestigeous awards for his pictures. For a 'soul searcher of sports photography', I always look up to Bob Martin.

Since day one, taking a good picture for me are always about how well u understand about the subject/object u wanna photograph, after that how well i can balance the light, composition etc...etc...It NEVER about how expensive or el cheapo the camera that I use...Or think about how much the extra percentage of sharpness that I can get with the 70-200 VR II vs VR 1. Well nowadays, I can't say that i'm a very good photographer...But at least I'm confident to shoot "lite sport' such as Golf using Fuji S5 Pro, a camera which many consider not even 'fast' enough for a simple event shooting. Or shooting a World mountain Champion runner panning style, at only 1 FPS because my external flash went "kaputt" & have to rely on built in flash, but still manged to get it on magazine cover.

All in all, I totally agreed with Abang Eddie. But seriously I don't think those statement will 'affect' us much because we are not like American/European photographers whom prefer to shoot more & talk less. In Malaysia, I think many prefer to talk about gears, pixel peeping etc...Well thats not a BAD thing, but i'm certainly not belong to that group...

[eugene]

Ever notice how people who comment here ain't the so called "gen-y" group?

[abekamal]

I'm wondering what Ben_T is doing right now? Hmmm..

[maxby]

. ask maxby. he still thinks he's 17.

Nah! I just had my 30th birthday not so long ago...

[behhl]

Recently I've had first hand experience in this rather organic Gen Y issue in photography.
I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to a few of these so called "Hero's" of modern photography. One felt that purchasing a battery grip would hence give you better images.
After asking him how many years has been a professional photographer he said 2 weeks! Sensing that he saw me as some uncle who didn't know the digital world, I asked him one more question. What color space to you use and what is the difference between sRGB and Adobe RGB. I noticed the blank stare and ceased to ask him any further questions. My point similar to Eddie is the these folks can not distinguish the difference between the tree's from the woods. They are so caught up in gear that they don't know the difference between a good image and bad image let alone a great image. So lets continue with the "Lang Lui " images and see how sharp or unsharp they are.

ROTFLOL ... another photographer!

... i am not saying i'm cleverer than that 2 weeks old baby or @f8 for that matter but its really funny story --- btw did you see any of his photographs and are they any good at all? i mean that was the point of it all although his statement leaves one wanting a lot in concept maybe ...

what i mean is many of the famous photographers of yesteryear made many of the photos we regard as classics even as they struggled to learn the ropes ... but the eye! they had the eye!

[cameralance]

Dear Mr. eddieputera, I enjoyed reading it

[ivan_tch]

good reminder

[xeed]

Great article, good reminder Then again there are many with different views of this issue. A healthy discussion pursues in the interest of photography.

Lucky I haven't throw out my film slr... and yes, endless trips to Kedai Gambar Ah Kau to process films. Now figuring how to work Yashica Mat.. anyone?

Then again now everyone can own a dslr (akin airasia tagline), then try to look like pro by pursuing the latest gears without having mastered the basic gears/concepts, then when photo don't come up good, Photoshop to the rescue! These group are getting larger by the day and dominating the market. Even manufacturers have to cater for this market by introducing more consumer level dslr (entry models), which are their biggest customer base. Last weekend at Pavillion, every where I turn, I will see someone holding a dslr... Good or not, I'm not sure, but at least they are enjoying shooting and photography.

[Gin]

Very good reminder esp. for me who's still new in photography. Thank you sir!

[prometheus]

Its not easy to take photos with soul. Firstly one has to assimilate the philosophy in one's mind eye and to recognise the scenes as it happens. It is a never ending thought process and it changes with one's perspective as time goes by.

But then photography is a journey not a destination.

i've tried to search for that soul for a year and still can't find it..

[eddieputera]

Thanks all for the views and comments. Together we move forward and excel.

[behhl]

i've tried to search for that soul for a year and still can't find it..

in my opinion its attacking the problem from the wrong end ... this word will only confuse especially the beginner

the photograph begins with the subject and your interest in it and you work forward from there .... the question should be What Are YOU Interested In and willing to spend time studying deeply ---> and when you study this subject deeply you will find this oft used word 'soul' IMO none otherwise better throw darts hoping to hit a target

[eddieputera]

in my opinion its attacking the problem from the wrong end ... this word will only confuse especially the beginner

the photograph begins with the subject and your interest in it and you work forward from there .... the question should be What Are YOU Interested In and willing to spend time studying deeply ---> and when you study this subject deeply you will find this oft used word 'soul' IMO none otherwise better throw darts hoping to hit a target

Very well said.

[paklan]

IMO, we all started with the same goal: To take the best pictures, each time we press the shutter button.
Along the way, we tend to get 'corrupted' by those external factors.
We heard and followed the wrong advice.
We upgrade by merely following others, we don't even have a clue on what the gears are designed for.
We've had slr, but when people said RF is the best tool for street, we immediately jumped on the boat, while still lacking the fundamentals of photography.
We take portraits of kids, but people say kiddies photos are snapshots. So we hunt for leng luis.
We shoot stills, but people say real pros do wedding. So we followed.
While we're still in the early curve of learning, the film fever re-appears. Photos shown by the old timers and pros really got our attention. And again, we followed.
All without a solid foundation of photography.

End up we cursing on why we're not improving. And the motivation slip away, day by day.
And we shoot just for the sake of hearing the shutter sound.

What does this mean?
We are actually a bunch of followers. We take photos to get compliments from others. Not for our own satisfaction.

This is the reason why nowadays, when newbies who come to me asking for guidance, I give conditions:
1. Do not learn from others except from me until they completed the fundamentals.
2. Don't do any gear purchase without my consent.
3. Don't give any nonsense tai chi when I call for outing.
4. Don't take any assignment unless I give the permission.

Disobey that and you're on your own.
Very the sombong, eh?

[paklan]

IMO, we all started with the same goal: To take the best pictures, each time we press the shutter button.
Along the way, we tend to get 'corrupted' by those external factors.
We heard and followed the wrong advice.
We upgrade by merely following others, we don't even have a clue on what the gears are designed for.
We've had slr, but when people said RF is the best tool for street, we immediately jumped on the boat, while still lacking the fundamentals of photography.
We take portraits of kids, but people say kiddies photos are snapshots. So we hunt for leng luis.
We shoot stills, but people say real pros do wedding. So we followed.
While we're still in the early curve of learning, the film fever re-appears. Photos shown by the old timers and pros really got our attention. And again, we followed.
All without a solid foundation of photography.

End up we cursing on why we're not improving. And the motivation slip away, day by day.
And we shoot just for the sake of hearing the shutter sound.

What does this mean?
We are actually a bunch of followers. We take photos to get compliments from others. Not for our own satisfaction.

This is the reason why nowadays, when newbies who come to me asking for guidance, I give conditions:
1. Do not learn from others except from me until they completed the fundamentals.
2. Don't do any gear purchase without my consent.
3. Don't give any nonsense tai chi when I call for outing.
4. Don't take any assignment unless I give the permission.

Disobey that and you're on your own.
Very the sombong, eh?

Owh, unless you come with money lah.
Nowadays money matters. For the 1Ds4.

[gorudenSaru]

good write up...i`ve been a keen photog since 1987...just jump to slr in 1996...lost my slr in 1997...just started back with dslr last year...yup, film is the best, for those who know how to use it...dslr, is convenience.

stilll searching for the soul that i have lost...busy working, less time to shoot...pity me.

[clipper79]

in my opinion its attacking the problem from the wrong end ... this word will only confuse especially the beginner

the photograph begins with the subject and your interest in it and you work forward from there .... the question should be What Are YOU Interested In and willing to spend time studying deeply ---> and when you study this subject deeply you will find this oft used word 'soul' IMO none otherwise better throw darts hoping to hit a target

I hope I do not come to a pre-mature conclusion when I say this,... not many people are born with the sensitivity of grasping the "soul" so to speak. Maybe if one studies it deeply, but you could probably come to a conclusion (like most will do,"quoting uncle max,... destination"), but not being a part of it completely. I have seen a lot of art students drop out of the course as a result of that lack of sensitivity to recognise that soul. Art is subjective (like photography), and it takes a thinking person, and also a person who feels with all his senses to be able to grasp this "sensitivity" (which Henri Cartier-Bresson often quotes)

There are things that can be cultivated, but after that, it takes a whole lot more effort than just learning from an individual to push that bar.

[guillotine_man]

IMO, we all started with the same goal: To take the best pictures, each time we press the shutter button.
Along the way, we tend to get 'corrupted' by those external factors.
We heard and followed the wrong advice.
We upgrade by merely following others, we don't even have a clue on what the gears are designed for.
We've had slr, but when people said RF is the best tool for street, we immediately jumped on the boat, while still lacking the fundamentals of photography.
We take portraits of kids, but people say kiddies photos are snapshots. So we hunt for leng luis.
We shoot stills, but people say real pros do wedding. So we followed.
While we're still in the early curve of learning, the film fever re-appears. Photos shown by the old timers and pros really got our attention. And again, we followed.
All without a solid foundation of photography.

End up we cursing on why we're not improving. And the motivation slip away, day by day.
And we shoot just for the sake of hearing the shutter sound.

What does this mean?
We are actually a bunch of followers. We take photos to get compliments from others. Not for our own satisfaction.

This is the reason why nowadays, when newbies who come to me asking for guidance, I give conditions:
1. Do not learn from others except from me until they completed the fundamentals.
2. Don't do any gear purchase without my consent.
3. Don't give any nonsense tai chi when I call for outing.
4. Don't take any assignment unless I give the permission.

Disobey that and you're on your own.
Very the sombong, eh?

.......sarip minta maaf..............









runnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

[harumurah]

nice article. i m tired of reminding my fren who is a beginnar , bought a dslr early this month, that the person who is taking a picture is the one that really matter not really the equipment. i don think he understands me. mana boleh ini hari bli cam esok jd terror buleh buat gambr mcm ntnl geograpic.