Speaking of Cell Phone Cameras - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

07/27/2006 02:00:07 PM · #1

Ok, so this may be a rant. But so be it.

I went to a concert the other night (Willie Nelson and John Fogerty. It was awesome ! !).

So anywho, it seemed that everyone there was packing a cell phone camera or a small point and shoot digital. People were constantly holding their phones and cameras up taking photos. It didnt bother me, but it shows where our constant photo society is going. I was there to enjoy the music and the show. What can you get from John Fogerty singing "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" when you spend the whole song holding a cell phone in the air taking pictures? They spend their time messing with the phone!

I guess I just dont understand.

Message edited by author 2006-07-27 14:00:33.

glad2badad

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

07/27/2006 02:03:56 PM · #2

They had to send the photo's to their friends that weren't there to say "look where I am!". ;^)

Reminds me of my brother-in-law. A couple of weeks ago he's given a ticket to a Boston Red Sox game, right behind home plate - next to the guy with the radar gun. We could see him on TV. He spent most of the game calling all his buddies saying "look at me" that he missed most of the game! ;^) Everytime we saw him he was talking on his cell phone or waving his hat.

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

07/27/2006 02:08:20 PM · #3

what REALLY cheeses me about this crap is that the venue event staff hassle the crap out of anyone with a decent camera, but they are perfectly fine to let EVERYONE with a cellphone to broadcast the show live to anyone they want to...

oh well, i guess i should just calm down and go back out and take some more pictures...

OdysseyF22

Panasonic DC-G9

Olympus 12-45mm f/4.0 Pro

07/27/2006 02:15:13 PM · #4

Originally posted by skiprow:

Yeah, had similar thoughts when I shot O.A.R in concert at the University. As press photogs, we got a 3 minutes at the start of the opener and the start of the actual band to shoot stage-side. After that, we were told to put the cameras away and enjoy the show.

But the rest of the audience had their cells and P&S cameras out and were shooting like mad, with flash (we weren't allowed to use it), and no one said anything.

Go figure

Message edited by author 2006-07-27 14:15:30.

glad2badad

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

07/27/2006 02:18:51 PM · #5

Originally posted by OdysseyF22:

Originally posted by skiprow:
what REALLY cheeses me about this crap is that the venue event staff hassle the crap out of anyone with a decent camera, but they are perfectly fine to let EVERYONE with a cellphone to broadcast the show live to anyone they want to...

oh well, i guess i should just calm down and go back out and take some more pictures...

Yeah, had similar thoughts when I shot O.A.R in concert at the University. As press photogs, we got a 3 minutes at the start of the opener and the start of the actual band to shoot stage-side. After that, we were told to put the cameras away and enjoy the show.

But the rest of the audience had their cells and P&S cameras out and were shooting like mad, with flash (we weren't allowed to use it), and no one said anything.

Go figure

Maybe they figure that you are there to MAKE money by getting images to use - the concertgoers were there SPENDING money.

I'm just making an observation/thought. I sympathize with your position.

OdysseyF22

Panasonic DC-G9

Olympus 12-45mm f/4.0 Pro

07/27/2006 02:23:31 PM · #6

Originally posted by glad2badad:

Originally posted by OdysseyF22:

Originally posted by skiprow:
what REALLY cheeses me about this crap is that the venue event staff hassle the crap out of anyone with a decent camera, but they are perfectly fine to let EVERYONE with a cellphone to broadcast the show live to anyone they want to...

oh well, i guess i should just calm down and go back out and take some more pictures...

Yeah, had similar thoughts when I shot O.A.R in concert at the University. As press photogs, we got a 3 minutes at the start of the opener and the start of the actual band to shoot stage-side. After that, we were told to put the cameras away and enjoy the show.

But the rest of the audience had their cells and P&S cameras out and were shooting like mad, with flash (we weren't allowed to use it), and no one said anything.

Go figure

Maybe they figure that you are there to MAKE money by getting images to use - the concertgoers were there SPENDING money.

I'm just making an observation/thought. I sympathize with your position.

We weren't really making money. Our campus paper is largely considered a joke, and gets it money from ad sales. But maybe they thought that, I don't know. It didn't really bother me, since I was just hyped to get to shoot the concert as an official photog. It's just one of those things where you shrug and roll your eyes and wonder if there is any real logic behind it, or not.

Actually, maybe it's a quality/use thing. The average P&S, with an average user, prolly couldn't get anything good from in the crowd. What they did get, they'd share with friends, and then forget about. One of us, with DSLR and a 70-200mm, could have stood in the back balcony and gotten print-quality shots, which I guess we could have sold.

Okay, it does sorta' make sense, in a CYA way.

07/27/2006 02:43:41 PM · #7

Well, the concert-goers may be opening thier shutters at concerts, but what are the chances of them getting a shot.

Built-in flash in most cameras won't make it over 10 feet. A cell-phone has no flash and low-light capacity.

Believe me, concert organizers KNOW this. They aren't singling you out as a photog. They are protecting there "trademark". They know that you with a good cam can get a shot, unlike the average Joe with his P&S or his cell-phone.

07/27/2006 02:50:55 PM · #8

Oh, and they WILL STOP someone with a P&S from shooting if they belive the user is in flash range.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

07/27/2006 07:09:18 PM · #9

Yeah, but I was right up front, and the folks around me with the P&S cameras were getting pretty good shots. No flash, but the stage was so well lit.

I saw someone a couple of rows behind me break out a Digital Rebel toward the end of the show. Lord knows how she got it in.

But its not just at concerts. Its at almost any public event now. People aren't participating as much as they are spending time taking pictures. Cell phones and P&S digital cameras are changing the way we recreate and interact in such events.

Apple iPhone 5

07/27/2006 07:12:45 PM · #10

Ah, when I was a lad all people held up were lighters.

And all around here was just *fields* I tells ya....

scarbrd

Leica M10

Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical MF - Black

07/27/2006 07:18:48 PM · #11

kids today . . . I just don't know any more.

Been to a grade school play/recital/sporting event lately? I should have gone into video camera sales. The number of $500+ video cameras out there is staggering.

07/27/2006 08:59:25 PM · #12

Originally posted by scarbrd:

And I wonder if those parents are really enjoying their child or are they spending their energy on using a camera? And how many people go back to watch those things anyway?

Moments are fleeting. I like to spend them enjoying the experience. Photos and videos do no good in brining up memories of experiences you never had cause you were too busy with a camera.

07/27/2006 09:04:28 PM · #13

I paid $500 for a Sony digital camcorder, I've used it twice as a camcorcder (once for my brother's wedding and once to video tape during and after Hurricane Katrina).

It does make a really good web cam though :-)

cryingdragon

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

07/27/2006 09:06:13 PM · #14

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

That's funny...many years ago, I bought a JVC digital camcorder for over a grand. I use it as a webcam all the time. It's really clear, not like the usual webcams and even better than the high end logitech ones. Plus, it has a remote control so I can zoom when I want people to see a closeup of my eye.

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5- 5.6G ED DX

07/27/2006 11:27:29 PM · #15

Originally posted by cryingdragon:

Plus, it has a remote control so I can zoom when I want people to see a closeup of my eye.

So thats what they're calling it now ;)

Rebecca

Nikon D80

07/27/2006 11:45:26 PM · #16

Originally posted by pottersclay75:

And how many people go back to watch those things anyway?

My mother.
Still watches one of my high school musicals on VHS.
And a musical skit I did in college.
I'm 30.