it's not me, it's the camera - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

01/22/2010 12:41:02 PM · #26

Originally posted by colorcarnival:

Originally posted by Nadine_Vb:
She claimed I said this because I was jealous.
2 months after she bought the camera, she mailed me saying that "I gave her a very bad advise and that the camera I suggested was crap since her pictures didn't came out as she expected".

She sounds like a lovely individual lol. Maybe if she was more of a positive person, her pictures would have looked happier :)

I'm glad I didn't get comments like that - not sure how I would have responded.

I didn't gave her much of response besides reminding her that she could clearly read in the mail at the bottom of the conversation (it was a re-re-re...mail)
1. I didn't "suggest" her that camera - she bought it because I had the same one.
2. I did tell her that the camera wasn't what was creating photographs.

Never heard from her again personally. From people we know in common I know she started claiming that SHE made several pictures I showed at that time and that my photographs stink (here she may have a point - lol)
Childish talk like that is not the talk I'm reacting on or which makes me mad for example.

snaffles

Nikon D7100

01/22/2010 12:56:34 PM · #27

Originally posted by RayEthier:

Originally posted by snaffles:

...And yeah, I've been told what nice pictures my camera takes. *eyeroll*

Funny thing, I seem to recall a time when you camera took ~~horrible~~...err um not so good images. :O) Did you get a new camera since then?

Ray

Baaahahahahahahahaaaa...yer funny Ray!

sabphoto

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+

01/22/2010 01:04:28 PM · #28

Maybe I'm wrong but, I have to wonder too if most of the time the people aren't really talking about a good picture for it's composition, but more in clarity and color and lighting (without really knowing that is what they are looking at) and are attributing this to the camera. If this is true than I can certainly see where they think it is all about the camera. After all, if they don't know much about photography they probably aren't seeing the composition or lack of shadows or DOF anyway.

The photographer setting up the scene and knowing what camera settings to use or where to place the focus is of course at the top of the things you need for a great photo, but without the detail or quality in the shot you really don't have much of a chance.(unless your leaning more towards art, (not you

ART ROFLMAO) then you'll be making stuff worth millions lol)

I've taken the exact same shot with my oly and my neighbors Nikon and when it came down to it, her quality was MUCH more impressive and made me want to change and/or upgrade.

Luci11e

Nikon D40

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED VR

01/22/2010 01:36:24 PM · #29

Or what about when folks ask you to look through their FB album and give them tips on how to make the pictures better and when you do they respond with, "Well, I was shooting lots of stuff that day."

gwe21

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6G ED

01/22/2010 01:45:17 PM · #30

oh sigh.

yes and someone asks me how to shoot in RAW because they hear it makes better pictures...

Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD MACRO w/Canon Nikon mount

01/22/2010 03:08:21 PM · #31

Originally posted by Luci11e:

Or what about when folks ask you to look through their FB album and give them tips on how to make the pictures better and when you do they respond with, "Well, I was shooting lots of stuff that day."

Better excuse would be "I was just doing snapshots that day"
I found that most of the time those tips are not appreciated. Now I abstain myself from giving them except when asked for.

JulietNN

Canon EOS R7

01/22/2010 03:10:31 PM · #32

adn trust me on this one.

If your friend keeps asking you for critiques and you give them, expect to have a cooling off period with said friend!

jdannels

Nikon D300s

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM for Nikon

01/22/2010 03:28:34 PM · #33

I read this amazing article from a 1966 Life Magazine by Carl Mydans. Here is a quote from his opening paragraph.
-I have felt disheartened when someone looking at my pictures has exclaimed:"I like that very much! What did you take that with?" I am tempted to reply that I took it with my brain or with my heart.- Carl Mydans

Honestly this is one of the best articles I have read on how to shoot photographs without being centered on technique. I would recommend this article to anyone, although written in the 60's it really parallels many of the issues that come up today. You can find it here, and it begins on page 64.

Tell me if this sounds familiar, this is the next couple sentences.
This obsession with mechanics and technique rather than what the picture is saying is even more dispiriting today because advances in automation of the camera have already made this emphasis an anachronism. It is possible to look through the finder a press a button to take a techinically excellent picture. We have crossed a threshold into a new era in photography, an era so young that its prospects are as yet little appreciated.

An excellent read.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

01/22/2010 03:50:17 PM · #34

Whether the article has been written in the sixties or now, this won't change a thing.
Photography itself has not changed - the camera's were photographs are taken with have.

Ristyz

Apple iPhone 12 Pro

01/22/2010 03:59:02 PM · #35

If you can't paint with a 2 dollar paint brush, you're not going to be able to paint with a 20 dollar one either!

I often tell people that my brain took the picture, the camera was just my tool... like a paint brush.

colorcarnival

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital

01/22/2010 04:23:51 PM · #36

I'm seriously considering getting a very cheapo camera to pull out and pretend I'm taking pictures. Just for fun. So the next time this happens I can give the Barbie cam answer hehe.

colorcarnival

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital

01/22/2010 04:27:41 PM · #37

Originally posted by Nadine_Vb:

Never heard from her again personally. From people we know in common I know she started claiming that SHE made several pictures I showed at that time and that my photographs stink (here she may have a point - lol)

She just doesn't understand creativity :)

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

01/22/2010 04:58:14 PM · #38

Originally posted by colorcarnival:

I'm seriously considering getting a very cheapo camera to pull out and pretend I'm taking pictures. Just for fun. So the next time this happens I can give the Barbie cam answer hehe.

At Costco I recently saw a 2MP camera from Crayola for only about $30 -- and there's nothing wrong with having an inexpensive P&S around for "emergencies." either ... I still take pictures with my 2MP Olympus 490Z ...

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

01/22/2010 04:59:41 PM · #39

Thank you Michelle *blushing*

I think I found something, but some advise would be great. Would this be a good choice? The binocular-style viewfinder is tempting me :D

citymars

Nikon D700

01/22/2010 05:12:22 PM · #40

Originally posted by Nadine_Vb:

Would this be a good choice?

Looks kind of fun actually.

UrfaK

Canon EOS-650/T4i Rebel

Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

01/22/2010 05:14:32 PM · #41

Since I was taking pics from my 4MP p&s for a very long time and most of my friends had better p&ses it got to the point of asking how was I pulling anything off with it. I generally shrugged it away by saying photoshop and that started a frenzy that I probably wasn't very good in real life and 'it' was all photoshop... I did suggest that photoshop wasn't magic.. oh well.

skylercall

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

01/22/2010 06:29:14 PM · #42

Originally posted by Nadine_Vb:

Would this be a good choice?

My niece has a camera similar to this one. I don't remember it being able to focus. I think it was just locked at infinity.

Message edited by author 2010-01-22 18:29:25.

Tajhad

Canon EOS R

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM

01/22/2010 06:39:14 PM · #43

My wife really, really gets irate at the " you must have a good camera" comment. She has two responses. One "Yeah it is a great camera - I just place it on the ground, let it do its thing, come back in 5 minutes and I get great shots". The other one is - " Rembrandt must have had great brushes - look at his work".

colorcarnival

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital

01/23/2010 12:24:35 AM · #44

Originally posted by citymars:

Originally posted by Nadine_Vb:
Would this be a good choice?

Looks kind of fun actually.

It DOES look fun!

MelonMusketeer

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

01/23/2010 12:40:15 AM · #45

Originally posted by citymars:

Originally posted by Nadine_Vb:
Would this be a good choice?

Looks kind of fun actually.

Those kid things are great. You may be surprised at what kids find to shoot when they are exploring the world for the first time.
I keep a 9mp P&S Fuji on my belt anytime that I am out of bed. I use it a lot to copy things, to get the shots that would be otherwise missed, to get the name plate info for things that I work on, to copy news articles that I want to read later, to copy addresses and numbers that people give me ect. There are hundreds of uses for those little pocket shooters. They take some pretty awesome pix too if you know how to use the features or how to shoot manually. I like to keep a few good P&S shots like this one,

cued up at the front of the memory card in my P&S to show to people that wow my S3 Pro shots.

NikonJeb

Nikon D850

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR

01/23/2010 08:14:18 AM · #46

Originally posted by Nadine_Vb:

Once had someone who asked the same thing. She started buying the same camera, lenses etc. even though I told her that it had less to do with the camera but more with the one who pushes the button and what's done before pushing that button. She claimed I said this because I was jealous.

2 months after she bought the camera, she mailed me saying that "I gave her a very bad advise and that the camera I suggested was crap since her pictures didn't came out as she expected".

Unfortunately, there are people out there who think that life is to be handed to them on a silver platter, and when it's not, they blame whomever they think they can for whatever reason appears in their oftentimes tiny brain.

Originally posted by Nadine_Vb:

No great loss from the sounds of it.......if it wasn't about the camera, she would have found some other way to kick you to the curb eventually......which she has, no doubt, done to many before you.

Personally, that comment doesn't really bother me that much. It just makes it so patently obvious that the commenter has *no* clue what's involved, and I'm certainly not going to spend a bunch of time trying to educate them. If they like my "pretty pitchers" that's fine! LOL!!!

What *I* hate is the people that know enough to be annoying, but not enough to have a clue. You know, the ones that come up to you with a serious look and ask you what f-stop you're using. WTF????

I had a guy ask me when I was shooting this band what I was doing to compensate for the exposure because of the bright light.

Duh! Nothing! How the heck could you possibly compensate for direct sunlight streaming through windows in back of black musicians???????

It just goes with the territory.......8>)

Five_Seat

Canon EOS-6D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

01/23/2010 09:27:51 AM · #47

Its a shame that we photographers cannot uses this logic in reverse with cops and security guard types...

"Now sir, it may seem like I am taking photos where you don't want me. However it is actually all the camera, I am just the idiot that lugs it around. The camera has a mind of its own over which I have no control. The only possible way to resolve this situation is to let camera finish...err...working its magic. It should only take 2-3 more hours. Thanks for your patience and have a great day!"

:D

Message edited by author 2010-01-23 09:28:13.