I am no photographer

— Posted inUncategorized — 2 min read

I am no photographer, if the word means someone seriously believes in the art of photography and calls the photographs they take pieces of art. …

I like taking photographs and enjoy the simple pleasure of taking pictures that honestly show what I actually saw, thought, felt and wanted to tell a story about.

I like taking photographs mostly because that was what my father was into when I was a kid. His pictures of our family, on trips and at home, have been the most precious treasure for us.

I also love feeing the sensual vibration of shutter mechanism in SLRs, reminds me of my delight when my dad let me use his trusty Canon.

I also like taking good looking pictures and love sharing them. Who doesn't like bragging about her best shots? 😀

So here I am opening another album at Shoot & Tell. In here the photographs are all about how I saw the scene and wanted to tell my own story of that moment. What I want through sharing my pictures there is not discussions on composition, focus, interpretation or themes. I want people to tell me how they felt and what they thought when they saw each picture.

My new album I Am No Photographer is at Shoot and Tell

:coffee:

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  2. :hat: Welcome back to Shoot & Tell MM :)"My name is Sami, and I'm an amateur photographer." 😀 That is my AA statement :p

  4. Cheers, Aadil. I know exactly how you mean. Everyone has their own kind of photography, which makes photography such a great medium to become connected with others. :yes:Thanks Sami. Good to get started again. :DOriginally posted by serola:

    "My name is Sami, and I'm an amateur photographer

    Yes. After reading that post of yours and thought about what was discussed in this post, I thought, 'When I open another album at S&T, I shall call it "I am no photographer"' 😉

  5. I must say I do get tempted by the notion of selling my pics. Out of about 7000 shots I took with my E620, I think I've about 5 that could be as good to my eyes as some pics I see on newspaper sites and such likes. Then next moment, I'd think, 'As if!' :lol:OK. Looks like it's past 9 and perhaps I should put some work time in. It's my resolution 2 not to procrastinate much.:p TTFN. Be back around morning smoko. 😉

  6. I tried that once, it was an interesting thing to do as you get some reasonable feedback about the photo quality (poorly composed for the most part), and in my case, an error in lens manufacture which I had never noticed

  7. Originally posted by darkesthour:

    I tried that once

    Did you actually sell it, or the lens error was the end of story?

  8. Originally posted by darkesthour:

    incurable broken sheutter disease

    IBSD is so devastating. :rip:Actually I assumed you said you had tried selling your picture to newspaper once, and wanted to know if you succeeded. :confused:

  9. Oh, yes. That pylon photo is one of my favourite, too. :yes:Originally posted by darkesthour:

    however the lens abberation and some artefacts made it unsuitable, all others were not composed in a manner that made them suitable for commercial work

    Commiserations. I suppose those people who make living out of handling pictures do have special eyes for such thing. Although that still sounds like a nitpicking to me.

  10. I tried with one of the online picture libraries, the closest was the pylon photo which I actually quite like, however the lens abberation and some artefacts made it unsuitable, all others were not composed in a manner that made them suitable for commercial work.. 😥

  11. At least now you know first hand what they would look for and how closely they would look at. That'll be an advantage, should you feel like having a go at it again.

  12. It was not mine, The last camera I had, a Zenit, died 12 years ago from incurable broken sheutter disease, it was sadly missed..

  13. Out of the thousands they get to choose from I guess that they are seeking as close to perfection as possible

  14. Commiserations again. :DIMHO The luck of being at right place right time with your camera handy, and the eyes to see the picture you desire in endless possibilities of a particular scene, are more important than a bit of chromatic aberration and artefacts.

  15. I decided that rather than try and achieve the standards (and spend a lot of money on high quality gear) I would just do it for my own amusement and enjoy sharing with other less critical people. I think some people genuinely like my photos, so that is good enough for me

  16. One example where content is more important than quality :DAnd thanks, you do a good photo too :yes:

  17. Originally posted by darkesthour:

    I think some people genuinely like my photos, so that is good enough for me

    I've a pleasure of being one of them. :happy:

  19. :beer: for you. :coffee: for me :DThen I shall have to remember my resolution 2 and go back to my translation. TTFN

  22. Originally posted by darkesthour:

    you do a good photo too

    Thanks, too. :cheers:

  24. I agree too what you said about photography, art is for the critics to decide 😀

  26. Cheers, Michal. Everyone has their own photography and does their best when doing own kind of photography. I love yours, and, yes, you are :jester::cheers:

  27. Originally posted by serola:

    photography is a playground

    :yes: Let's have some fun! 😀

  28. Thanks Wertti. Interesting you mentioned the critics. I think, while I had my first album open on S&T, I had fallen into this trap of playing a critic despite knowing little. (Me saying "great composition!" was like a Finn saying "great game of rugby". :p) I was not quite comfortable about it already then, but thought that was what you were supposed to do in a photography group.I'm hoping not to fall into the same trap this time. I want to share my thoughts and feelings when I see other people's photos. And I only comment on the photos that make me think or feel something other than, 'That looks like "a good composition" to me.' 😉

  29. I think with photography, you first aim to please yourself. I try to shoot images that I want to keep, at a standard that meets my aspirations. If I achieve that, I'm happy.I did shoot for stock a while ago, and decided the effort really wasn't worth it. The technical standards are very high, and even with good shots, you can spend a lot of time getting them 'right' for the stock-agent. That would be ok if the returns on photos were good enough. But in the digital age, you get paid peanuts for basically, a lot of hours of work. That makes no sense.

  30. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    photos that make me think or feel something

    That is the best way :up:

  31. Originally posted by serola:

    That is the best way

    Thanks, Sami. I hope to last longer this time. 😉

  32. Hi, Brendan! Welcome to my site. :hi: Great to have you here. :happy:Thanks for your input to this discussion. I should imagine photography is an essential part of your work, conservation. So you would still aim for excellent even the photos you take do not make money themselves. Am I right?Originally posted by chthoniid:

    in the digital age, you get paid peanuts for basically, a lot of hours of work. That makes no sense.

    I wonder what would happen if everyone suddenly decided to stop selling their pictures to the media. A kind of wildcat strike :headbang:I'm following a few nature/ science photographers on Twitter. One of them, Alex Wild aka @Myrmecos has a blog at Scientific American titled Compound Eye. He once posted an article on SciAm titled This Photo Is Not Free, But How Much Should It Cost? discussing costing of photographs. It was an interesting read. I wish the world were fairer and everyone that work hard and produce good products got paid a fair return.

  33. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    That looks like "a good composition" to me

    I do like if people say more than just great or beautiful 😀 🙂

  34. Originally posted by wierdf:

    I do like if people say more than just great or beautiful

    Me, too. :cheers:PS@Wertti & Sami I was hoping for some response to this :p Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    Me saying "great composition!" was like a Finn saying "great game of rugby".

  37. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    Hi, Brendan! Welcome to my site. :hi: Great to have you here. :happy:Thanks for your input to this discussion. I should imagine photography is an essential part of your work, conservation. So you would still aim for excellent even the photos you take do not make money themselves. …

    Yes, the first goal really of lifting up the camera is to get pictures you want. People have different aspirations. I know my aspirations for wildlife are higher than a lot, but less than the 'true pros'.

    The great thing about digital photography is that has made photography so much more accessible to people. The bad thing is that it has caused stock-photo prices to drop. I was earning some money from stock, but when the rate of return is effectively cents per hour of work (not counting cost of capital), it's not worth it.

  38. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    Of course such likes of Google Translate may be good enough to get the gist of simple sentences. But never completely reliable.

    Perhaps you could consider working towards the development of better translation software? :sherlock: .Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    This sounds like a close analogue to what's happening with my industry. Internet and PC have been great for me as a subcontracting translator. It lets me do all my work at home, receiving orders, researching, online dictionaries and proofing inbuilt word processor app.

    The advent of computer technology meant that my late Father had to give up his trade of typewriter mechanic and look for other work. :awww: .Someone must always lose when new technology arrives! :rolleyes: .

  39. Originally posted by chthoniid:

    The great thing about digital photography is that has made photography so much more accessible to people. The bad thing is that it has caused stock-photo prices to drop.

    🙁 This sounds like a close analogue to what's happening with my industry. Internet and PC have been great for me as a subcontracting translator. It lets me do all my work at home, receiving orders, researching, online dictionaries and proofing inbuilt word processor app.But the advent of digital translation is becoming a real issue now. Of course such likes of Google Translate may be good enough to get the gist of simple sentences. But never completely reliable. The damaging aspect of this, of course, is some clients are only prepared to offer peanut rate.I'm lucky that my area (J->E in sci/bio/enviro/med-pharm/educ) is still kind of niche and I get paid enough to get by. I wonder how long it lasts, though.

  40. Originally posted by qlue:

    Perhaps you could consider working towards the development of better translation software?

    And help the competitor? :rolleyes:I am helping them in a way by producing quality translation. As a subcontractor I do not have the copyright of the end product, therefore, I cannot make them public. But some of my translation are published, often alongside the original Japanese document. The developers are free to use those to improve their algorithm. 😉 The current form of digital translation technology is basically binary algorithms using mega cross-referenced interlinked corpora. Specialised translation software developers at least choose reputable and authoritative sources to incorporate into each corpus. Those software cost a lot and used commercially, including by in-house staff at translation companies. The assumption in translation industry is that the initial output by translation software is proofread and error checked, first by the draft translator, then by the first proof reader whose first language is the original language, and then finally, by the second proof reader whose first language is the target language. The gripe of us freelance subcontracting translators is with undercutting of draft translation rate, while the in-house proofreaders are still getting paid the same salary.The issues with free digital translation service available online, such as Google Translate, are, 1: there is no error checking, 2: they "cloud source" their corpora in which QA is impossible. So by nature such services can never be reliable or good enough for serious production, anyway.

  41. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    accessible to people. The bad thing is that it has caused stock-photo prices to drop. This sounds like a close analogue to what's happening with my industry. Internet and PC have been great for me as a subcontracting translator. It lets me do all my work at home, receiving orders, researching, online dictionaries and proofing inbuilt word processor app.

    Yes, sounds very similar. There's a better return on portrait and wedding photography however, as this depends a lot on your people management-skills. You need to be able to interact well with a wedding party for example, and that needs a different skill set to buying a digital camera. Even so, the price of wedding photography has also dropped.

  42. Wedding photography seems like a fun thing to do. :DOriginally posted by chthoniid:

    Even so, the price of wedding photography has also dropped.

    I thought such memories would be "priceless" :rolleyes:

  43. Wedding photography is hard work 🙂 Not only do you have to keep the bride and groom happy, you have to keep the parents happy. And then there's always an 'Uncle Bob' floating around with his camera, who wants to prove he's better at it than you are. So he'll blunder around, intruding into your compositions, and of course, you can't swear at him to go away. You'd think weddings would try to play it safe, but often they don't appreciate the capital costs of a wedding photographer or the time you spend perfecting the shots. I mean, *anyone* with a cheap DSLR can take wedding photos 🙂 So prices have crept down.

  44. Neural network processing would certainly be the core of future generic translation technology. 😉 Originally posted by qlue:

    So, when you read a blog in a foreign language, you might not even be aware of it as it would be automatically rendered in the language set by your system's locale settings.

    TARDIS translation matrix? :spock:Originally posted by qlue:

    Fortunately, this bit of science fiction is still a way off so you're not completely out of a job yet!

    Yeah. I'm hoping for another 15 years moratorium until I reach the retirement age. :p

  45. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    TARDIS translation matrix?

    Prettymuch! :yes: .Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    Yeah. I'm hoping for another 15 years moratorium until I reach the retirement age.

    Well, the greatest impediment to A.A.N. technology at present is the lack of off-the-shelf hardware for it. Currently, we're using software running on conventional sequential processors to virtualise these networks. As a result, they take a massive performance hit. Not a major issue for using handwriting recognition on your smart-phones's touchscreen, but hardly suitable for a complex comprehension engine. :rolleyes: .Since Industry has lost interest in neural nets again it might be closer to thirty years before we see the realisation of this. :irked::left: .(this is the third time A.A.N. tech has been revived and then shelved! :rolleyes: Whatever happened to persevere to succeed! :left: )

  46. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    And help the competitor?

    I was thinking more along the lines of you becoming the competitor! ;)Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    The current form of digital translation technology is basically binary algorithms using mega cross-referenced interlinked corpora.

    This will be superceded by Artificial Neural Network technology eventually.An A.A.N. is 'trained' instead of being programmed. This process creates the ability for the A.A.N. to fallback on 'intuition' when a specific solution has not been explicitly provided. It's the same tech that allows machine based recognition of handwriting, voice, images etc.But, in order to train it, it needs samples of text (the 'problem') together with samples of correct translation. (the 'solution')So any dev team attempting to develop a translation engine will need the skills of experienced translators. And they will need that to be an ongoing process as new terminology evolves and new linguistic variants of a language emerge. :up: .These translation engines will be bi-directional and will eventually be incorporated into the user interface of IT equipment. (desktops, cellphones, tablets etc.)So, when you read a blog in a foreign language, you might not even be aware of it as it would be automatically rendered in the language set by your system's locale settings. :up: .Fortunately, this bit of science fiction is still a way off so you're not completely out of a job yet! :insane: .

  47. re wedding photographyI asked for a spotter and a list to make sure I got all the out of town relatives…..They need seem to understand a battery of people using their cameras — when you have posed the bridal party — messes up your exposures with all their flashes.

  48. Originally posted by qlue:

    … the lack of off-the-shelf hardware for it … software running on conventional sequential processors to virtualise these networks.

    But we have the authentic neural network right here in our heads. :rolleyes: My personal opinion is the technology and resources would be better used in improvement of language learning & communication aid tools. They say young children can learn a new language much faster than adults. Maybe in a far future someone will come up with a biomed technology to reset adult brain for child-like learning abilities, and, coupled with advanced learning and communication aid tools, have you speaking & reading a new language within a week. (Now I should sell this idea to some "futurist" institution or something, shouldn't I? :p)

  49. Hi Russ. Welcome to my site 🙂 :hi:Originally posted by gargoyle38:

    a battery of people using their cameras — when you have posed the bridal party — messes up your exposures with all their flashes.

    I never thought about that aspect. That sounds like a very challenging assignment. I don't suppose ask them to wait until the official photo-shoot over is an option for a wedding photographer.

  50. I was thinking more like a wedding photographer with a temper and extremely assertive control of the wedding crowds would make a comedy film character. Seems to remember of a movie scene of Adam Sandler shouting at the wedding crowds to shut up. 😀 (I think his roll was actually a wedding singer,rather than a photographer.)

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