We've had a few trolls show up here and we do our best to ban them. It's amazing how the forums can settle down as soon as one or two of these people are gone. I'm talking about those who are only here to cause trouble. Not to hijack this thread but I would like this opportunity to let people know if they ever come up against someone here that is detrimental to the community, all you need to do is contact us and we'll look into it. It can be easy for some of these types to slip under the radar if no one contacts us. Thanks
For sure, some people are rude or worse and that's simply the way of the world.
I will say however, that respect is a two way street. I'm sure I've come off as rude to some individuals who simply aren't thinking about anything but themselves. I work primarily with an 8x10 view camera and that naturally draws attention if there are people around. I take my work very seriously and I can't tell you how many times someone has actually forced me out from under the darkcloth to answer a ton of questions. When I'm in the field working, especially once I've setup and am actually working with the camera, the last thing I want to deal with are people who have no respect for my time and what I'm trying to do. I'll usually say something to the effect of "I'm working right now but if you'd care to wait until I'm through I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have." For some people that's fine, and they either wait or say they have somewhere to be and that's that. For others, well, I'm an asshole because I didn't immediately stop what I was doing to make time for them. I think it's important to remember that each individual's time is valuable and that not everyone is a teacher. That being said there is a pleasant way to get those points across.
Another time I had an "advanced ameteaur" who professed knowing everything about photography tell me after eagerly showing him my brand new Pentax K1000 that this camera was obsolete and that I would not be able to create anything good with that camera.
That is absolutely hilarious! D*****l cameras go obsolete (and very quickly!) but film cameras - never! Hell, al they are is a box with film on one side and a lens on the other!!!
Guess all my Leicas, Rollei TLR's, and Linhof Technikas are obsolete, too, then. Dang, I guess I'd better go invest in more digicams, quick!
...There were a few photographers around when I was starting out that instead of helping a beginning photographer, were downright rude. The attitude was that they were on a higher level and could not be bothered by a simple beginer. Some said rather hurtful things, not constructive critisism, but just callous comments that were meant more to ridicule than to serve as learning tools...
Sometimes the only thing you learn from people like that is how NOT to be like that.
S
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Save the Earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.
You have never seen arrogance and condesension (is that a word?) until you are a 16 year old girl, ca. 1969, going camera shopping alone in Manhattan. Jeesh! Need I say more?
It really teaches you who you don't want to do business with!
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Another time I had an "advanced ameteaur" who professed knowing everything about photography tell me after eagerly showing him my brand new Pentax K1000 that this camera was obsolete and that I would not be able to create anything good with that camera. After all, automated cameras were all the rage back then. Had I listened to this bozo I would have never developed any significant photographic skills relying heavily on automation. I would have never developed my interest in having total control in the image making process.
This point really caught my eye because it very much explains what really bugged me about David Pogue's column in Thursday's NY Times.
For those who don't know, Mr. Pogue writes the digi camera column that appears m/l every week in the Thursday "Technology" section of the NYT. What was bizarre was that his "point" in this past Thursday's column was that there are now DSLR's that can enable you to "shoot like a pro".
Say what?
Since when did any camera enable you to "shoot like a pro"?
AA, HCB, Arbus etc. etc. (add your favorite) all used manual cameras - when it comes down to it, according to Pogue, I guess each and every one didn't "shoot like a pro"!
You have never seen arrogance and condesension (is that a word?) until you are a 16 year old girl, ca. 1969, going camera shopping alone in Manhattan. Jeesh! Need I say more?
It really teaches you who you don't want to do business with!
Hmmmm.....well, if you went to 47th Street Photo in that era, your gender didn't make you very much less of a target of arrogance and condescension than anyone else. You'd have thought you were in the presence of people to whom you were required to genuflect. It's not a big surprise that that store barely exists, if it even does, anymore. B&H seems to have taken that lesson to heart. They have always been courteous and long suffering even when dealing with my more addle brained questions.
Hmmmm.....well, if you went to 47th Street Photo in that era, your gender didn't make you very much less of a target of arrogance and condescension than anyone else. You'd have thought you were in the presence of people to whom you were required to genuflect. It's not a big surprise that that store barely exists, if it even does, anymore. B&H seems to have taken that lesson to heart. They have always been courteous and long suffering even when dealing with my more addle brained questions.
Actually, given she was 16 in 1969 (a couple of years younger than me, BTW) I was going to guess Willoughby's or Olden over in the Herald Square area. Now THEY were both arrogant SOBs - mainly to distract you from the fact that they were both overpriced.
47th St. Photo was a few years later and you're right they too were SOBs. They later on got into stereo equipment etc. and tried to sell on "price" against the crook Crazy Eddie. The former went under - the latter went to jail!
That is absolutely hilarious! D*****l cameras go obsolete (and very quickly!) but film cameras - never! Hell, al they are is a box with film on one side and a lens on the other!!!
Guess all my Leicas, Rollei TLR's, and Linhof Technikas are obsolete, too, then. Dang, I guess I'd better go invest in more digicams, quick!
Yes, you might have a point there. All those old manual Leicas are obsolete, therefore, they should all be donated to me!
On the topic of obsolete cameras, I get a kick out of this one:
A couple of years ago after spending a bit too much time on one of those digiforums, I went out and purchased a Nikon D70. It had won camera of the year and everyone was saying how the camera practically walked on water. I went through several new deffective models until I was able to get a good one. Turns out that when the D200 was released, those same people that praised the D70 were now bashing its inferior picture quality and obsolete technology. That was about a month after the D200 was released!! Funny how that never happened with the F3 throughout its 20 year production life.
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