This is a bit of a rant but so incredibly petty that I don’t think it deserves to be in the pit.
I’ve been involved in photography for a good many years. A few years ago I was actually doing some pinup and portrait work and made a fairly large investment in studio equipment. I had no expectations of quitting my day job but was starting to make a few bucks on portraiture but after taking my current job I no longer had the spare time for it. No problem. I shoot some events and when someone asks but I am no longre the guy who has a camera in front of his face all the time. I sadly admit I used to be that guy but other than having a pocket size point and shoot camera when I go on vacation that’s pretty much it. The D100 stays at home unless someone pays me to bring it out.
A friend who is a lot of the same social circles as my wife and I is the camera face guy, far worse than I ever was. My wife thinks he uses it as a tool to pick up women and that it’s just an extention of his tallywhacker. I tend to agree. The part that sticks in my craw is that everyone thinks he’s a great photographer because of all the equipment he has. His work is mediocre IMO but apparently results aren’t what impressed the great unwashed. He switched to a digital SLR some time ago and except in rare cases has a flash bracket and a monopod. it’s the complete antithesis of discreet photojournalism with his camera mounted on what amounts to a hiking stick and a bright flash in appropriate places like a night club. Hey, I have a monopod and a flash bracket but I don’t have them with me every time I shoot. When flash is inappropriate I shoot available light and often use the monopod to steady. When using flash though the monopod is redundant since the camera doesn’t need to be quite as steady. That plus he’s always chimping which terribly offends my sensiiblities as a photographers.
I should explain chimping. When shooting with most digital SLR cameras there is only an optical viewfinder, that is you can only frame the shot by looking through the eyepiece. The LCD screen can only be used for reviewing the shot after you took it. There are a few exceptions like the Oly E-10/20 but I’m not aware of any DSLR with a real time LCD viewfinder. Anyway a good photographer should be able to know that shots are going to come out like you expect based on meter readings and understanding the scene. This is particularly true of film photographers who couldn’t get instant feedback without resorting to polaroids. A good photographer should not have to resort to reviewing images much if at all. It;s a useful tool bugt using it as a crutch is considered bad form. The term chimping came about from photogs turning on the display after every shot so they could point and say “oooh! oooh!” Chimp boy of course does this constantly so he and everyone else can see what he’s shooting and perversely this reinforces the idea everyone has that he’s an incredibly good photographer.
My wife laughs that this sticks in my craw so much but she’s started laughing whenever she sees him chimping. I shouldn’t let it get to me but I consider it a harmless guilty pleasure. I have to be honest that doing less photography gives me more free time and it’s worth it to see the look on someone’s face when they think I’ll shoot for free and I quote them a fair price. “I know you take pictures all the time, can you photograph my cousin’s wedding.”
“Sure,” I say, “I’ll show up for a thousand dollars then we can negotiate a package.” I didn’t think a human jaw could actgually hit the floor before I said that for the first time. Hey, weddings are hard work with lots of pre and post hours and I don’t consider my time valuless.
