To my friend Chris. A reflection, some thoughts & some doubts. Definitely no answers.

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To my friend Chris. A reflection, some thoughts & some doubts. Definitely no answers.

7th March 2009
by Gerard Prins

WARNING: a very long-winded and not necessarily interesting or ordered history on whatever the future may bring. Read at your own risk (of falling asleep, mostly).

To Chris, first and foremost: thank you, thank you, thank you. You know why. I don't know the answer to your questions, really. You must know the average member better than I do.

At WA there is a 1 per day, 4 per week posting limit, and member activity is comparatively good, but interestingly, many of the people I interacted with only 5 years ago, are gone. Of the many people I once considered "good photographers", only a handful are left and, in consequence, the level of quality feedback has dropped off.

I'm still trying to give "advice" sometimes, and - apparently - some people still appreciate that, because I get a couple of emails every week to say that much. However, for me, myself and I, there is little left to learn anymore, and I guess I keep posting because I'm a showboat and like to see my work out there. But, I’m not even sure if that's worth the time, anymore. Most of the "good photographers" apparently have other needs, found somewhere else, or just got tired of the effort; we all know how time consuming this is.

If I look back to where it all started, there may be an explanation, and if there is, there might even be a way to envision the “next step”. I got my first camera at the age of 8, in 1963. My first digital camera came round the turn of the millennium - a Sony Cybershot - I went on to a 3.1 Mp. Epson and got my first "serious" camera - Nikon D1x - in June 2003. Became a member of Nikonians, WA, HHP, Photo.net in that same year.

Everybody was learning; I needed to switch from MF to AF lenses and started researching, shopping, and spent a lot of time on Nikonians, photo sites, etc. Most people were still shooting film and after seeing what the results could be scanning film with a dedicated scanner, I got a Coolscan in 2004 because the flatbed just didn't cut it. It was a good reason to dig out the old slides and negs, but I have posted only a handful of those anywhere on the net, I just realized. The D1x is gone by now, and the Coolscan collecting dust.

At this point, I’m looking at, considering my 7th and 8th digital cameras respectively: D300, D700 or nextgen; less than 10 years after getting that first Cybershot. Think about that for a second: in 9 years I have bought (with my own, hard earned money) 6! digital cameras; that's one every year and a half. In the previous 25 odd years I bought only 3 film cameras and a Pola - just before the digital dam break… (stupidest way I have ever spent a buck, ever).

Simultaneously, labs started to disappear (pro-labs first, in Chile) because everybody went digital. We gave my wife a beautiful Olympus P&S zoom film camera for her birthday in 2004, because she insisted on film, and loved to show prints. If she has ever shot more than a few rolls with it, I'd be surprised.

In 2005 she switched to digital, and by now she's on her second digicam, a 10x zoom Lumix DMC TZ3 (after dumping a lousy Canon A420) and – even being a casual user - has probably shot at least the equivalent of 100 rolls of film with them. The D1x had some 8.000 takes on it, and both the D200 and D40 are well beyond the 10.000 mark. I never counted them, but after 25 years of shooting film, I maybe have some 5.000 decent slides. Keepers? Maybe a hundred, but probably less...

Technology develops with such mind-numbing speed, that we do not, cannot even realize it. Would you had even imagined a mere 48 months ago, that the quality and resolving capacity of film would be surpassed by digital, one day? Well, that day has come, but not as (at least I) expected. The latest 24 Mp. Nikons, Canons and Sony’s out-resolve most lenses by now, except – maybe - the very best and most expensive.

At the same time, these cameras are very clean, virtually clean or quite clean at up to 6.400 ISO. Impossible with film, and an unbelievable paradigm shift: it’s not film that is coming up short first, it’s the glass… Furthermore, these cameras come in at an average MSRP of 3K, which is still not a price that will have everybody flocking to the store, but believe me: in the next year and a half or so, we’ll see that price constantly dropping.

Today, the average man in the street can do what only the most achieved of us could do just half a decade ago: produce clean, sharp, professional looking digital images at low cost. Where I spent 10K (local currency) on my first DSLR and 1 AF lens, my wife spent 0,6K to get twice the resolution, better high ISO performance and an optically very good Leica 28-280 mm equivalent lens.

Admittedly the Pana is still somewhat noisy (to me, not her), but the output generally looks pretty good: http://www.harphampix.com/v2/document.php?id=24136 Programmed auto works, and so do the scene modes. The one and only thing I had to teach her (and many others) is why, how, when & where to use flash. Her images come out fine most of the time, and the few that don’t, is because of circumstances that make photographing complicated, even for the most honed pro.

Where are we standing:

1 – To me, the mega-pixel race is over, no matter what the manufacturers and “experts” say. I want my next camera to be 16-18 Mp., NOT 24. Would YOU want to download 200, 400 or 1.000 *40 Mb.* RAW files to your computer on a regular basis???

2 – Cameras have finally “forgotten” about film. In my experience, the D200 was the first camera that actually “thought” digital exposure, and from what I’m seeing, it has only gotten better from there on. Auto focus has seen a truly gigantic leap forward.

3 - People (are led to) believe that what comes out of their cameras is good or even excellent 90% of the time, and when you look at the average quality of the images posted here, they are – indeed – good from a technical point of view: noise is rare, so are tilt, dust specs, under/over exposure, blown highlights, bad color, DOF, focus, etc.. On the other hand, the "general public" doesn’t give a damn about that (never did)...

4 – Technology has allowed for a virtually flat learning curve. As a result, there is not much room for “professional” technical critique anymore, because the camera-photographer interface has become good to a point where only trained eyes can distinguish the amateur from the pro, except for one thing: ART (which is in the eye of the beholder).

5 – Art in photography is to me: the WOW effect that kicks in when you see that rare, perfectly exposed, tack sharp image of a unique point of view, a highly interesting subject or a place I have never been before.

6 – Art is good. It brings us back to where we need to be in the first place, luckily after only half a decade of focusing on the technical, pixel-peeping, aspects of photography.

7 – Art is scarce, if it weren’t it wouldn’t be art. What will (once more) separate the pros from the amateurs, is their ability to provoke an emotion, deliver on time and under pressure either a unique point of view or a “product” at the very highest of standards, independent of the hardware.

8 – According to this criterion, I am not a pro (never have been) just a semi. Also, with the latest generation(s) of digicams, my technical advantage is now all but gone. Yes, I have the technical capability and gear to turn out good pictures, but they are not ART, and to the layman’s eye, difficult - if not impossible - to distinguish from the millions of other images out there.

9 – I once believed that with the arrival of digital I could be in there with the pros. That may or not have been true once, but it surely isn’t true anymore. I have come to realize (again) that the pros are in a class of their own. Dedicated to one thing, and one thing alone: taking their next “best in class” photograph.

Where does that leave me:

- I need to refocus: I need to start taking less, but better pictures. Better in the good sense: keepers, better subject matter, a different point of view.

- It makes no sense to me, nor to others, that I keep posting material that every next photographer can do too (at least in the eye of the beholder).

- I honestly can’t think anymore about what to photograph next. That’s BAD, because I used to do “everything”. Thus, there is nowhere to switch, except looking for a single area where to improve, and – maybe – excel.

- I will need to keep participating in challenges/assignments, not because of the “glory”, but because it allows me to measure myself against others in the eyes of the viewers / members / market. Of course, if the level of the members is higher, the bar will go up, too. I think I would like that very much…

- Thus, if only for the sake of exercise, I think I will dedicate myself this year to shooting custom made images for challenges (wherever they are held), rather than upload out-of-the-box “stock” ones. This will FORCE me to pause & think about how to fulfill an assignment, and hopefully help me in the total refocusing process. Let’s face it, what I’ve been doing lately is the same ever, same ever: landscape, travel, candid (studio apart, where I think I CAN compete with the – local - pro competition, if I put my mind to it).

- Maybe, part of the success of Perfectly Captured comes from giving a “theme” every week (not sure, but think so) If this is correct and considering the above, I will probably become a member, in spite of the ugly, cumbersome interface.

Back to HHP:

I have come to realize that the thing that has bothered me most about the HHP challenges, is the time they run for. A month to submit images is way to long, and waiting for results is no fun whatsoever. IMHO, it’s much better to run a challenge for one week every month. That is, if the system can’t handle automatic vote counting for more frequent challenges. However, I really DO like the possibility to give an (anonymous!!) rating for each and every image, rather than cast a vote on a limited number of images.

In conclusion: I do not know if it is at all possible to “save” HHP, WA, etc. What I do believe is that their operational logic has been overtaken by time, technology and the evolution of the users. We don’t see many newbie’s anymore, tech is mostly up to par, and the bulk of the subject matter, well, is the bulk of subject matter.

HHP is quite international, while at WA, American culture is particularly dominant. But then, at other sites, there are other dominant cultures or cliques, people who tear each other’s work apart, do soft porn, artsy fartsy stuff, etc..

Yet, I’m seeing a rising number of sites focusing on specific subject matter (http://www.birdpics.nl - some *very* nice work) or specific niches; such as stock and micro stock sites (http://www.photographersdirect.com), for example. I don’t know if they’re successful, but they clearly steer away from the kind of “random” photo sharing that once fueled the rise of my favorite sites.

Maybe it’s also time to refocus HHP: we’re not giving the members what they want. If we did, green dots would be more frequent. The red dots indicate that people are *not* interested in commenting (anymore) and - given the low view counts at WA (which calculates view count different than HHP) – *not that* interested in viewing either. What does that tell us? What DO they want? More competition?, taking their skills to the next level?, share with friends, family?, just have some of their stuff out there, rather than in dusty boxes or on humongous hard drives?

Probably a bit of all, but none of the more “serious” sites known to me is giving us that, right now. Flickr c.s. do - apparently - fulfill a need, but Flickr is targeted at the cell phone masses, not the “serious” photographer IMVHO. That’s not a critique, BTW, rather a compliment. They realized a market need, and I think they are precisely where and what they must be, and will probably evolve over time.

Would this refocus work for HHP?. I don’t know, maybe not. But one thing is clear to me, in their present form, both my serious photo sites are on the green mile. They do no longer fit my needs for learning, competition, comparing & sharing. Other members may have other - unfulfilled - needs. What is very interesting to observe, though, is that a large number of members would hate to see either of them go, which indicates people have a need, want a place to share their work, even if imperfectly geared to their needs.

Maybe it’s good a guy can put up 60 images of a basketball game to share with his crowd, and maybe he’d even be prepared to pay something for a space allotment. But then again, maybe not. Still, think about it: memory is cheap today, and building a personal website is still relatively expensive, challenging to maintain and useless for the common “advanced” photographer who wants to share occasionally with specific targets. The game, the marriage, the baby, what have you.

Last but not least:

All that said (and that WAS a lot): this is a reflection. I’ve built on these thoughts as I was writing and have come up with a couple of things that I had never ever consciously thought about. So, I haven’t got any answers, just more questions, and – for myself - a thing or two to chew on:

I have not updated my agency website for months, and update my personal photo gallery only when I have new images; bulk mostly, I admit. I have never sold a single stock image or captured a single client through them, either. They just sit there, get a couple of visitors, and definitely do NOT generate me any business.

I am coming to the conclusion that I ought to refocus quite a bit more than just my photography. I must really start to spend my time more productively, like - for example - go out and get some challenging work that actually pays…

One step forward is that I have already stopped processing any images other than the keepers, with the exception of those I want to share with friends, family (JPG).

After a session I now process the keepers (PSD, 16 bits), do a complete session contact-sheet in PDF, and - as soon as I have another 8 Gigs worth of camera files - they go straight to DVD and get wiped of the system.

I have yet to regret this new – but also very old – method of looking at my work. The DVD’s rarely come out of the box anymore, either. A clear indication that I produce too much bulk and too few truly worthwhile images.

If you really pulled it off, and read until here without ZZZZZ, congrats and thanks for your patience. G.

Phew!

Hmmm, yes, true, aha, yes, yes, Mmmm, exactly!, yes, precisely, ohh, maybe, yes, yes, really?, yes!

I guess the above ramble is a precis of my thoughts as I read every single word of this excellent article.. Well done mate, you did good!

I had an interest in photography way back in the 1980s and went to night school.. I learned the basics, had a great teacher and was enjoying my new hobby..

Sadly, things were expensive for me at the time and I lost interest..

Then, the digital revolution came about.. AND the internet, almost at the same time.. Wohoo!!

Like you I got a digital camera.. Like lots of other people... And suddenly a plethora of websites existed just like this one..

I joined one of them, and posted my images.. I got great feedback, I even gave my opinions on other work.. Wow! This was great!!

I learned so much.. Photo editing (aka digital darkroom) was a very new area for all of us..

We were all newbies and life was great.. We fed off each other and we all learned a great deal...

Now.. Things are very different.. It's easy to take a technically perfect photo with whatever camera you possess.. ART is now the key..

As you can see I'm echoing your comments.. Sites like this have had their day? Maybe? Let's hope not!

Changes need to be made and they will be made.. Give me a week or so to get my head clear about the problems..

If ANYONE has suggestions let me know!

Chris Harpham A 5 ♣$ at 16:02:18 GMT on 8th March 2009 [Reply] [Email This Member] [Report Abuse]

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Thx. Chris. If I can do anything to help, please let me know.

Gerard Prins 5 ♣ at 16:48:52 GMT on 8th March 2009 [Reply] [Email This Member] [Report Abuse]

A reflection

Chris and Gerard....may I add my feelings re the points you have raise because they are in the main very similar to mine re taking pictures and ENJOYING them. I am now 80 years young and have been snapping away for the last 60 years or so. In my office where I spend so much of my time, I have posted on the walls some 60 or so shots that I never tire of seeing. In fact every night I speak to them before I retire. In the morning I say "hello" and how are you today! My wife says I am nuts in a loving way. I have over 7,000 shots on my hard drive which remind me of happy days in the past. I do post as you know and from time to time I get remarks which I enjoy reading especially when they are constructive. That is why I post. However I too have noticed that HarphamPix is slowing down and now several comments are rare. I do not know how you can force people who are not interested but come and have a look anyway. Perhaps a small yearly membership charge would be an idea. Chris...we all appreciate what you are trying to do and hope that you may be able to continue.

Sincerely.

Leon Woolf

leon woolf 10 $ at 17:31:34 GMT on 9th March 2009 [Reply] [Email This Member] [Report Abuse]

Great post.

Don't want to step on anyones toes here because I am new , here and it's not my style. I have tried over the many years other forums and sites. The site I just left was run by Hitlers Gestapo , and you could not disagree with the co admins for fear of being banned. I had a group there that was by invite only and it was like a large family . We helped each other and took people who were real amatures , and made them better photographers. Our group was about encouragement not discouragement . Now some of them have found a home here and I for one think that it's perfect. Just adding my two cents. Regards. POP's

bbernhard44@roadrunner.com von Bernhard $ at 19:06:33 BST on 28th June 2009 [Reply] [Email This Member] [Report Abuse]

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Pop's, your comments are welcome and just because you're new makes no difference at all.. All opinions should be shared.

This site belongs to the members, I'm just the guy who runs it.. There may be times in the future when I will totally disagree with you, but I will always respect your right to have your say and voice your opinion. Many things have changed on this site because of great suggestions by the members.

Chris Harpham A 5 ♣$ at 13:20:39 BST on 29th June 2009 [Reply] [Email This Member] [Report Abuse]

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