I’m afraid of my camera.

I realize that sounds kind of silly but it’s true. I’m afraid of it because sometimes I feel like it’s a better photographer than I am. When I had my 30D, it wasn’t uncommon for me to bump up against situations where the physical ability of the camera to take a particular shot held me back. It just wasn’t going to happen because of lack of light or lack of video capture mode, etc. Those situations are much fewer and far between now. Which makes me nervous that when I go out and shoot and don’t come back with anything good, it’s my fault not the camera’s.

I realize I’m still “new” to photography and I’m constantly learning how to shoot in different situations, with different equipment, and different lighting. But the realization that I’m now the one holding back my photography is kind of jarring.

I’m also getting tired of “amateur” photographers. Which sounds a little weird since I am always encouraging people to take more photos, so maybe I should qualify that. I’m getting tired of the “amateur” photography Flickr promotes. I’m not a conspiracy theorist so I don’t think it is a kabal of people controlling Flickr, but rather an ethos somewhat akin to the hardcore Lomography crowd. There are a lot of great photographers who are on Flickr and get only a handful of views and comments. Then there are lots of people who take mediocre to decent  photographs but promote an image and lifestyle as a pro and then sit around cross promoting each other to get “Explored” on Flickr.

Lisa Bettany who is a blogger/photographer/geek/Canadian from Vancouver, BC wrote on her blog recently about how to get your images “Explored” on Flickr. While it’s all true and good advice, I think it also points to a lot of what annoys me about the Flickr community. Bokeh is the word used to describe the artistic rendering of out of focus points of light. When most people start talking about “bokeh” they don’t really know what they are talking about. They have some thought in mind that good pictures have “good” bokeh so they start running around tagging every photo with a blurred background as having good bokeh. Lisa also mentions having “Hot Chicks” in your photos helps. I’ve seen some very technically mediocre photos get hundreds of views because the subject is physically attractive.

To be honest and fair, part of me is frustrated because I’m jealous. I get frustrated when I see photos that have hundreds of “favs” or comments when I know I’ve taken similar, better photos. But that’s also one of the things that has kept me from being more involved there. Flickr spends so much time promoting this rebellious self taught style of photography that ethics and philosophy gets thrown by the wayside. Flickr is about becoming web famous. I want a photographic community that isn’t about self promotion but rather about challenging photographers to think about what they do, why they do it, and how they can do it better. I see people like Chase Jarvis, Dane Saunders, and David Hobby pursuing paths like this and it makes me much more excited about my future in photography.

I take photos because I want to tell stories. I take photos because I believe God has given me a gift. I take photos because something inside me compels me to do it. And when I see people who use photography for self promotion, and they succeed at it, it frustrates me to no end. When “old time” photographers complain about how digital has killed the art of photography, I think they miscast a little bit of their frustration. It’s not digital photography (which has in fact opened the door and made it easier for real professionals to do fantastic and amazing things with the medium) that has ruined things, its the people who have started using photography as the means to an end. They are the Perez Hilton’s of the art world.

So this is a little bit of a rambling post that wanders all over the place and is pretty cynical. But I needed to vent a little tonight. Anyway, this is the part where you tell me why I’m wrong. So, what are your thoughts?

Filed under: blogging, flickr, photography by Jonathan