Is photography as a hobby dying?

Barney said:
Ai is different. it has been designed to think for itself, make decisions and action those decisions BY WHATEVER MEANS until it solves the original task set. If it looks at a task and identifies that humans are a stumbling block then we will be by passed or worse.
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That is one opinion but I'll stick with the evidence that people specify systems and people code them.

However many random numbers you put into the code, it's still nothing more than a collection of instructions that humans wrote. If the programme manipulates other machines, it's still working within the parameters set by the humans.
Barney said:
One example is that an Ai program was instructed to perform ethically and not break any rules or regulation - it looked at the problem and found that it could not be solved ethically the program also observed that other Ai agents were acting "unethically".
The program ignored the core instruction, copied what the other agents did, solved the problem and then attempted to hide its method.
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To be fair, I won't believe that story until I see a fully documented explanation, including what, why, when, how, where and who.
 
What ai could never replace:

“ Mate, let’s meet up for a beer and go take some photos. And have another beer after to talk about and compare what we got. “

This. The human aspect. And that’s part of why I enjoy photography.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Hi Kev, I just removed the original picture, because as said that's copyright, but the Flickr version looks better - thanks for taking the time to find that.

The AI summary is interesting, and one can learn from it, certainly. However I might fundamentally disagree with some of the points made (such as having the arch brighter) and see the way it's presented as being deliberate choices by the photographer.

To me, there's a danger of homogenisation of creativity when we allow AI to 'drive'. I've seen this when writing emails and an assistant wants to change the text, in music where it sounds very fluid but without imagination and in photography too. Of course you can direct the AI to make things look a certain way, but in that case, why not do it yourself?

Thanks for posting.
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My experience with AI in situations like this has not been the best. I’ve asked it to come up with adjustments to look like a certain processing style I’ve attached to the chat, tried the suggestion and it’s nothing like. When I’ve gone back to AI to say this it’s says something like “sorry I’ve just given you something generic rather than honing in on that exact style, let me try again specifically for that style” and it comes up with another recipe that’s just as far off as the original.

For some things though it’s superb such as recognising a location of somewhere even without it having GPS tagging.
 
snerkler said:
For some things though it’s superb such as recognising a location of somewhere even without it having GPS tagging.
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That's what I'd expect it to be good for - pattern matching from huge databases.
 
lindsay said:
DSLR's have been superseded by Mirrorless (MiLC's) and people move on, die, or go elsewhere. Online forums and groups in them have in many cases gone west as other social media formats have grown, but mainly because their business model and modus operandi have not kept pace and they have not been as good at business as they have at their hobby.
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Dunno. Have they? Surely there should be a place in the photographic universe for those still using medium format, pure manual or archaeology-grade DSLRs?

As I recall, it's down to the photographer and b****r the hardware.
lindsay said:
Photography has a hobby changes over time, that's all. A new generation has become interested in film photography, albeit mostly with compacts and simple cameras at least initially. The overall market for new cameras has been relatively static or declining, but the second hand market is thriving.
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Yes. I keep eyeing my FM2N somewhat beadily.
lindsay said:
I had a long - 30-odd years - break from photography as a hobby due to life work and other hobbies, but came back to it largely because of this very forum, with it's chat and challenges and support and encouragement. That's why I became a co-owner when the original owner retired. We aim to keep it going well into the future.
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I've also been out of the photo circuit for many years but am becoming active again with my D70s (I have a decent tripod though).

I've been looking at local camera clubs/photographic societies recently with a view to joining one in September, but realise what I really want is one or more buddies to go off and photograph Things, whether that is "yellow", "smoke, mist, fog and water vapour", "circles and spirals" or whatever.
 
kejago (Kev) said:
This is what I found too. The phone's produce excellent images. And they are wonderfully convenient.
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A camera phone may or may not be to some extent or not technically "sophisticated" but the reality is that the vast majority use them as a traditional "point'n'shoot" and vomit 1001 virtually identical snaps of their baby du jour all over the web.
 
woadrage said:
I've been looking at local camera clubs/photographic societies recently with a view to joining one in September, but realise what I really want is one or more buddies to go off and photograph Things, whether that is "yellow", "smoke, mist, fog and water vapour", "circles and spirals" or whatever.
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Yes! Also exactly this. The social side is a huge part of photography for me. And with communities changing, going to social media, I just had the impression that this side of photography for enthusiasts was dying. Forums and places like Flickr no longer so active. No more photowalks. So this social side is currently missing for me.
 
woadrage said:
Dunno. Have they? Surely there should be a place in the photographic universe for those still using medium format, pure manual or archaeology-grade DSLRs?

As I recall, it's down to the photographer and b****r the hardware.
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I don't think anyone here will mind what you use provided the pictures it produces are good and interesting, or you're open to advice about how to get better.

But I think @lindsay's point was that life and tech moves on, and that's why many forums have disappeared (nothing to do with camera kit).
 
kejago (Kev) said:
What ai could never replace:

“ Mate, let’s meet up for a beer and go take some photos. And have another beer after to talk about and compare what we got. “

This. The human aspect. And that’s part of why I enjoy photography.
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Exactly and absolutely. How does one find such buddies outside of a traditional camera club?

Metal detecting forums tend to have a "buddies" section for non-aligned detectorists to find like-minded folk for travel to detecting rallies and weekends or just to swap days on each others' "permissions". Why does this forum not have a section for folks to "buddy up" with listings along the lines of "Bristol-based snapper, interested in landscapes and motorsport, seeks buddies into same/similar for Saturday/Sunday trips".
 
www.talkphotography.co.uk

Meeting Place

Days out and Members Meets. Discuss, plan and organize days out here!
www.talkphotography.co.uk www.talkphotography.co.uk

is that easy enough?

TBH the F&C community is more active at meeting up. Meets organised on here used to be a fairly regular occurrence but the frequency has declined over the years
Barney

Thread 'F&C meet up 1st August 2026'

Would be great to meet up with you guys so a couple suggestion needed please, everything is a compromise but... select your preferred three.
  • Like
Barney

Thread 'Autumn Meet'

Does anyone fancy an Autumn meet up?

Sunday 1st November at Borrowdale.

One of the best most colourful autumn leaf displays in the UK.

Native species with brilliant reds and Golds.

With the added possibility of some wonderful reflections in calm misty waters.
 
sirch said:
www.talkphotography.co.uk

Meeting Place

Days out and Members Meets. Discuss, plan and organize days out here!
www.talkphotography.co.uk www.talkphotography.co.uk

is that easy enough?

TBH the F&C community is more active at meeting up. Meets organised on here used to be a fairly regular occurrence but the frequency has declined over the years
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Well, quite. It doesn't help if the listings are from a few years ago by members who no longer post.

I was myself MIA for more than a few years, so probably part of the problem, but even so .... are folks no longer looking for buddies with similar interests?
 
woadrage said:
Well, quite. It doesn't help if the listings are from a few years ago by members who no longer post.

I was myself MIA for more than a few years, so probably part of the problem, but even so .... are folks no longer looking for buddies with similar interests?
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A lot of us work solitary, just getting together occasionally. Also some will meet informally.

Are you friendly? Would you consider asking if someone would like to buddy up sometime? Where in the country are you?
 
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ancient_mariner said:
A lot of us work solitary, just getting together occasionally. Also some will meet informally.

Are you friendly? Would you consider asking if someone would like to buddy up sometime? Where in the country are you?
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I'm semi-retired and in Worcestershire. I've added a post to to the forum another member linked to. I'm fairly friendly but prefer very small groups to larger set-ups.
 
Have just completed a survey for Motorsport UK one of the questions is what other activities do yo do. Photography wasn't a tick box option, the nearest was creative arts. Especially as MSUK have run several competitions for photography.
 
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