OP
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That made me smile, I always try to do the opposite of popular - AND USUALLY SUCCEED.
Something New
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No, not at all. I wouldn't travel somewhere specifically to copy a picture thats been done many times before, but if I was in the area then, well, why not. I wouldn't go to Paris and then not photograph the Eifel Tower.
excalibur2
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erm why waste film on a shot of the eiffel tower when you can download hundred from the net. I live close to London and wouldn't bother taking shots of St Pauls, tower bridge etc although when I was young took shots of tower bridge at night and the interest was the back ground had changed so it could be a then and now shot.No, not at all. I wouldn't travel somewhere specifically to copy a picture thats been done many times before, but if I was in the area then, well, why not. I wouldn't go to Paris and then not photograph the Eifel Tower.
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Because none of the ones online are my photo.
I'd probably take pictures of the Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame, and that glass pyramid outside The Louvre as well if I was passing by too. Most of my pictures would probably be of distinctly non-touristy scenes, because that's what tends to interest me, but I'd not pass up on getting my own versions of iconic locations if I was there.
I've done the same for St. Pauls (on more than one occasion), and Tower Bridge. In both cases I didn't go with the intent seeking the locations out to take pictures, I just happened to pass them with a camera.
excalibur2
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woof woof
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Exactly as Nige. I'd take the picture as the ones on the net aren't mine
and when I look at my pictures I'm remembering being there including being there and taking the picture. Being there and later or even when being there downloading the shot wouldn't be the same for me.
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This. And also scenes that I find attractive or charming or have that certain something (which I usually fail to capture) and which is why I end up with multiple shots of the same tree or view!
Also, I enjoy the process and feel of using a film camera, so a lot of the time I just go and take a picture of whatever is there just for the joy and feel of operating a film camera.
excalibur2
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Well I agree if you are with some one/group and in the background is the eiffel tower, but you have to be a very good photographer to take a photo that is different and not boring compared to hundreds on the net. I first went to Paris when I was 13 (with a crappy camera) and if I ever went to Paris again would take take the same shot as a then and now picture.
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“Comparison is the thief of joy.” Theodore Roosevelt
Who is to say which picture is best, and by what criteria? It's all subjective at the end of the day and even if my picture is wonky, out of focus and a bit underexposed, it's a direct memory of my own experience, which none of the others will have, no matter their qualities. Other photographs of a scene can inspire me, certainly, but it isn't some sort of competition.
I guarantee that I've never duplicated a photo which has already been taken.
Oh, I've photographed subjects whch may have been done to death, but have always done so with my own eye. None of that could be said to constitute all of my photography, so I don't have a problem.
Oh, I've photographed subjects whch may have been done to death, but have always done so with my own eye. None of that could be said to constitute all of my photography, so I don't have a problem.
ChrisR
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One of the issues discussed above is sharing and whether we make photos for ourselves or to satisfy others. Today I read a paragraph that really resonated with me, by Bruce Percy, a fantastic, rather minimalist photographer who still (AFAIK) uses film. He wrote:
"But I would be lying to say that no one needs an audience. For reasons I cannot fathom, all I know is that every creative person out there needs to be able to show others what they do. And until one has experienced having an audience, it is something that we all wish to experience. A need even.
"But perhaps what we need is a community. Not an audience...."
I think that's true. We have a very appreciative and supportive community here on TPFC, and I really appreciate it. This community and a couple of other non-overlapping communities I'm in have supported and helped shape my photography, in so many ways. So when I go back to a well-photographed ("iconic"???) spot, I'm not the person I was last time. I guess it's like that other saying (cliché?) "you can't step in the same river twice". I reckon us amateurs don't take the same photo twice!
"But I would be lying to say that no one needs an audience. For reasons I cannot fathom, all I know is that every creative person out there needs to be able to show others what they do. And until one has experienced having an audience, it is something that we all wish to experience. A need even.
"But perhaps what we need is a community. Not an audience...."
I think that's true. We have a very appreciative and supportive community here on TPFC, and I really appreciate it. This community and a couple of other non-overlapping communities I'm in have supported and helped shape my photography, in so many ways. So when I go back to a well-photographed ("iconic"???) spot, I'm not the person I was last time. I guess it's like that other saying (cliché?) "you can't step in the same river twice". I reckon us amateurs don't take the same photo twice!
OP
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Your the same person Chris, but not the same photographer. More experienced, attuned and overall better.
Who is to know the destination of any beginning photographer on their journey, With expert eyes some may have an educated guess but even they may have the capacity to be surprised.
Who is to know the destination of any beginning photographer on their journey, With expert eyes some may have an educated guess but even they may have the capacity to be surprised.
excalibur2
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Well there you go for the difference i.e. philosphy/attitude in taking shots of famous places, as mentioned I can take the tube to London and spend all day taking shots of Tower bridge, house of commons etc etc...but I won't. Here our shots are more authentic compared to some digi guys who can add colours, sunsets etc for say Eiffel tower, Tower bridge etc etc and wouldn't surprise me if some digi guy have turned the eiffel tower into a shape of a banana“Comparison is the thief of joy.” Theodore Roosevelt
Who is to say which picture is best, and by what criteria? It's all subjective at the end of the day and even if my picture is wonky, out of focus and a bit underexposed, it's a direct memory of my own experience, which none of the others will have, no matter their qualities. Other photographs of a scene can inspire me, certainly, but it isn't some sort of competition.
, but have noticed in "show us your films shots" there are not many shots of famous places in London, and ones abroad, that I like, many wouldn't know if done to death.
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ChrisR
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If you're an IT type person of a certain age, you've likely heard of Jon Bentley's Programming Pearls (bear with me on this!). Terence Eden, once of the open source Covid app, has re-examined them for today in an amusing blog post. (You are reading blogs daily, aren't you?) Fred Brookes, he of "The Mythical Man Month" contributed a few pearls. I really liked this one:
"Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment." Fred Brooks. University of North Carolina
Substitute "photos" for "judgment", and that's relevant for us.
(Yes, I know I'm going way off topic, but it all seems to revolve around the same issue, at least to me!)
"Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment." Fred Brooks. University of North Carolina
Substitute "photos" for "judgment", and that's relevant for us.
(Yes, I know I'm going way off topic, but it all seems to revolve around the same issue, at least to me!)
woof woof
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I think you missed my point and no, I don't need to be in the photo and neither does anyone else.
For me its about an emotional connection, other peoples photos or postcards don't really give that to the same degree. Standing in front of X is an experience and I'll want to revisit and both taking a photograph and looking at it later are a part of it. The actual quality of my photograph and how unique it is or how it compares to someone elses photograph is really nothing to do with it assuming I can point a camera at something and take a picture which is half decent. If I couldn't do that maybe I'd buy a postcard. The only time someone elses photograph or a postcard comes into it is when I look to see what X is like to decide if I want to go there. For example me and Mrs WW look at pictures of Lake Garda because we're thinking of going there. If we do go I'll take my own pictures.
I have trouble relating to the mindset that would download a photo rather than take one but people are different and good luck to anyone into downloading other peoples photos but photography is a hobby of mine and I'd rather have a picture taken by me than one taken by a stranger because of the connection to the moment. One photo has that connection and the other doesn't really but I might buy it on a T shirt or a mug.
This was taken on my last holiday, well, mini break really. I remember everything. It was my birthday and we were staying in a pod about 200m from the beach in Cumbria. As we live on the east coast I wanted to see the sunset on the west coast but it was cold and a bit miserable and Mrs WW didn't want to go so I headed out by myself. I spent 10 or 15 minutes waiting for the scene to be right and taking pictures and then after seeing the sunset I headed back.
Looking at that picture brings the moment back and the whole holiday, I wouldn't get that from some randoms photo downloaded off the internet and I wouldn't get it from a post card either. Good luck to those who do
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woof woof
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Well there you go for the difference i.e. philosphy/attitude in taking shots of famous places, as mentioned I can take the tube to London and spend all day taking shots of Tower bridge, house of commons etc etc...but I won't. Here our shots are more authentic compared to some digi guys who can add colours, sunsets etc for say Eiffel tower, Tower bridge etc etc and wouldn't surprise me if some digi guy have turned the eiffel tower into a shape of a banana
I think we are completely different people. I have many photos of my own home town and the surrounding area and they're amongst those that mean the most to me because of association and feelings. To me something doesn't necessarily have to be new or spectacular to be worthy of being photographed and the very familiar thing might be the one that has the most impact and effect.
I could tell you everything about the day this was taken, a couple of hundred metres from home.
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StephenM
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I've got (and read, years ago) both. Very helpful, and not just in IT.If you're an IT type person of a certain age, you've likely heard of Jon Bentley's Programming Pearls . Fred Brookes, he of "The Mythical Man Month" contributed a few pearls. I really liked this one:
"Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment." Fred Brooks. University of North Carolina
Substitute "photos" for "judgment", and that's relevant for us.
I have to agree that there are objects and scenes that have been photographed many, many times. But not, I think, to death. Some years ago, there was an article in a magazine called Photo Technique (a name that has been recycled so as to cover two completely different magazines) on an architectural photographer who succeeded in new views of famous landmarks, in some cases because she used a boat on the Thames to get a new angle. So there's one way to deal with the same old subject - see it differently, take a new viewpoint, or consider some form of abstraction.
On the question of the Eiffel Tower as a banana, it's not just digital photographers who can alter shapes. In his book Using the View Camera Steve Simmons has a photograph of the interior of Durham Cathedral (possibly the most dreary, unwelcoming and forbidding cathedral I know) where he deliberately used back swing to make a column wider to improve the composition. I did the same thing (column widening) in Photoshop, trying to correct horizontal convergence in a photograph of Pultney Weir in Bath. In my case, the result was (to my eyes) a dismal failure, but it has served to keep me aware ever since of the issue to avoid it.
One of my biggest regrets is not taking more photographs of the village where I grew up (75% of the current houses are post 1960 now) and the town (city, actually - Wakefield) I went shopping in each week, where virtually everything has been pulled down and replaced by ring roads, new shopping centres and the like. I don't get the same connection to old photographs of the place because they would have been taken when I wasn't there - I have no real connection to them.
excalibur2
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Well same here i.e. taking shots around my area and your shot is unique, anyway I'm only talking about shots that are done to death and e.g. if someone posted a shot of tower bridge or the pyramids, well in the back of our minds we have seen many pictures of famous places in photos also on tv and can't help comparing the shot posted.
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Once you reach a certain age it does seem there's nothing new. But if it's new to you then it doesn't really matter if world plus dog have already done the same.
Going to places at different times and using different film and camera combinations means you can't take exactly the same photos each time anyway.
The joy of now is that there are many different new films, old films, different cameras to mess around with. There's endless combinations. I do recommend a bit of GAS for getting out of a rut.
Going to places at different times and using different film and camera combinations means you can't take exactly the same photos each time anyway.
The joy of now is that there are many different new films, old films, different cameras to mess around with. There's endless combinations. I do recommend a bit of GAS for getting out of a rut.
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excalibur2
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Well temporarily going off topic for a quick reply:- i was bored so saw a T90 with 28mm and film inside (all i don't need) for spares/repair and bidding so far was £6, well I ruined the guys sale
as I emailed the seller and asked when you put batteries in does the LCD display light up, well he replied.......in reply to your question and removing the battery holder to put new batteries in, the end broke off (I'm guessing the old batteries had swollen), so I've cancelled the sale as broken. 
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Plain Nev
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woof woof
I like a nice Chianti
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If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?
No because it falls in a big pile of bear poop.
excalibur2
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Gotta add this as funny:- T90 up for sale again with battery holder repaired erm with a thumb screw on the side of the camera. Looking at my T90 I can't work out how this thumbscrew holds the battery holder in place and electrically connects the batteries for powerWell temporarily going off topic for a quick reply:- i was bored so saw a T90 with 28mm and film inside (all i don't need) for spares/repair and bidding so far was £6, well I ruined the guys sale
