What makes a photographer when everyone is taking pictures

jay125 wrote in post #18075230
I'm with you on that, Tom.

It kind of goes to that famous Danny Glover line in Lethal Weapon. "I'm getting too old for this s**t"

2nd greatest movie of all time! Very closely behind Apocalypse, Now!

Bassat wrote in post #18075254
2nd greatest movie of all time! Very closely behind Apocalypse, Now!

I'm pondering the implication of this statement. Had Coppola never been born--excluding distorted anomalies created in the space-time continuum and the fact that Coppola's other films would also never had been made--you would have to contend that Lethal Weapon is the greatest movie of all time. Would you say that's accurate?

PineBomb wrote in post #18075264
I'm pondering the implication of this statement. Had Coppola never been born--excluding distorted anomalies created in the space-time continuum and the fact that Coppola's other films would also never had been made--you would have to contend that Lethal Weapon is the greatest movie of all time. Would you say that's accurate?

That is a really long way to go to say that Lethal Weapon is the second greatest movie ever made. FFC and his movies have nothing to do with that. Which one is better is irrelevant. It still leaves LW as #2.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18075228
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Thank you, Jay.

Kinda wish that there wouldn't be so many new words that are nothing more than abbreviations of previously existing terms and phrases. I like it when things are spelled out completely, and when the traditional words and terms are used, even if they are a lot longer to type or to say.

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i'd never heard of cosplay until i saw a post here a year or so ago. Not sure if there is a distinction between the comicon (comic conference) attendees or not. I suspect they are a sub group, who knows?

interesting that word meaning came up again as that is one of the things i was taking into account when starting this thread. Lots of folks suggested putting "professional" in front of photographer as a way to distinguish the camera operator's intent. Maybe we can start a new word ... protog.




edit: and once again, my rationale with starting this thread was never to discuss talent, rather, i was thinking about intent.

This thread seems to have meandered toward movie history. At the risk of wrenching it back, here's a recent photo that some have acclaimed to be iconic: http://www.rollingston​e.com …photo-identified-20160711

Some would say that it's a snapshot and the person who took it therefore wasn't a photographer. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time with a camera and got lucky.

Perhaps the argument can be cleared up by using an adjective in front of the word. Everybody who takes pictures is a photographer. Some are experienced photographers, others skilled, casual, artistic, admired, acclaimed, iconic, careless, etc. Or in this specific case, lucky.

joedlh wrote in post #18075309
This thread seems to have meandered toward movie history. At the risk of wrenching it back, here's a recent photo that some have acclaimed to be iconic: http://www.rollingston​e.com …photo-identified-20160711

Some would say that it's a snapshot and the person who took it therefore wasn't a photographer. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time with a camera and got lucky.

Perhaps the argument can be cleared up by using an adjective in front of the word. Everybody who takes pictures is a photographer. Some are experienced photographers, others skilled, casual, artistic, admired, acclaimed, iconic, careless, etc. Or in this specific case, lucky.

the guy works for Reuters New Service and at least claims to had full intent of capturing such an image.

Not sure why it would get the snapshot badge.

I haven't read through this entire thread, but I adhere to a general definition of photographer meaning simply an operator of a camera, absent any implication of experience, talent, intent, or means of income. I understand that some people want it to mean something more rarified, but I just don't see it. There is the word photojournalist, which implies a narrow profession not applicable to all professional photographers. Cook is a general term, but it has the broad professional corollary of chef. Driver/motorist is general, with the narrow professional corollaries of chauffeur and cabbie.

Also, there is often context in the way the word photographer is used, which implies a profession. Anyway, I don't lose sleep over the semantics.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #18075295
i'd never heard of cosplay until i saw a post here a year or so ago. Not sure if there is a distinction between the comicon (comic conference) attendees or not. I suspect they are a sub group, who knows?

interesting that word meaning came up again as that is one of the things i was taking into account when starting this thread. Lots of folks suggested putting "professional" in front of photographer as a way to distinguish the camera operator's intent. Maybe we can start a new word ... protog.



edit: and once again, my intent with this thread was never to discuss talent, rather, i was thinking about intent.

Great idea. The huge, gaping hole in it is that professional only means getting paid for it. The is no connotation of skill in the word 'professional'. I called a guy to do some painting in my house. He did the job. I paid him. He was a professional. Then I called someone with some talent to redo what he had messed up. Professional does not mean good, any more than hobbyist means bad. Back where we started.

I have never been, am not now, and never will be a professional photographer. I know my way around photography, and can for the most part, make a camera/lens/lights do what I want done. My family raves about my work (mostly because they all suck). My guess is that well over 1000 of my photos grace family members' walls and FB pages. I shoot at every family event and my wife puts my work on FB for all to see/use. I have a small degree of talent and a lot of knowledge. None of that makes me a protog (love the term); I don't get paid.

I don't usually share stuff this personal online. This discussion warrants it. The photo below was done by a PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER. My wife's little sister knew a guy... Anyway, this is the BEST photo he took all day. And it is the only wedding photo we have, not done by family w/Kodak Instamatics, and whatever else was popular in in 1992. Yes, that is me and my wife, on our wedding day. Anyone who believes 'professional' means 'good' needs to see this. My wife won't let me post the one of Jesus standing on my head.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18075228
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Thank you, Jay.

Kinda wish that there wouldn't be so many new words that are nothing more than abbreviations of previously existing terms and phrases. I like it when things are spelled out completely, and when the traditional words and terms are used, even if they are a lot longer to type or to say.

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Tom,

The word "cosplay" actually comes from Japan, where 'custom play' in its current form largely originated. Japanese will frequently combine and contract English words. Perhaps ironically, folks most confused by these revisions are native English speakers. Pokemon, for example, is the contraction of Pocket Monster. There are many more, and on an etymological level, it can actually be fascinating studying them.

joedlh wrote in post #18075309
This thread seems to have meandered toward movie history. At the risk of wrenching it back, here's a recent photo that some have acclaimed to be iconic: http://www.rollingston​e.com …photo-identified-20160711

Some would say that it's a snapshot and the person who took it therefore wasn't a photographer. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time with a camera and got lucky.

Perhaps the argument can be cleared up by using an adjective in front of the word. Everybody who takes pictures is a photographer. Some are experienced photographers, others skilled, casual, artistic, admired, acclaimed, iconic, careless, etc. Or in this specific case, lucky.

If that is a snapshot, so is the shot of the guy blocking the tank at Tianamen (sp?) Square in China. So is the shot of the hippie putting a flower in the NG's M-16. If that is a snapshot, either everyone or no-one is a photographer.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #18075295
i'd never heard of cosplay until i saw a post here a year or so ago. Not sure if there is a distinction between the comicon (comic conference) attendees or not. I suspect they are a sub group, who knows?

They are a subgroup at that convention and others. Link: A recent post by Mark Evanier, who's at the con to lead panels. Click the illustration to get more of his excellent blog.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18075228
Kinda wish that there wouldn't be so many new words that are nothing more than abbreviations of previously existing terms and phrases. I like it when things are spelled out completely, and when the traditional words and terms are used, even if they are a lot longer to type or to say.

Not sure if you're being serious. Do you actually use the long form of each of the many thousands of words that are a portmanteau or acronym? I mean, do you call your cable modem your cable modulator-demodulator, or refuse to say radar in favor of using radio detection and ranging every time? That would be a whole new level of refusal to adapt to language that I've not heretofore encountered. Every language in the world gains new words continuously, and many are portmanteaux. Naturally new words are not always understood the first time you encounter them, but you'd have to have no capacity to learn to continually need them explicitly spelled out.

Often, as with "cosplay", spelling out the constituent words would actually result in a loss of meaning. Cosplay is derived from costume and play, but does not simply mean playing in costume. It specifically means costumed role playing as a fictional character--usually a character from TV*, movie**, video game, or comics--by fans of the character, and most often at conventions similar social events. Actors portraying the characters in the original media are not considered cosplayers.

*Television
**Moving picture

absplastic wrote in post #18075351
Not sure if you're being serious. Do you actually use the long form of each of the many thousands of words that are a portmanteau or acronym? I mean, do you call your cable modem your cable modulator-demodulator, or refuse to say radar in favor of using radio detection and ranging every time? That would be a whole new level of refusal to adapt to language that I've not heretofore encountered. Every language in the world gains new words continuously, and many are portmanteaux. Naturally new words are not always understood the first time you encounter them, but you'd have to have no capacity to learn to continually need them explicitly spelled out.

Often, as with "cosplay", spelling out the constituent words would actually result in a loss of meaning. Cosplay is derived from costume and play, but does not simply mean playing in costume. It specifically means costumed role playing as a fictional character--usually a character from TV*, movie**, video game, or comics--by fans of the character, and most often at conventions similar social events. Actors portraying the characters in the original media are not considered cosplayers.

*Television
**Moving picture

Agree.

What would be the fun if we didn't have the opportunity to learn something new every day?

I Google new (to me) words many times a day.

Good definition here:
https://en.wikipedia.o​rg/wiki/Cosplay

I used the word egregious yesterday. Only one person in my office knew what it meant. One actually thought it referred to eggs.
What are they teaching kids these days in college?

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absplastic wrote in post #18075351
Not sure if you're being serious. Do you actually use the long form of each of the many thousands of words that are a portmanteau or acronym? I mean, do you call your cable modem your cable modulator-demodulator, or refuse to say radar in favor of using radio detection and ranging every time? That would be a whole new level of refusal to adapt to language that I've not heretofore encountered. Every language in the world gains new words continuously, and many are portmanteaux. Naturally new words are not always understood the first time you encounter them, but you'd have to have no capacity to learn to continually need them explicitly spelled out.

I generally use words that were familiar to me when I was growing up and learning to speak and to write. If something was a widely used portmanteau when I was in my formative years, then I use it. If it is something that evolved over the past 30 years or so then I am more likely to reject it and write out the entire word.

If you look thru many of my posts, you will see that I typically will not use acronyms such as BTW or IMHO. Rather, I frequently write out "by the way", and "in my opinion". I try to word my posts here respectfully and formally, as if I was writing a letter to an individual about something that was very important to me......not necessarily the tone, so much as the way grammar is used and the way words are typed and spelled.

I think that if you were familiar with my posts here and the way they are written, you would not have wondered whether or not I was serious........it would have been quite clear that I was, indeed, serious.

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