Fashionable photography and dissengaging the brain...

Just ignore those blokes from down under. Here, it's ducks. Don't cross that line!

PhotosGuy wrote in post #4763120
Just ignore those blokes from down under. Here, it's ducks. Don't cross that line!

LOL, I was tempted to say something really sarchastic about the ducks, but I'll behave.

For reference to anyone reading, this whole post is written as a tongue-in-cheek comment about these current trends in photography. I'm more than happy to admit that a lot of the techniques appeal to me, most of which I've played with myself, and I'm also more than happy to take the proverbial out of myself whilst inserting said tonuge in my cheek.

Noone, not me nor anyone else I guess really has the right to say what someone else can and cannot do, and what I've written has never really been intended to suggest as such, more just to provide a dig in the ribs in a humerous fashion to those who are just following these techniques but forgetting to actually look at what the results are like. There are some truly questionable efforts coming out of these trends currently and it can't hurt to put that in perspective for five minutes, surely?

manipula wrote in post #4762884
...'Oh you don't need all that cr@p! I shoot mine with a compact mounted on a cucumber and use Word to stitch the pictures*, here have a look!'....

ROFLMFAO! That is soooo good!

manipula wrote in post #4763017
....it, and as soon as some Playboy bunny had herself immortalised in that manner it lost its edge I think!

What have you got against Playboy bunnies!!! HuH... I love them all.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #4763120
Just ignore those blokes from down under. Here, it's ducks. Don't cross that line!

And what have you got against sheep? Some of my best friends are sheep!

Well Dave , before this nice little thread dissolves into silly responses and comments (perhaps proving your point all the more quickly).....

The internet and computers once again allow no talent and less good taste to fill our screens with inane examples of "me-tooism".

Such is life

I kind of feel the same about "Selective Coloring",
But the customers like it so much, I refuse to refuse to do it.

Absolutely agree! Especially on the panos. I have seen loads of them were the composition etc is just crap, or the image is completely boring. And all they do is try to impress you by telling you how many images they have stitched together. "this in a 36 shot pano handeheld that I spent 302 hours manually stitching together in CS3"Big deal, it looks like crap because you didn't think about composition, lighting etc when you took it, you were too woried about how many shots you were taking.

Don't get me wrong, I like the shape of panoramics a lot. Often I think that using a wide agle lens and croping can give a better result because it is easier to visualise the final result. But whatever. Panos, like HDR etc is a tool. And often we (me included) are guilty of thinking because we can do it we should. But often we shouldn't.

I seriously think this is a good time to stop and think.

The OP makes a good point, and it should be debated thoughtfully and politely.

Getting into innuendos and name-calling is really pointless, and furthermore it's very degrading.

As for his opening remarks, I'm sure that at least some of us would agree (I do) in part to what he's said.

There are so many first time posts of images that are so dreadful in regard to composition and thought, that to respond would severely strain my intellectual resources. And I'm already challenged trying to get my ducks in a row so to speak.

Have a nice day folks, and let's avoid the knee-jerk reactions.

My pet peeve is the incredible overuse of fisheye shots for skateboard photography. It seems that the training for most skate photographers begins and ends with "Take this lens, shove it as close as you can to someone, and hope something comes out".

I totally agree about the HDR. I have left many a rant in the travel and landscape forums about how HDR has ruined the photo and made it look like a screenshot from a videogame. If you guys are going to burn down the Photomatix office, please invite me. I've seen some HDRs where the dynamic range of the HDR was lower than the original exposure.

I find interesting that damphyne has found that his customers want the selective colouring so much, as I suspect ultimately until we reach the hallowed heights of money being no object, that the person paying the bill is always right.

So fisheye lenses in skate photography as added to the list! (My mate who does it professionally does have the most beautiful 30mm Hassleblad fisheye lens though). I guess I'd also add motorsport photographers who set the shutter speeds to like 1/2000 and hit the 8fps and prey. Most boring lifeless shots ever.

manipula wrote in post #4767121
I guess I'd also add motorsport photographers who set the shutter speeds to like 1/2000 and hit the 8fps and prey. Most boring lifeless shots ever.

So you have been reading the local motorsport rags have you?

There is a pair of local photogs were are famous for it, and sadly, also well respected for some reason.....

Moppie wrote in post #4767286
So you have been reading the local motorsport rags have you?

There is a pair of local photogs were are famous for it, and sadly, also well respected for some reason.....

It's the same everywhere. My mate in the UK has taken like 6 years to get to the point where anyone notices his alternative motorsport stuff, and none of the picture agencies will take him on, which if you believe the doom-mongers will be the only people to get accreditation soon.

It's like shooting a portrait with no pose, no lights, no pre-thought at all, works once in a blue moon!

i do HDR because i like how they turn out. i dont do panoramas because i dont like them, i dont have anything to shoot that is that large and intresting enough to fill the paper. and what is wrong with learning through copying? that is how every one learns esentually. but hey photography is all about you and what you like. when i whip out my camera and press that shutter i do it for me, not anyelse (unless i am getting paid). but i do agree HDR does seem to be the fad

Yeah, HDR is definitely abused. Probably one or two shots out of a hundred really look good.


Another thing that's really abused is "skin smoothing" in post-processing. People are not dolls - they have pores, hair, and skin blemishes! Lol.

Grimes wrote in post #4769493
Yeah, HDR is definitely abused. Probably one or two shots out of a hundred really look good.


Another thing that's really abused is "skin smoothing" in post-processing. People are not dolls - they have pores, hair, and skin blemishes! Lol.

Must. Not. Start. Another. Rant. 8)

Completely agree!