World Press Photo Winner Had to Sell Camera to Survive

On 15/03/2013 5:59 PM, Alfred Molon wrote:
In article , Alan Browne
says...
Heavy vignetting by the way.

Didn't even notice it.

Seriously? It's so blatantly obvious. Either he used very poor quality
equipment or he added it in post-processing.

Silver Efex pro should do the trick.

On 2013-03-15 01:03:16 -0700, Rob said:

On 15/03/2013 5:59 PM, Alfred Molon wrote:
In article , Alan Browne
says...
Heavy vignetting by the way.

Didn't even notice it.

Seriously? It's so blatantly obvious. Either he used very poor quality
equipment or he added it in post-processing.

Silver Efex pro should do the trick.

Works for me, and I don't smell like a hazardous waste dump.

--
Regards,

Savageduck

On Thu, 14 Mar 2013 11:48:15 -0700, Savageduck
wrote:
: On 2013-03-14 11:02:26 -0700, Alfred Molon said:
:
: In article 2013031407414694298-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom, Savageduck
: says...
: On 2013-03-14 07:28:42 -0700, Rob said:
:
: On 14/03/2013 6:01 PM, Savageduck wrote:
: The global economic crisis is hitting pro-photographers.
:
: http://www.petapixel.com/2013/03/13/...ar-to-survive/
:
: Horizon
:
: is crooked
:
: So was the competition.
:
: Heavy vignetting by the way.
:
: Regardless, of opinions of his work any of us hold, he won.
: Most importantly, besides the €1,500 prize, which wouldn't have paid
: to replace the equipment he sold, he got what he really needed, new
: equipment and seed money for at least one more project, until his
: sponsors figure out the wrong guy won the prize.

Photo competitions are such crapshoots that you can't even say he was the
wrong guy. He may, in fact, be a fine photographer, one of whose skills is the
ability to guess what the judges want. Or he may have just gotten lucky. Wait
until New Year's and show me his 100 best pictures of 2013. Then I'll tell you
whether he's any good. ;^)

Bob

On Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:35:41 -0400, Alan Browne
wrote:
: On 2013.03.14 03:01 , Savageduck wrote:
: The global economic crisis is hitting pro-photographers.
:
: http://www.petapixel.com/2013/03/13/...ar-to-survive/
:
: I'm reminded of a Jewish friend who said the best type of musician for a
: Jew to be is a violinist as, in times of trouble, you could abandon all
: your possessions but flee with your violin and at least make some money
: on a street corner in a new country.

Somehow that reminds me of that story we were told a year or two ago, where
the Ernst Leitz company gave German Jews a new Leica and dispatched them to
the U.S., where they were able to enter the country as Leitz district sales
managers. A rare bright spot in one of civilization's worst hours.

Bob

On 16/03/2013 6:57 AM, Tony Cooper wrote:
Still, I'm in favor of competitions. Camera club submissions that are
critiqued by judges allow the photographer to know how others see
their work.


Other members of camera clubs try to replicate the techniques of other
high scorers. If you have been in a camera club then revisit a club 20
years hence nothing would have changed, they don't allow for any
creativity.

On 3/15/2013 8:29 PM, Tony Cooper wrote:
On Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:09:38 +1100, Rob wrote:

On 16/03/2013 6:57 AM, Tony Cooper wrote:
Still, I'm in favor of competitions. Camera club submissions that are
critiqued by judges allow the photographer to know how others see
their work.


Other members of camera clubs try to replicate the techniques of other
high scorers. If you have been in a camera club then revisit a club 20
years hence nothing would have changed, they don't allow for any
creativity.

That may be your experience, but it has not been mine. I've been a
member of a large club for over five years. There is a monthly
competition in three different categories: color, mono, creative.
(Creative is any photo that is a meld of two or more photos or use of
drawing)

I haven't seen any trend to follow the style of others. One thing
that makes a difference is how the judging is done. Our club uses
three judges, one of which is a non-member that is involved in
photography professionally. The other two are members, but the same
person may only judge once a year. We don't know who the judges will
be until competition night. So, there's no shooting to a judge's
preference.




While every club is different, the vast majority of winners in our area
are the three B's. Bugs, birds and buds.
We have a creative category, altered reality. I theory it follows PSA
creative rules, but the judges still follow the old rules.
I look at the camera club system as another tool for learning and hove
found kindred souls in the club. . If you place an emphasis on scoring
high in competitions, you must follow the "rules." I don't follow those
rules, yet have held my own. Getting back to the point, if the OP is not
happy with his club, he should not be a member. After all, this is a
hobby and the purpose is to have fun. Many years ago I found myself
asking which image will this judge like better. At that point I stopped
competing for over twenty five years, and left the club. After digital,
I joined my old club, and found some guys who simply like to o out
shooting, and share their knowledge.

--
PeterN

On 3/14/2013 5:35 PM, Alan Browne wrote:
On 2013.03.14 03:01 , Savageduck wrote:
The global economic crisis is hitting pro-photographers.

http://www.petapixel.com/2013/03/13/...ar-to-survive/


I'm reminded of a Jewish friend who said the best type of musician for a
Jew to be is a violinist as, in times of trouble, you could abandon all
your possessions but flee with your violin and at least make some money
on a street corner in a new country.

Which is probably the reason the violin had become a cultural thing in
the Jewish community. Also, for a generation, the majority of violinists
were Jewish.



--
PeterN

On 3/15/2013 3:03 PM, Robert Coe wrote:
On Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:35:41 -0400, Alan Browne
wrote:
: On 2013.03.14 03:01 , Savageduck wrote:
: The global economic crisis is hitting pro-photographers.
:
: http://www.petapixel.com/2013/03/13/...ar-to-survive/
:
: I'm reminded of a Jewish friend who said the best type of musician for a
: Jew to be is a violinist as, in times of trouble, you could abandon all
: your possessions but flee with your violin and at least make some money
: on a street corner in a new country.

Somehow that reminds me of that story we were told a year or two ago, where
the Ernst Leitz company gave German Jews a new Leica and dispatched them to
the U.S., where they were able to enter the country as Leitz district sales
managers. A rare bright spot in one of civilization's worst hours.


I know some who escaped that way. For reasons that are easily
understood, it was kept secret until recently.



--
PeterN

On 16/03/2013 2:26 PM, Tony Cooper wrote:


I've met a few Jewish comedians...names you'd recognize...and not
found one of them funny, or even a pleasant person, when not on stage.


Well, they are supposed to be comedians - on stage!...

On 2013.03.15 02:59 , Alfred Molon wrote:
In article , Alan Browne
says...
Heavy vignetting by the way.

Didn't even notice it.

Seriously? It's so blatantly obvious. Either he used very poor quality
equipment or he added it in post-processing.

You poor, poor man. If you always look at a photo seeking what's
"wrong" with it you will entirely miss the wonders of great photos and
great moments.

Obviously the panel that selected the photo can see far beyond what you
perceive. I'm sure they saw thousands of perfect photos without a
single blemish, fault or error. They chose this one for what are beyond
photographic reasons.

Photojournalism, where it captures people, has never been about the
perfect image.

I would go on a bit about deliberate (or fortunate) vignetting but I
really have no idea what the photographer's intent was and/or if he
added the vignetting in post - where the image obviously spent some time
given the care to tone and contrast.

--
"There were, unfortunately, no great principles on which parties
were divided – politics became a mere struggle for office."
-Sir John A. Macdonald