Review of your images by a professional photographer - helpful or not?

[Whiskeyman]

..., I have posted several times in the Nature photography critique section here in the blog, and only a few of you have clearly and transparently commented on my photos...

Marco74, I rarely post a critique there, or anywhere else, because I'm aware of how important it is to give good and constructive feedback in an image critique, and know that I am not really qualified to do so.

I know several PSA trained judges, and they are the bulk of the people that I trust for image evaluation. Evaluations need to be honest, thorough, and adhere to certain standards of photography. The good evaluator knows this, and when to look beyond the standards, as well.

A good way of having your images evaluated is to enter a multiple judge "competition" at a PSA affiliated photo club. The club I enjoy membership in uses three judges, and if all three judges don't score an image within one point, out of fifteen, they re-evaluate the image, and if need be, discuss their scoring when doing so. It is a testament to them and the process in how so few times that the three judges' initial scores differ by more than one-half of one point.

Keep fighting for good, qualifed, feedback.

 

[Whiskeyman]

Very true.

The thing with posting in critique forums, it that it's more of a cumulative effect. You won't get a comprehensive, professional review for each image, but lots of mini reviews for a wider variety of shots that all help elevate your images.

The biggest issue I have with many online critique forums is detrimental positive reinforcement, where many comments are on how good a photo is, when there are flaws to the photo that should be addressed, but aren't. Yes, there need to be some compliments on a photo, if at all possible, but the warts cannot be ignored.

 

[Steve]

The biggest issue I have with many online critique forums is detrimental positive reinforcement, where many comments are on how good a photo is, when there are flaws to the photo that should be addressed, but aren't. Yes, there need to be some compliments on a photo, if at all possible, but the warts cannot be ignored.

Yeah, you do have to remember that's people are more comfortable complimenting than critiquing, but I still think there's value to posting online and listening carefully to any helpful criticism.

 

[Calson]

Frantz Lanting is a remarkable photographer and I admire how much time he was willing to spend in the field before he picked up a camera. His incredible photography of elephants shot with a wide angle lens required that the animals got used to his presence and came to ignore him. Don't confuse the skill of an individual in taking pictures or doing post processing with their ability to teach others. Teaching is a special skill and not at all a common one.

 

[Replytoken]

Don't confuse the skill of an individual in taking pictures or doing post processing with their ability to teach others. Teaching is a special skill and not at all a common one.

I was advised of this many years ago in graduate school by my advisor. Not every subject expert is a great teacher or lecturer. Be happy when you you find somebody has both sets of skills.

--Ken

 

[Maljo]

Brutal but helpful. No image is perfect. Be prepared to run from the review in tears, grab your gear and throw it in a dumpster.

 

[EricBowles]

Brutal but helpful. No image is perfect. Be prepared to run from the review in tears, grab your gear and throw it in a dumpster.

Brutal critiques are a bit too old school and are not truly necessary. There may be some pros that provide brutal critiques, but I'd stay away from them. It's simply not necessary. You can provide a meaningful critique while being positive and encouraging. Usually the issue is the photographer does not really know how or what to assess in their images. Once they know, they can self critique or choose to be more selective.

At the same time, I don't think it does the photographer any good if the critique is so filled with soft compliments that it fails to educate. I was at an event a few months ago and talked with several people who had gotten critiques. The one critique that added the most value was the one that was most critical. But it was handled the right way, and the photographer walked away with a number of good ideas to improve their photos, editing, and field work. The other critiques basically were just telling the photographer how nice their images were without any real value.

 

[Turberticus]

Great timing with this thread as I'm about to start a mentorship with a professional bird photographer I've been following for a few years. I'm a huge fan of his work as well as his post-processing skills. The goal is to expand my own post-processing skills and enhance my fieldcraft while also getting feedback on what I 'think' are my best photos. I'm also confident that he's the kind of teacher who will provide honest feedback without being too harsh. Looking forward to it!

 

[Viathelens]

Brutal but helpful. No image is perfect. Be prepared to run from the review in tears, grab your gear and throw it in a dumpster.

I really doubt that will happen, although I would hope a qualified reviewer would give it to me "straight." My work is fairly good now but I always want to improve. Beating around the bush does not help any one to get better so I'd expect a critical review.

 

[Viathelens]

Everything DRwyoming said.

I tend to favor a real quality editor over a photographer as we each have our own style to some degree.

I find value in someone like Steve for example who would look at an image and consider technique that would make it better. Not all photographers are educators. Many people try to teach but don't really teach. Steve is a rare exception which is why I hang on every word.

I shoot sports as well and that creates revenue so listening to what an editor/client wants is a big deal. You usually don't have to ask, you can tell what they use most often and frankly if they book you again. It is funny the action shots get picked less than the emotional reaction shots. So you focus more on what the client/editor wants and focus more on the key action moment and not just shooting everything that happens.

For wildlife I think this is similar to sports. The key moment, expression, peak of action is always the best image. I can shoot thousands of images in a day but when going through them it is easy to cut that to hundreds and when applying the editor view cut that to less than a dozen. I will cover a game and shoot 200 plus gigs, submit 50 or so images and less than 4 usually make it to social, print, website.

End of the day it doesn't hurt but be prepared for some brutal feedback. I would highly suggest that you pick just 2 or 3 images that you feel are the best in your portfolio. This way your very best work is what you will receive feedback from. None of the B work that you already know is just ok but nothing special. If you feel that is your B work do you already know why? Do you know why you feel the ones you would show are your best? If so you already have a head start on what to change in your photography.

I shot with the owner of Laguna Seca Ranch early this year and Gene told me that he limits his entire LR catalog to 3K images. His opinion is once he gets a better shot he deletes the shot that isn't as good. For one to have a catalog of 3K images that are A+ would be an achievement that not many people could say they have. I sure don't but I also have a lot more than 3K images in my LR catalog. It made me think of my photography and what am I trying to achieve each time I go out. Now I focus for wildlife to get a shot I don't have or to make a better shot than what I have. Steve mentions this several times in different media that don't pass up a subject just because you have that shot already. Is your shot as good as it possibly could be? I know equipment has made me want to revisit specific subjects or locations.

I'm not sure yet that I want to change anything, but I do think I'd benefit from an experienced wildlife photographer reviewing my work. I've been shooting long enough to know what to look for but there is always room for growth and improvement. I don't have to worry about clients because I don't do paid work, what I do is mostly for me although I do sell work and do hang in one gallery. I do think sports and wildlife are similar as far as shooting and I always look for the decisive moment, action, interaction, and emotion when I shoot. I'm sure, though, that I'm missing something along the way. It would be really hard for me to only pick two or three images...:oops:. Right now I'm putting a large coffee-table book together on an Africa trip and I have so many images I like that I'm having to do three books! Obviously I'm not objective..Ha! Ha!

 

[Viathelens]

I think they can prove very helpful and I don't have much to add to the great advice about. The only thing is to reenforce the idea of picking the right pro - I'd only take advice from someone who's work I admire.

Me too, on someone I admire, thus the question about Frans Lanting. I do admire your work, too, though and appreciated the help you've given me along the way on my two trips to Costa Rica.

 

[Replytoken]

Brutal critiques are a bit too old school and are not truly necessary. There may be some pros that provide brutal critiques, but I'd stay away from them. It's simply not necessary. You can provide a meaningful critique while being positive and encouraging. Usually the issue is the photographer does not really know how or what to assess in their images. Once they know, they can self critique or choose to be more selective.

At the same time, I don't think it does the photographer any good if the critique is so filled with soft compliments that it fails to educate. I was at an event a few months ago and talked with several people who had gotten critiques. The one critique that added the most value was the one that was most critical. But it was handled the right way, and the photographer walked away with a number of good ideas to improve their photos, editing, and field work. The other critiques basically were just telling the photographer how nice their images were without any real value.

A brutal or unhelpful critique tells me more about the person giving the critique than it does about the work of the person who is being critiqued.

--Ken

 

[KimM]

I have traveled with a pro and taken many workshops with other pros for both landscape and wildlife. Mostly the critiques of images were more fluff and buff and disappointing. Still, I always learned from each persons critique.

The very best opportunity I have had came from a conservation photographer who has his work published regularly. This was in a workshop format. He had us share images from each shoot in the afternoon. But while we were selecting those images he circulated making himself available for coaching on which images and why and then helped with processing. And then we shared them with the group and helped every participant learn from each image. I came away inspired to try some different techniques, able to tell a story in a better manor and pushed some processing edges. Wow! He also shared his educational background and what it took to get the conservation designation. Brutal. I am grateful he didn't repeat that educational process with us.

It is challenging to find someone who posses these skills. Some contests used to give feedback on selected images. Entering contests at least gives some type of feedback....but not tips for improvement.

 

[Whiskeyman]

A brutal or unhelpful critique tells me more about the person giving the critique than it does about the work of the person who is being critiqued.

--Ken

It also does not advance the craft of good photography.

A good critique should leave the photographer with the desire to get back behind the camera taking photographs as soon as they can, using what they've learned through the process to improve their images.

 

[Viathelens]

My experience regarding portfolio review is that the senior photographer usually does not know in depth the
person he is talking to. As a result, he tends to limit himself in comments to avoid being misunderstood and to appear presumptuous and offended.

For example, I have posted several times in the Nature photography critique section here in the blog, and only a few of you have clearly and transparently commented on my photos.
On the other hand, when asked, I always tend to comment constructively on my opinion. As well as, if I accompany people who are less "expert" than me to photograph, I almost always give them the best place to take the shot while remaining on the sidelines.
For my part fortunately, I have some friends who are much better photographers than me and who help me improve by highlighting the mistakes I have made.
Another way to improve photographically is to study the photos of other outstanding photographers we respect as our dear Steve.

I was just looking through the critique section and one of the overriding things I saw in what people posted is that they did not actually ask for a critique (yes, it was posted in that section...I know). People just post the shot but don't let the viewer know why they posted the shot and what the photographer needs help with. I think it would be helpful if the person who was posting said a little bit about the shot and then perhaps even asked for some specific feedback. On the other side of the equation, too many people look at the posts and simply say "nice shot" (even if it really is not) without providing any meaningful feedback, so if we are going to look at images on the critique page then we should be prepared to provide critical feedback in a measured way to help the poster improve. Just saying "I like the shot" or telling someone it's a really good shot when it isn't (and I know we all have different image standards) is not conducive to improving someone's photography.

 

[cvilou]

Brutal critiques are a bit too old school and are not truly necessary. There may be some pros that provide brutal critiques, but I'd stay away from them. It's simply not necessary. You can provide a meaningful critique while being positive and encouraging. Usually the issue is the photographer does not really know how or what to assess in their images. Once they know, they can self critique or choose to be more selective.

At the same time, I don't think it does the photographer any good if the critique is so filled with soft compliments that it fails to educate. I was at an event a few months ago and talked with several people who had gotten critiques. The one critique that added the most value was the one that was most critical. But it was handled the right way, and the photographer walked away with a number of good ideas to improve their photos, editing, and field work. The other critiques basically were just telling the photographer how nice their images were without any real value.

I use to submit some photos on Nikonians, each time I got interesting feedbacks.

 

[O]

I have seen so many photograhic club members learn so quickly and advance with composition and technical skills from doing club competitions.
Avoid social media judging forums.........offering likes etc or celebs offering to judge your work in order to bring you into the fold and sign you up for a subscription........

Each month we have for free an experienced judge critique our club competition entries.

The entries are made up of A grade level and B grade = new comers novice level.

If its wild life we get an expert in that field, if its portraiture landscape etc etc we get a specialist in that subject etc.

B Graders get much more lenience and careful judging with more constructive points, A Graders are expected to be on their game and get a much tougher short sharp critique.
B Graders are graduated to A grade after they have earned a certain level of points in a given year of competition, A bit like Football.

The author is not permitted to comment the author either learns from the experience, go home happy, more informed, disappointed or upset.

EVEN Professional photographers or academics in their filed, can be right, wrong or different in the way they see things, the key is not to take things to heart, listen to the constructive suggestions, if they fit keep them.

When you get to the point where only positives are given consistently to your entry's and you receive high marks or no constructive criticism then you have learnt more about composition artistry in photography.

Just avoid paying to have your photography critiqued.

Join a local photography club, enter the competitions to learn, its amazing how much it can transform your work and skills, if you don't have a local club to join there are some free on line clubs as well.

Someone saying, lovely photo, great shot, is nice to hear, but it really doesn't do you any favors if your wanting to learn.

Bottom line having your work critiqued is 100% the fastest way to improve or learn if that's what you feel you may want or need.

Again just because someone judging has great reputation doesn't mean they are always right either.

Art is very personal and subjective.


Only an opinion

 

[Marco74]

Marco74, I rarely post a critique there, or anywhere else, because I'm aware of how important it is to give good and constructive feedback in an image critique, and know that I am not really qualified to do so.

I know several PSA trained judges, and they are the bulk of the people that I trust for image evaluation. Evaluations need to be honest, thorough, and adhere to certain standards of photography. The good evaluator knows this, and when to look beyond the standards, as well.

A good way of having your images evaluated is to enter a multiple judge "competition" at a PSA affiliated photo club. The club I enjoy membership in uses three judges, and if all three judges don't score an image within one point, out of fifteen, they re-evaluate the image, and if need be, discuss their scoring when doing so. It is a testament to them and the process in how so few times that the three judges' initial scores differ by more than one-half of one point.

Keep fighting for good, qualifed, feedback.

As a character, I am very helpful, kind, and generous; however, I am touchy and involuntarily a little arrogant, and in some cases, I have little patience.
I have been enrolled in a famous photographic club in my city for a long time. I got tired of internal politics, of the various groups of people created for personal interests that rarely had anything to do with photography; it became a loss of time. I stayed in touch with them; sometimes, I bring them some photographic presentations or propose and present some famous guests. Still, I no longer have an interest in attending him assiduously. When the compromises to be accepted outweigh the benefits, I tend to change direction quickly. I'm already married, and that's enough for me.

Contests can undoubtedly provide important information. However, I'm not very competitive, so I tend not to sign up. I did it at the time of the photographic club more to participate in internal initiatives or at the insistence of others.
Apart from some gratification to my ego, which in any case interests me little, I have never received significant help that would allow me to improve. If the image is beautiful, it reaches important positions or is rewarded. If it is not, it is discarded without a justification, or at least, I have never had any.

I prefer to ask for an opinion from a greater mass of people, such as on a forum. The amount of comments is another essential aspect to evaluate.
If I were to one day turn this passion into a business, I think it would be handy to understand the approval rating of a photo.
The comments received will always be evaluated from person to person. Still, looking at the type of photos proposed by those who commented on mine, it is easy to get an idea of how important his comment can have without necessarily creating a debate.

In the list of my photographer friends, some have a significant artistic vein, and others are very technical. Knowing these characteristics, I can get an idea of the type of comment I will receive in return.

For example, I posted some technically questionable "panning" photos on this blog some time ago. Some of you have made very constructive comments which I appreciated. Thank you.
Most of my "artist" friends appreciated those photos for graphics, while many of my "technical" friends criticized them for not conforming to the standards of that technique. Both opinions have been beneficial to me.

In my city, there is no well-organized photographic club like that described in the post above by Mr. O. I'm not so lucky.

 

[O]

As a character, I am very helpful, kind, and generous; however, I am touchy and involuntarily a little arrogant, and in some cases, I have little patience.
I have been enrolled in a famous photographic club in my city for a long time. I got tired of internal politics, of the various groups of people created for personal interests that rarely had anything to do with photography; it became a loss of time. I stayed in touch with them; sometimes, I bring them some photographic presentations or propose and present some famous guests. Still, I no longer have an interest in attending him assiduously. When the compromises to be accepted outweigh the benefits, I tend to change direction quickly. I'm already married, and that's enough for me.

Contests can undoubtedly provide important information. However, I'm not very competitive, so I tend not to sign up. I did it at the time of the photographic club more to participate in internal initiatives or at the insistence of others.
Apart from some gratification to my ego, which in any case interests me little, I have never received significant help that would allow me to improve. If the image is beautiful, it reaches important positions or is rewarded. If it is not, it is discarded without a justification, or at least, I have never had any.

I prefer to ask for an opinion from a greater mass of people, such as on a forum. The amount of comments is another essential aspect to evaluate.
If I were to one day turn this passion into a business, I think it would be handy to understand the approval rating of a photo.
The comments received will always be evaluated from person to person. Still, looking at the type of photos proposed by those who commented on mine, it is easy to get an idea of how important his comment can have without necessarily creating a debate.

In the list of my photographer friends, some have a significant artistic vein, and others are very technical. Knowing these characteristics, I can get an idea of the type of comment I will receive in return.

For example, I posted some technically questionable "panning" photos on this blog some time ago. Some of you have made very constructive comments which I appreciated. Thank you.
Most of my "artist" friends appreciated those photos for graphics, while many of my "technical" friends criticized them for not conforming to the standards of that technique. Both opinions have been beneficial to me.

In my city, there is no well-organized photographic club like that described in the post above by Mr. O. I'm not so lucky.

I am sorry to hear your not so lucky in your city.

I spent a real lot of time searching for a really good club, well run, free of politics, free of ego's and full of generous helpful people that are also a delight and pleasure to know,
the club i was with previously was poorly run and full of clicky groups hence i left quickly.

For me and in our club a Judge should evaluate regardless of subject category each photo for................

a) connectivity with the viewer, the evoking of emotion, the story telling, a message, and understand easily what is it the author is trying to show or communicate to the viewer.

b) while important the photo should be technically reasonably sound but not necessarily overrule the strength of a) or the power of its composition should it exist.

c) A wow factor also evoking emotion for the viewer.

Comments from the judge should express first the positives then the negatives constructively then finish with positives and encouragement.

This i have found to be a consistent approach by qualified judges who have been certified by accredited organizations.

Myself i have done the courses and judged completions, using the a) b) c) method which enables judging to be consistent accurate constructive and above all rewarding.
Being able to talk top the photo and the audience is equally as important.

During Covid times we operated fully on Zoom weekly, now we are back to meetings face to face.

10 years of entering monthly competitions, listening to qualified local and international judges judge thousands of images from some incredibly talented photographers and some extraordinary creative editing photographers along with some spectacular bird photographers has been more than enough for me.
I have taken time out of doing competitions for a while.

Surprisingly i have developed an interest in exploring some unique photography technique with a smart phone, this coming Tuesday night we have a speaker who is an award winning smart phone photographer doing a club presentation all about smart phone photography..........i am looking forward to it.

I hope you achieve and find what your looking for.

 

[Marco74]

I am sorry to hear your not so lucky in your city.

I spent a real lot of time searching for a really good club, well run, free of politics, free of ego's and full of generous helpful people that are also a delight and pleasure to know,
the club i was with previously was poorly run and full of clicky groups hence i left quickly.

For me and in our club a Judge should evaluate regardless of subject category each photo for................

a) connectivity with the viewer, the evoking of emotion, the story telling, a message, and understand easily what is it the author is trying to show or communicate to the viewer.

b) while important the photo should be technically reasonably sound but not necessarily overrule the strength of a) or the power of its composition should it exist.

c) A wow factor also evoking emotion for the viewer.

Comments from the judge should express first the positives then the negatives constructively then finish with positives and encouragement.

This i have found to be a consistent approach by qualified judges who have been certified by accredited organizations.

Myself i have done the courses and judged completions, using the a) b) c) method which enables judging to be consistent accurate constructive and above all rewarding.
Being able to talk top the photo and the audience is equally as important.

During Covid times we operated fully on Zoom weekly, now we are back to meetings face to face.

10 years of entering monthly competitions, listening to qualified local and international judges judge thousands of images from some incredibly talented photographers and some extraordinary creative editing photographers along with some spectacular bird photographers has been more than enough for me.
I have taken time out of doing competitions for a while.

Surprisingly i have developed an interest in exploring some unique photography technique with a smart phone, this coming Tuesday night we have a speaker who is an award winning smart phone photographer doing a club presentation all about smart phone photography..........i am looking forward to it.

I hope you achieve and find what your looking for.

Dear O,
One of my big problems is the lack o free time. One proof is the delay in my response.
The work, the family and the sport I do to stay fit (5 times a week) keep me busy constantly. Photography and everything about it focus mainly on a weekend day.

Unfortunately, finding a good photo club close to home is practically impossible in my small town. There are only two that I have tried to attend but both have not met my needs. I should move to the big city, but not having a lot of time, my chances are almost cancelled out. But I will continue to search for a suitable alternative.

I didn't know there was a course to become a judge in the photographic field with also an official qualification. In Italy where I live, I have never heard of it.
Can you give me some references?

 

[O]

Dear O,
One of my big problems is the lack o free time. One proof is the delay in my response.
The work, the family and the sport I do to stay fit (5 times a week) keep me busy constantly. Photography and everything about it focus mainly on a weekend day.

Unfortunately, finding a good photo club close to home is practically impossible in my small town. There are only two that I have tried to attend but both have not met my needs. I should move to the big city, but not having a lot of time, my chances are almost cancelled out. But I will continue to search for a suitable alternative.

I didn't know there was a course to become a judge in the photographic field with also an official qualification. In Italy where I live, I have never heard of it.
Can you give me some references?

Thank you for your reply.
I am sorry to hear that things in your area haven't been full filling, please don't move to the city LOL, 90% of us here in OZ live by the sea side for shores especially the east coast.

I have no advice for you that may help in Italy.
I don't know of any on line means to learn to become a qualified judge.
Here we have the federation of camera clubs ruling body, all registered camera clubs belong to such a head body, each association run in their respective state.
Usually a local club will make contact with the state federation when a accredited judge is required to judge a competition at club level.
If there is an open national competition similar paths can be used.

From time to time the association may hold training courses specifically for the purposes of seeding more and newer members to embark on the path of judging competitions.

The itinerary covers, public speaking, communications protocol incorporating sensitive cultural and gender parameters, also the correct way to talk to and about a photograph, covering the com positional aspects, technical aspects, fit for the purpose, ie: qualifies and meets the subject criteria correctly.

Then you are run through several in house meetings where you are accessed and scored by several very competent judges from the association.

This can be as many as 4 to 6 meetings, you are then scored, if you meet the required criteria you are then sent out to actually judge a club competition along with an accredited judge all to gain coal face experience.

Now this is here and very different to anything i know of internationally.

I don't associate with on line competitions, many of which are social media based opinions by unqualified people, mostly telling you what ever you want to hear to be nice, this is of no benefit to learn.

Once you have pased the traing period along with successful in filed experience your then given a certificate of completion and actively judge competitions in a sound and professional way.

 

[O]

Dear O,
One of my big problems is the lack o free time. One proof is the delay in my response.
The work, the family and the sport I do to stay fit (5 times a week) keep me busy constantly. Photography and everything about it focus mainly on a weekend day.

Unfortunately, finding a good photo club close to home is practically impossible in my small town. There are only two that I have tried to attend but both have not met my needs. I should move to the big city, but not having a lot of time, my chances are almost cancelled out. But I will continue to search for a suitable alternative.

I didn't know there was a course to become a judge in the photographic field with also an official qualification. In Italy where I live, I have never heard of it.
Can you give me some references?

Of course in addition you need to be a fully competent photographer ranked well in competitions either at club level or open competitions.

 

[Marco74]

Thank you for your reply.
I am sorry to hear that things in your area haven't been full filling, please don't move to the city LOL, 90% of us here in OZ live by the sea side for shores especially the east coast.

I have no advice for you that may help in Italy.
I don't know of any on line means to learn to become a qualified judge.
Here we have the federation of camera clubs ruling body, all registered camera clubs belong to such a head body, each association run in their respective state.
Usually a local club will make contact with the state federation when a accredited judge is required to judge a competition at club level.
If there is an open national competition similar paths can be used.

From time to time the association may hold training courses specifically for the purposes of seeding more and newer members to embark on the path of judging competitions.

The itinerary covers, public speaking, communications protocol incorporating sensitive cultural and gender parameters, also the correct way to talk to and about a photograph, covering the com positional aspects, technical aspects, fit for the purpose, ie: qualifies and meets the subject criteria correctly.

Then you are run through several in house meetings where you are accessed and scored by several very competent judges from the association.

This can be as many as 4 to 6 meetings, you are then scored, if you meet the required criteria you are then sent out to actually judge a club competition along with an accredited judge all to gain coal face experience.

Now this is here and very different to anything i know of internationally.

I don't associate with on line competitions, many of which are social media based opinions by unqualified people, mostly telling you what ever you want to hear to be nice, this is of no benefit to learn.

Once you have pased the traing period along with successful in filed experience your then given a certificate of completion and actively judge competitions in a sound and professional way.

Here we have a federation as well, the FIA. I was a member a few years ago, but in the end, I stop to pay the associated fee because it was not helpful for me.

I will continue to try to learn something usefull from my best friends and studying the photos of photography guru like, Munier, Art Wolf, Federico Veronesi, Stefano Unthertiner and others.

Thanks to share your knowledge. I appreciate your kindness.
I you will pass from the North of Italy write me. It will be a pleasure to meet you somewhere.

Ciao, Marco

 

[O]

At the camera club last night we had a guest presenter covering press photography in war zones for 30 years.

When asked if your life dependent on using one camera one lens for a all round coverage and you cant go back to your room to change your gear what is it you rely on....
Answer Canon 1DX with 24-70, its the work horse and bullet proof, never fails and covers 99% of what i need.

All images a shot in Jpeg, sent in Jpeg, sent through Wi Fi or costly Satellite phones, file sizes are 4-5 mp only.

He said that the greatest tragedy in press journalistic photography is its been killed by the I phones and its users who are just everywhere with instant coverage.

News Limited sacked over 150 photographers in exchange for millions of people on the spot sending instant information and video, covering events all around the world by the minute using their smart phones.

He is now an in house photographer in Parliament covering political moments, photographing men in suits and women in hi heels meeting the press.

He is also a free lance photographer, recently returning after 3 months covering things in Ukraine, prior to that he was in Afghanistan for quite some time, its amzing how photography has changed he said.

He is waiting to go and cover the things in China Taiwan.

It was a very interesting presentation with some photos displayed, to coincide, this month the club competition subject is Photo Journalism hence the presenter last night.

Only an opinion

 

[Viathelens]

To take this thread back to its original question that I posed about getting images reviewed by someone much better than me. Frans Lanting will be doing a review of images submitted by various participants at the B&H Optic West Conference in Monterey, CA, November 6-7 at a breakout-session. I did submit one image, all that is allowed, and he will pick from all of the images submitted to critique. I'll attend this conference and hope to learn something from the group critique.