>They are doing this for a living. We are not. We are not
>talking professional photography here. This is a hobby.
-snip-
Well I would disagree on two points. First, anyone who invests a
few thousand dollars in equipment maybe should think og themselves as
"pro", or at the very least, "semi-pro", even if you are not making a
living off it. It's simply a sign of repsect to the person who's bread
and butter depends on it.
For example, at a recent wedding of an old friend, there was the
professional photographer, and there was me, the friend, with my 4x5. I
probally had twice as much money tied up in equipment as the pro did in
her gear, but at no time did I ever try to get in her way, i always stayed
in the background, took less shots, and kept my involvement to a
minimum. You see, every time an amateur like me steps in with expensive
gear, if I do it for nothing, it has a trickle down effect on the working
people, even if it takes a while and i am not there to see it.
I guess I am sensitive to it because while I do not my living off
photography, our family business is actively involved in desktop
publishing. We litterally went from a lead type press to all computerized
gear about years ago. The big, big problem we have is now that every
household has a ten or twelve year old with a word processor and a colour
printer, and every family thinks they can do better than us. Experience
proves them wrong, but it's the same battle every day, over and over again.
Respect for the craft we do has fallen through the floor compared
to the days when we ran a lead type set press. I find there is
similarities in publishing and photography in issues tackled in this sense.
Finally, never, ever let the term "hobby" diminish the value of
your work, perceived or real. A few years back I was heavily involved in
an on-line game. It was all hobby, recreation, but I did write articles
for the magazine that was sent to on-line gamers who subscribed, and I was
always paid for my submissions. Again, maybe it was only $10 or $15 US a
pop, but the point is, I was paid, and it was only a hobby.
joe
www.oneilphoto.on.ca
www.multiboard.com/~joneil
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