Not a photographer

I went to a photo exhibition today run by a small club. I'd been talking to the members over the last few weeks with a view to joining. There are only 8 members apparently...

Anyway, I took some of the shots on my gallery, printed on A4 with a dedicated photo printer.

I was told that they're simplistic and basic..."You give someone a digital camera and he thinks he can take pictures, that's the problem"... apparently I need to be shooting film as it makes you look for the perfect shot.

I thought I did that anyway, but hey...

And apparently my shots have no purpose, they don't say anything, they don't portray anything.

"But if it keeps you happy, that's the main thing. Go away and get a proper camera and a dark room. Then come back...

Now wonder they have a small membership what you say tells it all . Its not the first time I have heard similar stories about photographic clubs, not all mark you. They tend to get so involved with how fantastic each member is (most spend thousands on gear) they forget that others may want to learn or improve with help with advice.

I would write a strong letter of complaint to the club chairman about how you were treated and ask for an explaination of their members attitude at the very least.

If it had been me I would have blasted them with both barrels, I can give as good as I take 100 times better, to the extend they would be grovelling on the floor. One thing I can't stand is anyone saying "I am better than you", it just shows ignorance in the extreme.

I was considering a letter to the chairman. However, guess who it was that *critiqued* my photos?
He may be right about the pictures, I don't know, but it isn't a good way to win friends and members...

Any critique I give is an honest opinion of my thoughts on it. Some photos I really like and others I don't and not afraid to say so.
If you start saying everything is wonderful-great-fantastic etc then to me that has absolutely no value and not worth saying.

The thing is everyone has different likes and dislikes, but so many can't say what they actually think, so either say nothing or give praise even if they don't like something. Once a photographer believes his/her work is perfect every time then they are blinded to everything else.

This appears to be the case with that photographic club

Having said that I am my own worst critic, I seem to be able to find fault with every photo. Usually its -why didn't I see that in the way- that was a terrible angle- too much foreground/background/sky/grass/water. Either that or too bright /dark /shadow or some other thing, I can never seem to get the "perfect" shot ,and it drives me mad.

for example


I have to question the brightness of the colours ?were they actually that bright
Again does that look sharpened to much even if it wasn't

Did I use the right lens even though I only took two to Brazil for that flower shot

Did I spend enough time thinking about how the shot should have been taken

Could I have done better with a different angle even if it was impossible due to shadow caste or whatever

Should I have even bothered taking the photo in the first place, too much self doubt creeps in every time and that annoys me intensely and in the end i start thinking its a load of rubbish scrap it

That sounds like a horror story Gaz. Maybe they did you a favor by having you reconsider your association with such snobs. I certainly can understand why they only have 8 "worthy" members.

I recently had the president of a local photography club, a total stranger to me, walk up and ask me when I intended to get a "real" camera. I had my Sony NEX-5N with a 55-210mm F/4.5-6.3 lens aboard. That photographer had two Nikon DSLRs with big telephoto lenses aboard around his neck.

He was really embarrassed when I showed him my iPad portfolio of zoo animal shots taken with my Sony. After his mouth finally snapped shut I mentioned I had a D800 at home but didn't need it to take good photographs. He slithered away.

Don't let others discourage your love of photography. More than half are blowhards I refer to as camera snobs. they stupidly think the camera takes good pictures.