Why are people all looking to take the same photo?

chuasam

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Along much of the United States, there will be a solar eclipse on the 21st of August.

Everyone seems to be scrambling to get solar filters...or risk their gear and eyesight and attempt to stack ND filters.

Why is everyone trying to get the same boring photo of the eclipse? NASA will get a far better shot. Why not just look at that one and simply enjoy the moment. Take something original about the eclipse.

A photo of the shadows cast by trees. A photo of the crowds.

Why do people feel compelled to take the same photo?
 
You got me...

Doesn't seem worth getting a solar filter that you probably won't ever use again. I just hope next week there aren't reports of people having vision loss from trying to do this. Reports are out there about glasses sold that are knockoffs and won't work, and I hope too that people don't try using those.
 
Yeah, um, our camera store is full of those people all week with today being a mad house!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
And used solar filters?? bet those won't be worth much by Tuesday.
 
I plan in putting on the lens cap, turning the camera off and putting it in my bag

I would much rather have the joy of experiencing the entire event as opposed to catching glimpses of it when screwing around with a camera.

Even those who have produced the most stunning images of an eclipse will say thier renditions simply pale in comparison to the real thing.

The Powers That Be have given us a rare chance to see such a wondrous event. My thinking is..... why screw it up with a stupid camera?
 
I'll be at work. We're not in the totality zone so it won't be much more than I've seen before.
 
coworker who isn't working that day is gonna get an interesting series.
He's planning at pointing the camera at the city and doing a 2 hour time lapse of the sky darkening and brightening.
See! I can get behind that.
 
Since I have two toddlers, I don't want to risk teaching them "it's okay to look at the sun if you have these special sunglasses on," because I know it'll soon become, "I can look at the sun with regular sunglasses on! Or no sunglasses!"

Instead, I'm going to try to make one of those pinhole camera-type contraptions, and maybe let the kids play around with the colander, and see how that works. Maybe we can try tracing the shadow of the eclipse as it progresses or something. Not sure yet.

It is just a partial eclipse here, though. I'd be really into getting "the shot" if it were a full eclipse, I think. Because how many people can say they have a shot like that? I've taken pictures of every lunar eclipse and blood moon since I got into photography, even back when all I had was a nifty fifty. (Spoiler alert: you can't take good photos of the moon with a nifty fifty. :p However, it will still look better than your friends' cell phone shots on Facebook, so you've got that going for you.)
 
Since I have two toddlers, I don't want to risk teaching them "it's okay to look at the sun if you have these special sunglasses on," because I know it'll soon become, "I can look at the sun with regular sunglasses on! Or no sunglasses!"

Instead, I'm going to try to make one of those pinhole camera-type contraptions, and maybe let the kids play around with the colander, and see how that works. Maybe we can try tracing the shadow of the eclipse as it progresses or something. Not sure yet.

It is just a partial eclipse here, though. I'd be really into getting "the shot" if it were a full eclipse, I think. Because how many people can say they have a shot like that? I've taken pictures of every lunar eclipse and blood moon since I got into photography, even back when all I had was a nifty fifty. (Spoiler alert: you can't take good photos of the moon with a nifty fifty. :p However, it will still look better than your friends' cell phone shots on Facebook, so you've got that going for you.)
*LOL* I tried shooting the bloody moon with a 300mm f/2.8 VR II and a D810...and I think the photos still sucked compared to NASA's.
I decided that if I could not shoot something much better or wildly different, why bother taking the same photo that has already been taken.
 
I'm not planning on shooting it and probably won't watch it either. I guess I just don't get what all the hype is about.
 
There are many reasons

1) Because it is possible to take a photo of something and to enjoy the moment and event at the same time. You then have experienced something and also gotten a photo of it to remind you in years to come and to show others as a visual reference as you recount the tale.

2) Photos are a memory and for a majority of people they like to document events. Granted in this throw-away age where photos are dirt cheap there's a lot of throwaway memories. But at the same time there's potential for many to be kept and to be fond memories in years to come.

3) Because monkey see monkey do. If that were not true then there wouldn't be any wildlife photography - heck a vast majority of creativity is repeated - adjusted a little here and a little there. The internet also makes this FAR more apparent. In the past you might not see the thousands of shots; just the few professional ones and a few from friends at the photo club. Today you can see thousands but only if you want. And honestly it doesn't matter if someone else did it - people still want to do it themselves.

4) Because for some the experience is photographing it not the eclipse itself.

5) Because they want to - because others are doing it - because marketing suggests they should - because they want to try it -


There are so many reasons that people choose to enjoy such an even through the camera just as there are many that choose to enjoy it without.
 

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