Seeking a few good forums

ApertureF11Sniper · Jan 20, 2023

I am seeking a few good forums. I have a page on Model Mayhem but do not like the direction the site is going and all the remaining photographers for the most part are hacks and pervs. I am a bit of an asshole when it comes to my field of photography. You have guys out there shooting that don't know even the basics of posing saying look I shoot models, the hell you do you don't even know what your doing. Just because you can hit a shutter release does not mean your a photographer .And there's no shortage of pervs with cameras. A nude model told me I was the only photographer she ever felt comfortable with. She told me she even had one photographer show her a picture of his pennis.

My mentors for photography have been the great Chuck Guildner, Tom Huynh and Barry Druxman..... I shoot Pentax. My images are shot by either the ist or the K20D and I can lay out the images and you can not tell what image was taken by what camera. I don't do HDR, the images are freakish and do not have the correct tonal range. I do very little editing to my images. I take a good image not create it. I edit with Photoshop Elements #4 and I do so on a CRT monitor so on a lap top or LCD screen your not going to see the image correctly. In my editing I do basics nothing more.

I'm a bit of an asshole but it's cause I get sick of the out right stupidity by people who think they are a photographer cause they can hit a shutter release. No, just because you own a camera and can hit the shutter release does not mean you are a photographer. Like a guy on the news who said he takes thousands of pictures in a day and "you never know what you get till you get home and look at it on the computer" THAT is absurd and ridiculous. I know every shot I get. Most guys on a model shoot take in a hour 350 pictures, some more. In a hour I take 45 to 60 and I know every shot I take. But again everyone with a camera is a photographer and every girl on Instagram thinks they are a model.

I can shoot digital or film with equal proficiency.

I also shoot landscapes, barns, dead trees and whatever else. I shoot Fine art but I do not like the attitude of Fine Art photographers. That being we don't care about pretty sunsets or waterfalls. And that was an attitude expressed by my mentor Chuck Guildner.

It's not how long you have been shooting. I know guys who have shot for years and still can't get a solid professional looking image. It's knowing your settings and your light. Photography is about light. I have girls freak out when I tell them to be ready at 4am. You want to be on location and waiting for that first light in the summer time you have to get up early.....

I have about 12 years under my belt for photography. I went with Pentax because of it's lens mount consistency and image stabilizer being built into the camera.

RAZKY · Jan 21, 2023

ApertureF11Sniper said:
I am seeking a few good forums. I have a page on Model Mayhem but do not like the direction the site is going and all the remaining photographers for the most part are hacks and pervs. I am a bit of an asshole when it comes to my field of photography. You have guys out there shooting that don't know even the basics of posing saying look I shoot models, the hell you do you don't even know what your doing. Just because you can hit a shutter release does not mean your a photographer .And there's no shortage of pervs with cameras. A nude model told me I was the only photographer she ever felt comfortable with. She told me she even had one photographer show her a picture of his pennis.

My mentors for photography have been the great Chuck Guildner, Tom Huynh and Barry Druxman..... I shoot Pentax. My images are shot by either the ist or the K20D and I can lay out the images and you can not tell what image was taken by what camera. I don't do HDR, the images are freakish and do not have the correct tonal range. I do very little editing to my images. I take a good image not create it. I edit with Photoshop Elements #4 and I do so on a CRT monitor so on a lap top or LCD screen your not going to see the image correctly. In my editing I do basics nothing more.

I'm a bit of an asshole but it's cause I get sick of the out right stupidity by people who think they are a photographer cause they can hit a shutter release. No, just because you own a camera and can hit the shutter release does not mean you are a photographer. Like a guy on the news who said he takes thousands of pictures in a day and "you never know what you get till you get home and look at it on the computer" THAT is absurd and ridiculous. I know every shot I get. Most guys on a model shoot take in a hour 350 pictures, some more. In a hour I take 45 to 60 and I know every shot I take. But again everyone with a camera is a photographer and every girl on Instagram thinks they are a model.

I can shoot digital or film with equal proficiency.

I also shoot landscapes, barns, dead trees and whatever else. I shoot Fine art but I do not like the attitude of Fine Art photographers. That being we don't care about pretty sunsets or waterfalls. And that was an attitude expressed by my mentor Chuck Guildner.

It's not how long you have been shooting. I know guys who have shot for years and still can't get a solid professional looking image. It's knowing your settings and your light. Photography is about light. I have girls freak out when I tell them to be ready at 4am. You want to be on location and waiting for that first light in the summer time you have to get up early.....

I have about 12 years under my belt for photography. I went with Pentax because of it's lens mount consistency and image stabilizer being built into the camera.

This is one forum of several - what is your point?

terri · Jan 21, 2023

I'd love to welcome you to TPF, but it kinda sounds like you hate what you do.

Anyway, you're welcome here, and I hope you enjoy having a look around. Should you choose to post your work for us, please know that you will likely get honest opinions, not just a bunch of "attaboys," so if that's what you're seeking you may feel this forum is not a good fit., either.

Also, more than once in your welcome post you mention that you're an asshole. I have no opinion on that, but I will say that just announcing it doesn't mean you can bypass our basic behavior guidelines. You can have a lot of fun here and even some spirited discussion, as long as you abide by the same rules as you've agreed to upon joining.

So welcome - keep posting - and enjoy the forum!

Soocom1 · Jan 21, 2023

so welcome and chat away..
would love to learn a few things

smoke665 · Jan 21, 2023

Welcome. Always glad to see another Pentaxian. My first experience with Pentax was 1969 with a Spotmatic followed by a couple K1000. Photography took a back seat for several years. The last film camera was a Zx-m, still have it.

My first digital was a K30. Loved the camera but it died on me unexpectedly. Next up was a K3ii which is still a workhorse, and a K1MII. I've accumulated some legacy glass over the years.

TPF like most forums has its good and bad. Just like life, whether you agree or disagree being cordial and respectful goes a long way.