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So why do we do it? |
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So why do we do it? Author, Photographer and Collector, Brian Tompkins
Most forms of art are a channel for expressing oneself and the way that
a feeling or an emotion, an experience or a mood can be set down in a
recognisable form and communicated to another person. Well, lets get
this one out of the way for starters. Perhaps one photographer in
10,000 ever sets out, let alone achieves this.
Many drift into photography. They start off buying a simple camera,
they photograph the kids growing up, and they take a few holiday snaps
and so on. Then they decide if they had a better camera they could take
better pictures. So off they go and buy a photographic magazine and
before they know where they are they are muttering about zoom lenses
and automatic exposure bracketing, the bug has bitten. Next it’s down
to the camera club where they meet a whole room full of addicts. Print
competitions follow, print of the year award and soon they are lost to
society for ever. Oh and mentioning society some also get the bug bad
enough that they join The Royal Photographic Society , then they start
hankering about putting letters after their names. By this time the
condition is terminal.
Then we have the competent snapper and quite often the not yet. He or
she dreams of earning fortunes freelancing, becoming a professional
photographer. Well it’s easy enough to do, just have a few cards
printed, yep that’s really all you need. But to succeed, that’s another
matter, very few do. And funnily enough they are often not the
competent ones; they are the ones with the gift of the gab and the art
of salesmanship. They try everything portraiture, wedding,
christenings, surprises me somebody doesn’t do something different and
set themselves up as a divorce ad funeral photographer….OH don’t tell
me! The fortunate few don’t however give up their day jobs. Yes I know
a few make it but so many don’t and often in failing become
disillusioned and lose what is after all a great hobby.
Then we have the equipment freaks, a category which I feel happy to
acknowledge a certain affinity to. These can normally be spotted on a
Saturday morning standing in the local camera shop plaguing the life
out of the poor old salesman as they show off their superior knowledge
of the latest and the best. A knowledge incidentally that they glean
out of the latest issue of their favourite magazine.
However in a way this last group have a class system. Top of the camera
freak pile is the collector and top of this particular heap is the
Leica collector. It has been my lot to be associated with many of this
species; they are to be identified by the way they twitch and their
favourite expression, “That is Sooooooo rare”. They avidly read lists
of serial numbers and mutter weird incantations under their breathe,
Summicron, Summilux, Noctilux., SCNOO, FIALT, FCKOO,TOOSFs etc, it
sounds like a Klingon convention, or if they happen to be from across
the pond it’s Lux –I- s and Noct-I-s and Crons, a habit that I loathe.
Speaking of Leica collectors and especially those from across the
U.S.of A. let me describe one particular example of the species. One
day I was standing in what then was just about the most important Leica
retailer in the U.K. The door opened and this entity walked in. His
base ball cap with an enormous peak had a huge Leitz badge embroidered
on it. His camouflage sort of ‘Skeet’ vest was covered in the same
Leitz logos; the rather rotund tummy overhung and not quite covered the
enormous belt buckle which, you’ve guessed it, yes another Leitz badge.
He marched forward dragging this sort of golf trolley thing behind him.
On the golf trolley was the largest what I took to be camera bag I have
ever seen. Yes, again covered in Leitz logos, only the largest was one
proclaiming that he loved Wetzlar.. The joke of course would have been
if he had asked for a lens cap for a Nikon or a roll of 120 film. He
introduced himself as, can’t remember but it was one of those Christian
names, hyphen, surname the 1V type jobbies. I looked down and yes he
had a Leitz logo on his wristwatch and two matching rings.
So who else have we?
I suppose that leaves those who really would like to get on and master
their chosen hobby. They are the sort who will be prepared to work, and
work hard to achieve a high standard. There are no magic formulae,
nobody can wave a big stick, but there are people around who can help.
The secret is to be able to judge the worth of the help and then be
prepared to take the knocks which never doubt will come. But working
together it is surprising what can be done with the right application
and dedication. If this sounds like a plug for this site it is in a
way. Nevertheless that doesn’t make the statement less true.
And last but not least we have the amateur photographer who never was.
This is a difficult one to pigeon hole. The easiest way would be to
describe one and let you get the idea. My wife and I had a very quiet
wedding just a couple of dozen friends and only two relatives, an aged
Uncle and Aunt from my wife’s side of the family. Uncle Norman then
about 75 and this was 35 years ago volunteered to take the wedding
snaps. On the day he turned up with the most beautiful little folding
Zeiss Super Ikonta. He took a couple in the registry office and then a
few, a very few, the camera was a 16 on and he didn’t use the whole
film. But the results were lovely he just guessed the exposures and
every one was spot on. Now Uncle Norman would never have claimed
photography as a hobby, it was just something he did to record things.
Indeed he was very competent and for him unlike so many of us it was
the things the subjects the events that were important, not the
equipment that produced it. I think he bought his Super Ikonta new
about 1936. Sometimes I think we should be much better off remembering
and taking a leaf from Uncle Norman’s book, perhaps then our pictures
might be taken out and looked at more often.
Still whatever, photography ain’t all bad. It doesn’t matter what grabs
your fancy at least you know that there are a load of kindred spirits
out there and with the Internet none of them are further away then a
keyboard. Oh by the way, the Leica collector freak? Turned out to be
one hell of a nice guy, just shows don’t it.
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