Fotoboat...No more

Another sad loss to the sport. The probability is that the bigger events, or one with a major builder as the sponsor, will have a photographer on hand, smaller Championships will end up relying on the amateur snappers. That is not to be disparaging about the keen amateur, for they can get some super shots with the help of the digital camera, where they can take hundreds of shots in the hope of a couple of good ones.
But that ignores the fact that it is the really good photographers that produce those really great eye grabbing pictures. The likes of Tom (Gruitt), Demelza Mitchell, Steve Arkley and others bring something else - they really do make it an art form. The proof of the pudding - I was sad to see that the D-Zeros lacked a 'proper' photographer - yet there were plenty of pictures taken. Yet the chances are that a number of top notch camera artists would have been around that weekend.The D-Zeros had a great event - but all that great sailing failed to produce an iconic picture. There were no lack of great opportunities for stunning pictures - had Fotoboat been on hand we'd have been enjoying thos great shots now.

That's half the trouble, the easier photography became, the more difficult it was to make a living at, why should a skilled operator waste a weekend spivving (the term we in the trade used for taking photographs on approval) which is the standard now. Gone are the days where photographers were commissioned and then their prints re-ordered, and I doubt mags or web sites pay much for publication rights even, there is such a glut of happy snappy amateurs.

I fear we're living in an age where mediocrity drives out the great. If you only eat at MacMorons you don't know how good a really great burger can be, but because MacMorons takes the lions share of the market there's no place for a shop selling really great burgers.

I'm a guilty party of course, at a club open meeting I'll take 700 or so photos using the auto settings on the camera (not knowing any better), and pick 5 for Yachts and Yachting which I'd like to think are competent amateur quality. They don't compare to what a pro will achieve, but at web page size really only the pros can tell the difference. What they won't do, unless uncommonly lucky, is blow up to a A3 or A2 print on the office wall.

Its interesting that if I look at the walls of my house I have nothing from before late 80s, which was the time when I was first earning enough to be able to justify a luxury like professional photos, some nice shots from the early 2000s where digital photography became available to pros so costs came down a bit, and nothing from after 2005 for which I only have amateur shots of my boats that don't blow up well.

Do you have to keep posting that. You are ruining my lunch. First Facebook, now this.... Sometimes you just go too far Mr B

Originally posted by tgruitt I was going to list all of the ways left to make money photographically

Edited by Woodburner - 03 Jun 15 at 2:27pm