My Pet Peeves

Here are my pet peeves when it comes to other photographers and birders. These are my thoughts, so if you don't want to read, then click on your back button! But if you continue to read, you might find some of these items to be very true.

Seems when the "Digital Revolution" finally collided with the World of Nature Photography, everyone and their mother has suddenly become a Professional Photographer, and just has to build a website to show their images. That's great, as there are some really talented photographers out there in Cyber-space. But here's what really chaps my ass!

1) People who will give away their images to any publisher, newspaper, or magazine editor that ask. These people are killing the TRUE Professional, who spends alot of money, effort and time to make their living at this. These amateurs just want to see their images published somewhere, and most times, the images are not really that good, but because they are free, the editor uses these lesser quality images.

2) These same people, are the ones who  feel the need to offer their images for sale on self-published greeting or note cards. Folks, look at your images, do you REALLY think that someone wants a picture of your neighborhood Red-tailed Hawk sitting on your back yard fence????

3) The photographer who goes to the local Zoo's or Wild Animal Park's exhibits (especially, the Butterfly exhibits), and just shoots all of these wonderful and colorful creatures, and then forgets to mention to the observer of their website, that they were not in the hot & humid sweaty jungles of South America, or  South-east Asia. You really need to let people know, where you took the image. I also think if your in the Zoo, and your subject is behind a fence- IT'S NOT NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY!

4) The photographers who build their own website and then write about themselves in the 3rd person, to make it seem that someone else is speaking of these self proclaimed "Master Photographers". We have a few, here in San Diego, and according to their own websites , they are "Master" Photographers. They crow about how they are highly sought after photographers, but I have never seen any of their images published anywhere. The one male photographer has also decided to share his masterful gift of photography with anyone who is stupid enough to pay him for one of his classes. This is also the same guy, who I witnessed using a 600mm f/4 for butterfly photography in a butterfly house. A case of mine is bigger than yours and I can prove it?

5) Some photographers are great photographers, but lousy instructors. I paid for a class by a great photographer who was going to teach us (fools), how to properly use flash photography. After he talked and talked about nothing. He handed us a "Copy-righted" article on Fill flash. When I looked at it. It had been taken from a magazine that I subscribe to. He steals copy-righted material and passes it off in his class? That's just so damn wrong!!

6) I am an amateur photographer who has been published on many occasions. I have been paid for my work, but since I do not make my living from my photography, I consider myself to not be a Pro. But it kills me when someone walks up to me and states. "Hey you must have some new equipment, because your images are getting better". While yes, I am constantly upgrading my equipment. The equipment is a tool. It's the person behind the lens and the camera who is taking the image. Yes better equipment defiantly makes a difference, maybe the photographer has learned something and it's that knowledge that helps the images get better.

7) Dogs and People- What the fuck is wrong with you all? Just because you own a dog, does not give you the right to let it off it's leash. The San Diego County law states " All dogs must be on a leash no longer than 8 feet, when in a public area".  No, it's not okay to let your dog chase birds in the San Diego River near Ocean Beach! No, it's not okay to let your dog run amok all over the mountains and deserts, when I'm not expecting to come face to face with your mutt. Do the right thing-leave your damn dog at home!

8) People (mostly birders) who walk up to you, or yell from their cars "Have you seen it?". My response is always going to be "Yes! I saw it", and then  they ask "Where is it?", and I respond, "well, which it-are you looking for?". Just because, I may be in a spot where a rare or unusual bird is suppose to have been seen, doesn't mean that is the reason for why I am there.

9) Minding my own business, I just love birders who will approach me without waiting to see if I'm attempting to take a picture, and then scare my subject away, or they go rushing in front of me so they can see the bird, without any regard to me. I think the next time this happens, I'm going to ask the idiot, where they work, so I can come to their work, and make myself at home, and see how they feel about it.

10) Wildlife Photographers who can't identify the animal that they are taking images of. You should know what you are shooting. You need to correctly I.D. the image if you plan on putting it on the web, so others don't get ill informed.

11) I don't care how big and strong you are. You can not hand hold a lens like the 400mm f/2.8, 500mm f/4, and or the 600mm f/4. Haven't you ever thought ,why is it, that your images are never tack sharp?, why are they always slightly out of focus? Come on now- GET REAL!