Posted by Kent Staubus on January 10, 2007 at 11:22 PM
I've noticed that on some forums folks are really good about listing what gear was used to make a photo, and on others they are less so. For example, the Avian forum is very good. Why does this matter? Well, I'm active on other message boards, generally not "nature" oriented. They typically cater to more of the beginner photographer crowd who are just starting to get interested in more capability. Often the question comes up, "What lens do I need to take photos of flying birds?" Yes, I answer on those forums and list options. I also like to refer those people to NPN. I invite them to talk about lenses etc. here, AND see what others are doing with the lenses I talked about.
--->NPN has great diversity of people and gear used. We can be a great resource for people wanting to learn more about outdoor photography, especially what specific lenses can do for them once they become proficient with them.
Kent in SD
Posted by Nathan Buck on January 10, 2007 at 11:53 PM
I agree Kent, this is important, and I do my best to always post details. I think that with some galleries, there is different info that is helpful. In Macro/CU and Flora, I think the aperture used is very helpful for someone looking to learn, and for people making comments.
Nathan
Posted by Alex Lofquist on January 12, 2007 at 3:35 PM
I agree that info such as lens focal length, use of extension tubes, teleconverters and "diopters" is interesting, and sometimes important information. However some publications feel that it is necessary to include the make and model of all equipment and media used to make the photo. I cannot see why we have to know if the tripod was carbon fiber or there was an Arca-Swiss ball head arttached to it. I could care less whether the image was made with a Canon, Nikon or whatever body (unless it was germain to the photo). I cannot believe that certain manufacturers lenses endow qualities found only with them. (My apologies to certain RF users who may wish to question this.) If there is a reason to use a particular manufacturer just tell me why!
Posted by David Senesac on January 12, 2007 at 4:21 PM
Kent, I agree and posted a thread at least a year ago that members kicked around a bit. Notably most of the moderators encouraged it and of course the forum guidelines request posters consider doing so. Additionally a few others who happen to post image information supported so while hardly any comments came from those that do not.
That made me wonder why? Some speculation. Maybe some simply have developed a habit of not doing so while posting on any photography board thus resist changing their style even though they may read that some others would like them to do so. It does take a wee more effort to type in a few more words and as everyone knows, the one line strokers that have little to say beyond what they feel tend to dominate image critique forums. Interesting those same members are likely to post images with like one liner descriptions as one may note with a bit of searching. Thus a tendency of minimal sentences either way apparently without much interest in information. In fact I would speculate some actually don't like those that write more as it may make them feel awkward. Note this is not just a tendency on this board but also at many others on the net. ...David
Positive: anything that helps a community member learn or enhances the value they get from NPN is obviously a good thing.
Negative: it's easy to lose track of the fact that this information is secondary to the image itself, and may also create some degree of competition among members.
Overall, I have seen more of the former than the latter so I'll say it's a good thing overall.
One curious thing I have seen in other forums is that some users list the entire content of their camera bag as their signature, which always gives me a chuckle. I'm glad this is not the practice here.
Guy
Posted by Steve Foss on January 12, 2007 at 4:49 PM
"One curious thing I have seen in other forums is that some users list the entire content of their camera bag as their signature, which always gives me a chuckle. I'm glad this is not the practice here."
Amen.
Posted by Ott Luuk on January 13, 2007 at 11:23 AM
Focal length, exposure, capture medium and major processing moves are always good to know but I`d prefer a short description of the situation, place and the photographer`s intent while taking the image instead of a single line of hard data copied from EXIF or the back of one`s head.
For beginners, it makes sense that a comment that explains why the chosen gear and technique was used makes much more sense than something like this:
1DSM2N,500mm x 2.0,f8,1/320,f16.ISO400 (actual line from a post in Avian)
The amount of detail to be included in the post is a compromise, though. Too much and it gets boring enough to be skipped without reading.
Discussion
6 replies--->NPN has great diversity of people and gear used. We can be a great resource for people wanting to learn more about outdoor photography, especially what specific lenses can do for them once they become proficient with them.
Kent in SD
Nathan
That made me wonder why? Some speculation. Maybe some simply have developed a habit of not doing so while posting on any photography board thus resist changing their style even though they may read that some others would like them to do so. It does take a wee more effort to type in a few more words and as everyone knows, the one line strokers that have little to say beyond what they feel tend to dominate image critique forums. Interesting those same members are likely to post images with like one liner descriptions as one may note with a bit of searching. Thus a tendency of minimal sentences either way apparently without much interest in information. In fact I would speculate some actually don't like those that write more as it may make them feel awkward. Note this is not just a tendency on this board but also at many others on the net. ...David
Positive: anything that helps a community member learn or enhances the value they get from NPN is obviously a good thing.
Negative: it's easy to lose track of the fact that this information is secondary to the image itself, and may also create some degree of competition among members.
Overall, I have seen more of the former than the latter so I'll say it's a good thing overall.
One curious thing I have seen in other forums is that some users list the entire content of their camera bag as their signature, which always gives me a chuckle. I'm glad this is not the practice here.
Guy
Amen.
For beginners, it makes sense that a comment that explains why the chosen gear and technique was used makes much more sense than something like this:
1DSM2N,500mm x 2.0,f8,1/320,f16.ISO400 (actual line from a post in Avian)
The amount of detail to be included in the post is a compromise, though. Too much and it gets boring enough to be skipped without reading.