To shoot or not to shoot

Have you seen the number of pictures people upload on social networking sites? And if you’ve cared to notice, of those pictures they upload, the number of pictures dedicated to random shots of the sea, birds, flowers- anything but group pictures, have gone up? Not just that, the cameras they use are also pretty high-end. A photographer friend of my remarked rather scornfully, ‘everybody wants to be a photographer today’.

Now that statement cheesed me off.

Well, I belong to this new photography crazy crowd. However, if you ask me, I have a completely different opinion about us ‘wannabe photographers’. In my case, I was genuinely interested in shooting images and taking a professional course to help me do that better. But for some they just want to do it for the want of a hobby. I think our generation of youngsters have come to feel the lack of doing something substantial, that goes beyond their professional realm. They want to stop going to malls (or so I think) and take up a hobby that’s not too complicated to be taken up at the ripe age of 30. While you might want to sit on your favourite armchair and philosophize that you are never too old to have a hobby. To you, I suggest try doing it first.  Photography, blogging, sports, cooking, painting- suddenly I see people making an effort to wake up on a Saturday and pursue the good life. And then, they want to share with the world, their wonderful Saturday exploits. :) hence, Monday mornings have newsfeeds packed with new photo-uploads on Facebook.

So, what’s wrong with that? Why must professional photographers feel threatened :)? OK maybe not threatened, but why feel bitter? Aren’t you happy this world has fewer lazy people? Sure, you feel bitter that you still are filling that piggy bank to buy that high end DSLR, while your friend Jaggi, who knows nothing about the manual mode, shutter speeds, exposure, blah, bleu,bleh-  is strutting about a D300s with the auto mode on and clicking pictures of every flower and butterfly his viewfinder can find.  Of course, he is using flash in broad daylight, but again, what the hell is wrong with that? This friend Jaggi wants to do something apart from sleeping until 12 noon, and he has the money to buy a high end camera and it makes him very very happy. That’s why, on a Saturday morning he hits Brindavan gardens and shoots like crazy- every leaf, petal and fountain in sight. He is a happy man, and you are sulking in that corner yearning for some expensive lens. And what is worse, you’ve cursed, bitched, mocked and done everything negative possible and whiled your day away. And then there are people who shoot awfully cool pictures without knowing any technicalities of a camera. You have an issue with that too?

Just let people be, ya. Shoot and let people shoot (as log as they are cameras :D). This world will be such a wunnerful place then, you’ll see. Being good or bad, average or superlative, all leads to nothing but STRESS. As long as you enjoy doing something, do it. The minute you peep into your neighbour’s to see if their dinner is better than yours, the colour green will blind you.

Mind it!

(I know some of you might want to object to this theory of being ok with being average - like Ayn Rand would have said. But you know what? Today I'd rather be more inclusive than scornful. That way I'll sleep better. Aren’t we spending too much time critiquing? You’ve passed that literature paper writing a critical analysis of Paradise Lost, long back. Move on, dude).