TheOctonaut

Programmer turned photographer turned back to programmer.

I was really enjoying the online photography scene the 2000s and early 2010s. I used to do street photography, ask interesting people to take their portrait, blag a press pass and take photos of up and coming bands (“sure why not” is a crazy answer to “can I inexpertly point my flash directly at Florence Welch as she performs her last tiny gig before stardom”).

I started doing work for wannabe models (ModelMayhem mostly) and from that got requests to do paid personal events, eg weddings and engagements. Especially when I moved abroad to places where I was basically self employed, this was a nice little occasional gig. But it was work. Regardless of why they chose me, they wanted their photos to look the current fashionable way, they wanted them by a certain date, they wanted specific moments and they wanted them perfect even if they weren’t perfect in real life. It sucked all the fun and creativity from it.

Coupled with the overloading of the internet with (elitist snob coming) mundane and repetitive photography content and the death of discussion and appreciation of thoughtful photography, it eroded my love for it on both ends.

I’m old and have kids now, I’m trying to get back into it. It’s hard to build back up that courage to take out a camera and snap a photo. Before it marked you as unusual, but at least as potentially an expert or artist. There was a percentage of people willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. It seems these days that like many “democratised” things, putting extra effort into something seems to be heavily discouraged and denigrated as elitist. And I think just in general a 40-something with a camera does not get the benefit of the doubt that a 20-something used to. I’m hoping it swings around again as I hit proper old age, just a harmless old weirdo with a DSLR.

This is a setting in your browser.

I have opening apps automatically disabled for places where I have multiple accounts.