about captain tom...and other things

[doctahjones]

i figure this is 'open talk' and i am in no way trashing tom (i think tom is -great-, just misunderstood). i'm merely trying to provide some prospective for those that don't seem to get him (and others). if the moderators feel this should be pulled down go ahead.

i'll also remove any direct negative comments that aren't in the constructive nature that i'm starting this thread with.

if you don't feel you can play nice, please move on from this thread and don't come back.







that said, here goes:


this is my opinion that i've formed of tom. i think he is -grossly- misunderstood, and since it's hard for people to pickup on sarcasm electronically, it seems to me people think tom is some big monster out to trash everyone. now maybe i'm all wrong and that's what he's here for (jk!), but i seriously doubt it.


you want an honest, -very direct-, cut and dried, non-sugar coated opinion which is 99.9% of the time backed by -years- of experience? ask tom. does that mean he is absolutely correct about whatever the topic is? for the most part i'd say yes. from my point of view if tom gave an opinion, i'd think he was right. the good thing about photography though is, there's always more than one way to do something, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. so just because he might make a remark about the technical aspect about a photo, doesn't mean that the photo isn't a good photo. just means from a purely subjective point of view, the photo is flawed. also doesn't mean tom hasn't even taken a flawed photo.

should you take anything he says personally? heck no. not unless he directly addressed you and said "hey (insert name), you suck and should never be allowed to own a camera." i've never seen that before though, so...

it's also not tom's job to technically tell you how to do the shot. if you were paying tom (or whoever really), then he might have to tell you

my impressions of tom are he's a -excellent- guy to get some answers from (photography or otherwise!), if you do it right. you can't ask tom "hey i just bought a camera 3 days ago and i'm going to shoot (insert event). what do i need to do?".

that would annoy me, and i don't shoot for a living!

i think this is where alot of the 'negativity' i've been seeing from some on the board lately is coming from. us "newbies" and such are asking the questions in the wrong way, and the "pros" are seeing it like we're trying to take business away and that we're coming here to get the cheat sheet to skip 5-10 years of shooting experience (ok i'll admit, maybe some are trying to do that, but i think those are easy to spot). i think -most- are just new and don't know how to ask questions correctly.

i think the "pros" would more appreciate a question like (please feel free to add your opinion):
"my friend doesn't have money for a photog to do (insert event). i have a slr now and thought i'd help them out. i'm thinking i need to do xx and yy, and i have aa and bb equipment, and was going to try to shoot with ggg settings because it will be indoors. do ya'll think i could get some shots this way?"


to me, it comes down to most of the "newbies" misunderstanding the "pros" and vice versa.

i think alot of us amateurs need to remember it's not the job of those that are photographers for a living to tell/teach/hold our hand in how to do something. we need to experiement more and learn things on our own. if you can't figure out how to do it, post what you've tried and i bet you'll get some very helpful tips. if you just make a post about 'how do i do this' and i bet you get flamed. this isn't an online university that's only here to hold your hand and give you example of ways to do things.


i also think that alot of the pros need to remember that everyone has to start somewhere. while most of us amateurs don't do this as a living, some of us really would like to. while that might turn out to be competition for you, you still have x years of experience over us. there has been, and always will be people that want work for 1/2 or 1/4 of what the industry standard should be, and there will always be those people that want examples of your work and will hire you based on that, not price.


ok, i think that's it for my incoherant ramblings. i'm not going to go back over this a few times like i usually do, so there's probably alot of gramatical errors and mispellings and runon sentances and....

[ChristopherCoy]

.... as in "Captain"?

[tomdrink]

What did I ever do????
Tom

[doctahjones]

Originally Posted by ChristopherCoy

.... as in "Captain"?

i don't think we have any other tom's that are discussed as much as captain tom

so, yes, that one

doctahjones added 0 Minutes and 50 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

Originally Posted by tomdrink

What did I ever do????
Tom

ha, different tom. thread title updated

[tomdrink]

Originally Posted by doctahjones

ha, different tom. thread title updated

I am so relieved!
I've actually met Capt. Tom briefly. Seemed like a great guy!
The "Other" Tom

[ChristopherCoy]

Originally Posted by doctahjones

i don't think we have any other tom's that are discussed as much as captain tom

I think he is an absolute flippin riot~! I enjoy most all of his posts, I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't.

[doctahjones]

Originally Posted by ChristopherCoy

I think he is an absolute flippin riot~! I enjoy most all of his posts, I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't.

my feelings exactly

[CallMeAl]

Originally Posted by doctahjones

also doesn't mean tom hasn't even taken a flawed photo.

Thanks a lot! How can I respect his comments now? Please just don't tell me that wrasslin' is fake too.

[texxter]

I've met Tom in person and he's a pleasure to talk with. And he knows a thing or two about photography, I reckon.

[ka5txl]

Originally Posted by CallMeAl

Thanks a lot! How can I respect his comments now? Please just don't tell me that wrasslin' is fake too.

Fake of course not!! It is really nicely planned physical activity. but not Fake

[ChristopherCoy]

Originally Posted by CallMeAl

Thanks a lot! How can I respect his comments now? Please just don't tell me that wrasslin' is fake too.

Its not... and neither is the Easter Bunny if you were wondering.

[Jeff_Green]

I think Tom should stick to blowin in his trumpet...

Yes, I'm kidding.

What do I have to do to get my own thread?

Tom is great, now go sail a catamaran around some island somewhere!

[Jake]

Originally Posted by Jeff_Green

....
What do I have to do to get my own thread?

.....!

I know, right? I'm totally jealous of Tom right now.....

[J Eddington]

Only if Tom is the Captain! ....You know that would be a fun meetup. Rent a boat and go someplace fun. Or go someplace fun and rent a boat.

[bondarnes]

And if you really need help, Tom is a go to guy. If I was in a jam, he would be one of the first one's I would call.