Only if you're a photographer...

[wesely]

Being a photographer, in a forum with photographers, on a website about photography, I think we can all pretty much agree we share some of the same quirks and some very similar events have happened to us while either shooting for fun on our own, or (for those lucky enough to be professional) shooting in the studio. And seeing as we ARE photographers (artists in our own right! ) I'm sure some of these have to hold a bit of humor, so...

Let's share them...

PRESENTING!

EVENTS THAT ONLY HAPPEN IF YOU'RE A PHOTOGRAPHER!

I'll start.

(This is me all the time..)
Driving down the road, I constantly spot a beautiful sunset, and since I almost always have my camera, I have to race to get the perfect shot of it. So there I am, swerving in and out of my lane with my head over the wheel trying to spot a great place for the picture while keeping and eye on how much of the set is left, and hoping I don't hit anything. Then as soon as I see the perfect spot, I practically skid off the road, partially from trying to hurry, and partially trying to regain control (haha!), and race for the shot.

I know this happens to all of my friends aswell, one in particular was trying to get past a bridge to silhouette a tree, and in the process, got pulled over by a state trooper for speeding. At first the trooper didnt buy the story. Then he saw the backseat littered with different camera equip and etc. , and just shook his head. The good news: he got a warning, not a ticket.

The bad? He didn't get that great of a sunset.

So what's your story?

[NathanJK]

I RACED through downtown San Antonio the other day trying to get this rainbow to drop down in a place that I thought was photogenic...by the time I finally parked got out and took a few pictures it was so faded that I can barely see it in the pictures :( Of course, I could have stopped on the overpass when I first saw it and it was PERFECT, but that probably wouldn't have gone over so well.

[LoungeLizard]

Well, there are times I see a beautiful woman walking by and I stare. My friends will look at me and just kind of smile. I tell them "I would love to photograph her". You can guess what their response is...

[Holly]

In a recent comment about my boyfriend's eye color, I mentioned they were green with a blue layer set to xx opacity, blah blah blah...lol..good thing he is also a photographer, the "you need medication" look wasn't nearly as bad as what I would get from a non-photographer.

In putting my makeup on in the morning I wish for a healing brush.

When I say something stupid (quite often) I immediately think "CTRL-ALT-Z"

I can't enjoy a movie anymore without evaluating the cinematography, colors, composition, etc..also goes for magazine advertisements, looks a bit odd to be staring at a Victoria's Secret catalogue in that way...(I'm a woman). By the way, VS has some nice photography! If I ever got a copy of PlayGirl, it wouldn't be for the articles, it would definitely be for the photos...(the lighting of course!) :)

I am a nerd, this I have never denied...it is good to be among friends here! :)

[Bill]

"The perfection of a scene, landscape or person, is inversely proportional to the likelihood of actually being able to take the picture."
Bill's Photo Corollary #1

[xseption]

I am more interested in wildflowers along the Texas highways and byways than sunsets, so as I am passing down the road I check the local flower scene (Much more dangerous in the spring because of the abundance of wildflowers). I will pass up one or two opportunities then I have to pull over and see what I missed ... I can usually identify the flowers just in passing, but when I see an odd color or arrangement, I just have to pull over. If I am traveling, I will memorize the exit number so that I can come back around later. Sometimes I will show up a few minutes late to an event and the question I usually get is: Why are you late? Shooting flowers again???

Over the past Sping Break, part of the time was checking out likely areas to shoot wildflowers (see WildflowerHaven.com). I was hanging out the window while the wife was driving and the niece was learning to spot as well. What fun!!

Church members find out that I take pretty flower pictures so of course I can do portraits and weddings ... right?

Other church members find that I take pretty pictures so I can also teach them to take beautiful photos as well ... right? so why do they tell me that their photos never come out like mine???

[wesely]

Originally Posted by xseption

...I will memorize the exit number so that I can come back around later. ....Sometimes I will show up a few minutes late to an event and the question I usually get is: Why are you late? Shooting flowers again???

...Other church members find that I take pretty pictures so I can also teach them to take beautiful photos as well ... right? so why do they tell me that their photos never come out like mine???

God, haha, this is all me. I used to make a trip to austin atleast once or twice a month this past year, as I've got good friends up there and I'll be moving there in August, and all along I-10 and 71, I was memorizing exit numbers and counting the miles on the odometer between a landmark and a photo op, haha. I wish I could show you some of the things I've found, like the old torn down bar-b-que shack that just a has a roof lying ont he gound that says barbque in western letters (awesome in the sunset), and the batmobile (on 71, about 35 out of austin, its there sporadically), and just other cool stuff (like the smiley face water towers...theres two!), but sadly, that was all when I was shooting film (not that film is bad, I love film, just sad because I cant show you)., so if any of you ever meet me, I'll show you.

And everytime I show my non-photographer friends prints or shots, they all trip out about why can't their camera do that, and teach me how, and all that. Sometimes its annoying, but most of the time I just take it as a compliment

[Clayton Wallace]

One time I had been in some intensive post-processing ALL day and late into the night, barely stopping to even eat. As I was leaving the building I saw some damage to a wall and immediately started mentally figuring that I could fix it. That's when you know you need to back off of Photoshop!

And I too find it very hard to watch a movie or read a magazine without analyzing the lighting, dof, exposure etc...drives my wife nuts.

I'm a confessed erratic driver myself during that golden hour!

I teach high school (web/graphics) and my students know that when I show up to school with dirty or wet pant cuffs I've been stomping (or even laying) in the morning grass/dirt/weeds to get some 'great' shot.

[Jim Victory]

This reminds me of a trip from the Houston area, back home, where I had been shooting wildlife for several days.

I decided to take the backroads to try and get some Hawk shots from the road. I got pretty good at spotting likely hunting areas on the side of the road and found several Hawks perch high in the trees, along the side of the road, watching the adjacent fields for prey.

The usual 3 hour drive took 9 hours.

[xseption]

Originally Posted by Jim Victory

The usual 3 hour drive took 9 hours.

that happens to me almost everyday I take the camera with me (which is most days).

If only my wife could understand ...

[dsjsws]

I would love to know how Daniel - "Zeroendless" - gets away with his fantastic shots crawling on his tummy to capture the perfect shot.
The last time I tried it, I got sand fleas in Cabo, Mexico.
Daniel inspired me, so I thought I would give it another try.
I have been covered in poison ivy and chiggers for the last two weeks.
Oh well - I guess I just don't have the "magic" touch.
But - the shots were great!
I tell myself that every time I feel the urge to scratch!

Donna

PS - My other half says that what makes him crazy about my photography is the number of camera bags I have collected. He keeps pleading with me to get rid of some. I keep telling him I use them all. That each one has a special purpose. I need them all!

[MarcoFromHouston]

Originally Posted by dsjsws

PS - My other half says that what makes him crazy about my photography is the number of camera bags I have collected. He keeps pleading with me to get rid of some. I keep telling him I use them all. That each one has a special purpose. I need them all!

Sounds like you and Abel need to start a support group!

[Steelsun]

Originally Posted by LoungeLizard

Well, there are times I see a beautiful woman walking by and I stare. My friends will look at me and just kind of smile. I tell them "I would love to photograph her". You can guess what their response is...

I get similar reactions, but I don't say Photograph often as a verb, instead I would say "I would love to shoot her."

[LoungeLizard]

Originally Posted by Steelsun

I get similar reactions, but I don't say Photograph often as a verb, instead I would say "I would love to shoot her."

I've learned to NOT say that! If I want some humor to go with it, I'll stretch out the first syllable of "photograph" and see what they say!

[TXhummer2]

"Whatsin that bottle?" me the new 8th grade photog asked the older boy. "Smellit", he says. thub! The rubber stopper popped out, I held it to my nose and SNIF...F..F...! I did not get nose hairs until after I was 30 years old after smelling acetic acid. (1966)