On photography

So there I was, at the zoo, among a small crowd, watching some penguins. As I do. They were swimming around the enclosure and Holly (yes, I'm on first name terms with most of Marwell's penguins) was stood on a rock surveying the pool. Suddenly, the peace was shattered. I was literally barged out of the way by some old bloke with a camera. "Mind out the way, mate," he ordered, pushing some children aside in order to get as close to the safety bar as he could. After unleashing a torrent of flashes in Holly's general direction he turned around and left, presumably oblivious to the 20-odd people who now hate him.

I'd like to say he's a one-off case, but sadly he's not. The simple case is that photography has become so cheap recently that everyone's doing it, even arseholes. I don't claim to be exempt, I have a camera and frequently take photos of animals at the zoo, as well as other things, people and places. Photographers' rights are something for which I stand strongly, and always support photographers in arguments with ill-informed police officers and self-important security guards who mistakenly think they have a right to decide where the general public can and can't take photos. One of the benefits of living in the UK is that in nearly all cases you or I can take a photo of whoever or whatever we like, whenever we like, without having to worry about obtaining permission from anyone. But there are some who take it too far the other way, as if owning a camera makes you immune to basic common decency.

I see arguments all over web bulletin boards about what constitutes a 'real' photographer. Some claim that people who own point-and-shoot cameras as opposed to expensive DSLRs aren't 'real' photographers. Others claim that you're not a photographer unless you make money out of photography. Obviously, this is all just snobbery. I've seen some truly shocking photos taken by supposedly 'professional' photographers with big expensive cameras that are massively inferior to some other photos that I myself have taken with a mobile phone. And I'm sure every hobby photographer in the world will disagree with the making money argument - I know people who know everything there is to know about photography, yet have never made a penny in their lives on it. I believe that if you've ever taken a photo, you're a photographer. There are good photos and bad photos, and I'm sure every photographer has taken their fair share of each. So I have my own suggestion as to what makes a 'good' photographer: one who's not a complete dick.

I have been to friends' weddings where the 'official' photographer (running around in a suit with a motorcycle gang-style patch on his back advertising his services) was continually snapping photos all the way through the bloody ceremony making it incredibly annoying for pretty much everyone in the congregation. I've been to conventions and conferences where several people, all wielding outrageously large cameras, have considered it acceptable to run around at the front and crawl all over the stage getting in the audience's way in their quest to snap photos. I have even been to events at which a photographer has complained to the event organisers afterwards that the light was too low on stage, making it hard to take photos, completely ignoring the fact that the show was put on for the 350-odd people in the audience, not one prick with a camera.

Fact is, it seems to me that many so-called photographers have forgotten what a photo is - it's a memory. And if the memory contained within the photo is that of a pompous, inconsiderate and in some cases bloody rude photographer, then the photo wasn't actually worth taking. Fellow photographers: if you're taking photos at an event, respect the audience who have probably paid good money to be there, use a telephoto lens from the back, or sit in the front row rather than crawling all over the stage getting in everyone's way. If you're taking photos in a public place, such as a zoo or art gallery, wait until your subject isn't surrounded by other people who have just as much right to look as you have to take a photo. Much of photography is waiting for the right moment, and if you have to barge people out the way, you've picked the wrong moment. For most people, I'm sure, this is all just common sense. Sadly, for some it isn't. To those people: stop being a dick. That is all.