Business / Philosophy of Photography Taking pics is one thing, but understanding why we take them, what they mean, what they are best used for, how they effect our reality -- all of these and more are important issues of the Philosophy of Photography. One of the best authors on the subject is Susan Sontag in her book "On Photography." |
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Woo hoo ... one last (paid) fling for the old girl! (M8) |
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02-16-2010
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#1
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On leave from Gallifrey
Keith is offline
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 18,654
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Woo hoo ... one last (paid) fling for the old girl! (M8)
Got home today to discover I had an email from the project manager of a government body that handles public art projects in Queensland! She's currently coordinating the project just completed by my sculptor friend Adrian which is being installed on thursday morning at an old heritage listed maximum security prison here in Brisbane. She provided her phone number and asked me to contact her urgently which I did! I was asked if I was interested in documenting the installation of the 'Boggo Road' artwork this coming thursday and would $800.00 be OK!
After I picked myself up off the floor I said "that would be fine!"
This is an absolute unexpected freakin' windfall and although I've wanted to do something like this for ages I just wasn't expecting it to land in my lap like this! Damn ... I was thinking of going out there on thursday and photographing it for nothing other than the experience of doing so!
It will also be a great little send off for the M8 which is soon to be replaced by a D700 ... and the money will go a long way towards reducing some of the shock to my struggling bank balance that the Nikon purchase created!

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02-16-2010
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#2
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40oz is offline
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,328
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Good for you. And thanks for sharing the practical results of your talents and hard work.
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02-16-2010
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#3
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Registered User
Pickett Wilson is offline
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,848
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Congratulations! You've been documenting Adrian's work for a while, and it's time someone recognized - with cold, hard cash - your own work!
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02-16-2010
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#4
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Registered User
Sparrow is offline
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Location: Perfidious Albion
Age: 67
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Congrats Keith, nice one
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Stewart McBride
RIP 2015
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02-16-2010
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#5
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... likes film.
maddoc is offline
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: 名古屋
Age: 54
Posts: 7,318
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Great Keith, that is very good news ! ... and of course: CONGRATS !! 
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02-16-2010
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#6
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Registered User
gavinlg is offline
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Wellington NZ
Posts: 5,093
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Awesome score! That boggo road jail is apparently quite haunted - I was reading a lot of interesting stuff about it's history the other day.
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02-16-2010
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#7
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RF Enthusiast
rpsawin is offline
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 1,536
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Great news Keith! Any chance we can see a few pics from the shoot?
Best regards,
Bob
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Best regards,
Bob
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02-16-2010
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#8
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Registered User
Brian Sweeney is offline
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 14,909
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Congratulations on the job, Mr. Paid Professional!
So does this mean you are dumping the M8? I briefly considered a D700, especially given that I have so many Nikkor lenses. I just like using an RF too much, so when it came down to the final decision- went with the used M8. Also, I've never forgiven Nikon for encrypting data in NEF files and hiding behind the Digital Millenium act...
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02-16-2010
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#9
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Registered User
BillBingham2 is offline
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Ames, Iowa, USA
Posts: 5,919
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Well done Sir. Very nice work and well timed. Enjoy and share your results. Bring lots of extra batteries and cards.
B2 (;->
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02-16-2010
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#10
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Registered User
pakeha is offline
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: South Pacific
Posts: 901
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exellent Keith, i hope this -"that would be fine!" - was conveyed with very little emotion, you know just in case they call again 
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02-16-2010
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#11
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Registered User
faris is offline
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 884
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Well deserved keith. may you continue to have windfalls like these with your D700.
Good luck.
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02-16-2010
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#12
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Registered User
Michael Da Re is offline
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 240
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I always knew you would be famous someday!
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02-16-2010
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#13
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Registered User
semrich is offline
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Alexandria, VA
Posts: 1,348
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Good for you, glad to see things working out for you like this. The work I see you post here suggests you deserve it.
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02-16-2010
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#14
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Registered User
Dave Wilkinson is offline
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Hull, Yorkshire, U.K
Posts: 2,281
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith
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congratulations on that commission Keith! - but I'm a bit puzzled!.....it seems no time at all since you were sharing your excitement over the arrival of your new M8 and doing gigs in poorly lit galleries etc. with it. Now it has become "the old girl - having a last fling"?  .....I hope the D700 has a more satisfactory 'timescale' for you! 
Dave.
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02-16-2010
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#15
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On leave from Gallifrey
Keith is offline
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 18,654
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Wilkinson
congratulations on that commission Keith! - but I'm a bit puzzled!.....it seems no time at all since you were sharing your excitement over the arrival of your new M8 and doing gigs in poorly lit galleries etc. with it. Now it has become "the old girl - having a last fling"?  .....I hope the D700 has a more satisfactory 'timescale' for you! 
Dave.
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It does seem like a very short time ago Dave I agree ... two and a half to three years flashes by in a blink once you pass fifty ... or so it seems! Looking back on the M8 purchase it was done on a whim ... and a bloody expensive one at that and I'd had it a year or so before I was asked to do the odd gallery opening. At that stage I was seriously wondering about the financial sanity of the purchase and was considering baling out of it and wearing whatever loss I incurred!
It's funny to think of a three year old camera as being 'old' ... that's digital and the new age consumer mentallity I guess. 
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02-16-2010
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#16
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On leave from Gallifrey
Keith is offline
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Location: Australia
Posts: 18,654
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Sweeney
Congratulations on the job, Mr. Paid Professional!
So does this mean you are dumping the M8? I briefly considered a D700, especially given that I have so many Nikkor lenses. I just like using an RF too much, so when it came down to the final decision- went with the used M8. Also, I've never forgiven Nikon for encrypting data in NEF files and hiding behind the Digital Millenium act...
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Thanks Brian.
Deciding what to do with the M8 is already a small issue and as much as I probably should sell it financially, I'm not convinced I will. That camera represents my first foray into serious digital and it's taught me a lot ... dealing with it's limited ISO range and some of it's other short comings has forced me to be inventive in conditions where it and I were both out of our depth!
Often I've wanted to place it on the ground and jump on it but here's where it gets weird ... all the hype about Leicas and rangefinders has some significance occasionally and you realise that the damned thing is unique, warts and all!
Thursday will be a breeze for the M8 ... perfect light and not trying to photograph in a dimly lit environment where every second person seems to be wearing black so I probably wont even bother with IR filtering! 
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02-17-2010
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#17
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quiet photographer
robert blu is offline
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Location: Italy
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congratulations Keith, I hope you 'll post some pictures about.
robert
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02-17-2010
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#18
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Registered User
oftheherd is offline
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Posts: 7,925
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Congratulations Keith!!! That is awesome and obviously well deserved. I hope your benefactor doesn't read RFF though. 
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02-17-2010
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#19
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Registered User
newspaperguy is offline
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Way to go, Keith!
May this be the first of many.
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This semi-animated version of the hardbound edition
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02-17-2010
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#20
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Registered User
leica M2 fan is offline
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Way to go, Keith! Hope this leads to many more like this or better.
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TONY
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02-17-2010
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#21
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Registered User
HarryW is offline
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Argyll + Bute, Scotland
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Congratulations Keith - can't beat getting paid for something that you enjoy doing anyway.
Not sure about the D700  I would have thought the money would be better spent on another FM3a and some primes
Best wishes
Harry
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02-17-2010
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#22
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El ****
pachuco is offline
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Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Woo Hoo!! That is great! Congrats!
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02-18-2010
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#23
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On leave from Gallifrey
Keith is offline
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 18,654
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Well today was the day ... the first two pieces installed and the remaining one to be done tomorrow morning. The install went like clockwork ... the light was perfect with high even cloud cover!
All I can say is the M8 is near useless for this type of thing ... I would never choose a rangefnder to shoot anything like this ever again! It works well in the gallery openings I do, ISO limitations allowing, but for something where you have limited working space and need accurate framing ... forget it!
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02-18-2010
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#24
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Registered User
Brian Sweeney is offline
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I probably would have pulled out the 35/2.8 Perspective Control lens if the structure shots were important. "Use in case of Parallel Universe Crisis".
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02-18-2010
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#25
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Light Catcher
jesse1dog is offline
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Location: Afon Fathew
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Very pleased for you getting this commission Keith.
I've just caught up and see that you have done one shooting. Possibly get better pictures when there is something of a challenge and you are up against it - brings out the best usually.
Despite the framing and other issues hope you got something that pleases you and satisfies the commission.
When I first read the thread I sort of remembered you stepping back into a trench somewhere on one of your assignments, and wondered if you would do the same again. But there is always tomorrow .......
jesse
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'A photograph shows a slice of life that is already history; just a piece of a jig-saw that you will never see completed!'
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02-18-2010
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#26
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On leave from Gallifrey
Keith is offline
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 18,654
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[quote=Brian Sweeney;1263347]I probably would have pulled out the 35/2.8 Perspective Control lens if the structure shots were important. "Use in case of Parallel Universe Crisis".[/QUOTE
The problem Brian was caused by a couple of things: Not being able to shoot from positions that made the subject material idealy placed distance wise and the fact that the M8 is damned hard to frame accurately with a 25mm lens ... if you were unlucky enough to be a glasses wearer you'd be in real trouble.
The camera produces beautiful files as you know but this sort of thing is not it's forte. The ideal setup today would have been a (gulp!) zoom lens ... I never thought I'd hear myself say that!  Probably an 18-55 or similar.
Do they have those for the M8 yet? 
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02-18-2010
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#27
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Registered User
Bike Tourist is offline
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Location: Central California
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Congratulations, Keith!
You'll like the D700. I really enjoy mine but I wish I could also afford an M8, too.
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