Saturday, December 6, 2014

Please Stop The Terror, The Torture, Not Again!! My Least Favorite Photo Idea

How many times in my life have I seen the shot of a canoe(s) (usually red) floating in the foreground on the edge of land or turned over in the gravel with big mountains and a lake in the background? Two dozen? Three? Four? Over and over again at club meeting that photo would reappear it would have 9 lives, no 20, no 100. I often wondered if the photographers carried around a red canoe on their backs so they could plunk it down in front of any available mountain. It was like a virus that kept coming back, haunting me in my dreams.

Tonight I visited the sites of two talented local club photographers, there was nice work, some pretty work, nothing truly great but plenty of higher quality club level stuff. I was enjoying the pics. Then there they were, the dreaded canoe shots, not once but twice, once on each of their sites. Nauseating, repetitive, uninspired, repulsive, garbage! Why would would talented photogs want to shoot the same trite mush that has been done so many times before (thousands?). Pablum like that canoe-mountain cliche thing makes me squirm, makes the steam come out of my ears. Yuk!Yuk! Yuk! Use your skills to try and create something unique and creative, do not waste your time on a shot that induces empty platitudes, boredom and nausea.

Looking at the canoe mountain shot makes me want to quit photography, makes me want to swallow a Tri-x canister and slowly choke to death. Please, please, please no more, stop my suffering, canoes in front of mountains be gone!!

Thanks for listening to my venting! I will try to control myself better in the future.