Social Media – My Third Eye

Today’s picture is not great art; it is just a snapshot. However, it is the best image for the point I want to make today.

The image is of three attendees from the recent Kodachrome photo-walk I’ve mentioned a few times, and the key point is that all three people in the image have cameras, and were actively shooting, creating images at the event. At every other photo walk I’ve been to, it’s been the same; the emphasis has been on creating images, and sharing the joy of doing so in a social setting.

When I compare the photo-shoot vibe and attitude to what I’ve experienced at recent podcamps, the podcamps do not come out on top. Podcamps used to be about creativity (heck, they used to be about podcasting!), but to me it doesn’t seem to be that way any more. The best way for me to describe how I see podcamps now is to describe how a photo-walk would be if it followed the spirit of current podcamps:

Only a distinct minority would actually carry cameras.
There would be very little discussion of actual photographic techniques.
Amateurs would definitely be in the minority.
We would have sessions and/or discussions like “How to pick the best camera gear to impress an creative director”, “Making money from iStock and Getty” and “Tagging strategies for Flickr”.
For the most part, the only pictures we would see would be images of people’s photographic equipment.

I could go on, but I think the point is clear; Photo-walks are about creating, and podcamps, despite the best efforts of a determined minority, are about marketing.

Podcamp, you’ve jumped the shark. So long, we barely knew ya.

It has been some time since I was seriously into photography, and in that time, I have become involved a lot in social media, and it has had an interesting effect on my images. I am an introvert by nature, and in the past, taking pictures of people I didn’t know was difficult. Since getting into social media however, it’s been easier for me to meet new people, and now taking pictures of people I don’t know is getting easier.

A few weeks ago, along with my daughters I was involved in a video shoot for local Ontario singer/songwriter Andrea Gauster. I was playing a photographer in the video, and also took the chance to take a lot of pictures of the video shoot. While in position, waiting for the camera to roll, I saw another cast member perfectly posed, in great diffused light, so I went up and asked to take a picture (seen below).

I couldn’t have done that five years ago.