10 GOOD REASONS FOR YOU TO QUIT OF MACROPHOTOGRAPHY IN 2017

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Yawns
Posts: 400
Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 9:18 am
Location: Benavente, Portugal

10 GOOD REASONS FOR YOU TO QUIT OF MACROPHOTOGRAPHY IN 2017

Post by Yawns »

10 GOOD REASONS FOR YOU TO QUIT OF MACROPHOTOGRAPHY

01 - It's not the cheapest hobby or photography genre. You’re ok with field macro and low magnification “staking”.
You try to go over 5:1 and you realize you will have to remortgage the house….

02 - You will hardly get any return $ ever ...(do weddings and kindergarten parties instead)

03 - Even if you get a certain level of “excellence” there are, and there always will be, 50.000 other guys as good or better than you in Flickr).. face it, live with that.

04 - Nobody, but you and a bunch of freaks from your circle of "friends" likes it.
"why are you shooting now those disgusting ugly insects??.. before you were doing such lovely landscapes.."
I heard it many times and so did you. And we will hear it again many other times in 2017

05 - After a couple of years.. you're a bit fed up and bored.

06 - Macro it's tiresome... not everybody has the guts to get the bum out of the bed early morning to go spend a couple of hours in the grass chasing insects.. at least regularly and consistently.
If you are happy just with the flowers and insects you can find at home or in the garden... better quit right now.

07 - Macrophotography is "pretty dead" ... discussion is dead, the participation in forums is pretty dead.. You post and nobody cares. (You don’t care either)
Looks like this “macro” thing must have been fun 5-6 years ago, when there was a certain “pioneering”.. not anymore.
Instagram and Facebook killed the forums. “LIKE" and be "correct", don't "offend"...it's the word now.

08 - You can’t beat the Asians and the South Americans… your insects in Europe are so dull.. all is brown, green or black, occasionally a red one…and you get so jealous of those psychedelic funky aliens they have in the rainforests… :)

09 - Everything is becoming BORING and to much automatised... auto-rails, cameras and lenses who can do focus-stacking, focus peaking, “magic lantern” etc. soon (or maybe already right now) any idiot can do "great" pictures knowing nothing about nothing...

10 - Your mate is about to leave you.. she (he) can't stand another Saturday out to photograph bugs and it’s fed up of lonely nights in bed while you're doing your "stacks" of a fly till the sunrise...

Ok
Keep on going at your own risk… :)

Disclaimer: I’m joking of course, I hope you can gather that… I’m somewhat newbie in the business and I can see so may talented people around the web who are not doing it anymore or selling their gear…I found myself thinking about it and trying to figure the reasons why after my own experience and struggles…
Sometimes I feel a bit sad.. like if I “missed the train…” Shame I did not start it 5-6 years ago. Around 2010 must have been a great time for the forums and the activity


[ EDIT ADMINCR title changed from 2007 to 2017 ]
YAWNS _ (Y)et (A)nother (W)onderful (N)ewbie (S)hooting

Pau
Site Admin
Posts: 6053
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:57 am
Location: Valencia, Spain

Post by Pau »

:smt039

Another inconvenience to add: it's addictive, so I'll remain here

Note: too late to quit the hobby in 2007, exactly 10 years late :D
(originally it said 2007)
Pau

Beatsy
Posts: 2105
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 3:10 am
Location: Malvern, UK

Post by Beatsy »

Haha - good post. You certainly voiced a few of my doubts and concerns!

But, for now, macro still destroys my "ordinary" photography. I've lost count of the times I planned a landscape or street trip, only to be drawn back to the the rail for another extended stacking session instead. Very, very addictive.

My one fervent wish for the (near) future? Stacking software that does true 3d deconvolution where information from adjacent frames is used to remove halos and ghost transparency automatically. Surely that's possible. Eh Rik? :)

zzffnn
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Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Contact:

Post by zzffnn »

Because microphotography is more additive :twisted:

With micro, I don't feel #4, #6, #8 and #9 myself. Many people around me are of the scientist / medical type, so some of them actually appreciate my micro work.

My peculiar eyes don't like some insects, which is partially why I went into to micro instead of macro. But I have no problem when my friends / other people like insects.

And alternative macro subjects, such as flowers/pollens and minerals/gems are attractive to me. I try to use microscope with very low magnification objectives to image those macro subjects, which save my money, though at 1x-4x, it does not perform as well as a good macro rig.
Selling my Canon FD 200mm F/2.8 lens

MarkSturtevant
Posts: 1946
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 6:52 pm
Location: Michigan, U.S.A.
Contact:

You know your a macrophotographer when...

Post by MarkSturtevant »

Brilliant! Let's go!

You don't want anything for your birthday but an Amazon gift card or eBay gift card. Why? There is a Manfrotto 322RC2 tripod head that needs you.

You are crouched in the woods, motionless, fixedly taking picture after picture of a snipe fly, and strangers walk by. They don't make eye contact or even say hello since you are obviously very odd.

Sometimes, when people are not looking, you kiss your camera and ask if it missed you (I actually do this).

You peruse the macrophotograpyhy.net gallery pages for pictures, and you say to yourself 'I could do better than that' , or 'how did they <i>get</i> that??'

In quiet moments you wonder if your flash diffuser is as good as it could be. Maybe you should make a new one.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

Aussie Phil
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2016 2:53 pm

Post by Aussie Phil »

Photographing a tiny spider when you are an arachnophobe.

It moves... "Aaaarrrrrgggh!!!'

*Throws camera to ground and runs away.*

Olympusman
Posts: 5090
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:31 pm

Hanging in there

Post by Olympusman »

When I ask people if I can get a sample from their pond, the invariably ask if I am going to make any money from images from their pond. My reply is "it's like model railroading -- the money onoly goes one way -- OUT." Actually, if you have never been to a train show, microscopy is far cheaper then model railroading ( a fact I remind my wife of frequently).

Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

Lothar-Gutjahr
Posts: 237
Joined: Tue Dec 27, 2011 4:13 pm
Location: Greece Perachora/Loutaki

Post by Lothar-Gutjahr »

Hi Mike,

i moved in the meantime and also finished the UFOMI to be used as a bare instrument of joy. I have given away 7 little black ones and a huge box with materials of typical basic microscopic background.
I have donated my whole machinepark to a young girl - toolmaker.

New plans are: doing some painting here in Greece, stationary macro-micro fotografing using UFOMI and start forgetting doing mecanics for 3D Printers and else; better warming up in the greek sun insted.

It will take a little while to get healthy moneywise again. The movingcosts exploded and fired us temporarely into poor people. So we mach up to our neighbours here.

Shortly i hope to be more active here . Till than best greetings to all!

Lothar

Olympusman
Posts: 5090
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:31 pm

Greece

Post by Olympusman »

Lothar,
My wife and I will be vacationing in Greece in July. Obligatory two days in Atens and then on to Santorini with a side trip to Crete.

Regards
Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

All Ex
Posts: 261
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:54 am
Location: Greece Thessaloniki

Post by All Ex »

I live on a bed for over 10 years now, several annoying reasons make it impossible to sit on a wheelchair, once I started macro, it became an obsession to me, I don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of that, besides exploring the world in such scales is fascinating I think. The difficulty of the thing is somehow tempting to me and that is another factor.

Lately I'm starting to get involved with other kinds of photography, but I think I'll never consider them as my first interest, I'll always will be totally dedicated to macro.
All--Ex
My YouTube initial video

MacroLab3D
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2017 11:40 am
Location: Ukraine

Post by MacroLab3D »

LOL. This is all true.

Also, maybe it's "dying" because things are moving to Facebook and Reddit? This forum is amazing, but i miss "like" button so much. So many posts just sitting there alone, without my likes. Looks like they not important and forgotten. But i like them so much! How can i express my self? How can give love? If you read this - i probably wanted to like one of your posts but you never know about it - here -> my LIKE for you.

Beatsy
Posts: 2105
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 3:10 am
Location: Malvern, UK

Post by Beatsy »

You look at large prints from 6 inches away - and use a loupe!

ChrisR
Site Admin
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Location: Near London, UK

Post by ChrisR »

@MacroLab3D. I know what you mean. This forum is quite old software though, so I expect the addition of such a button wouldn't be feasible.

Yes it would feel good to acknowledge more images, but as it is, if we all did that then every thread would be full of posts which just say "nice". Or worse - "awesome capture" comments :roll: , which blight some forums.
I know how it feels too, to have 100 views of an image, with no comments whatsoever
:| .
Chris R

abpho
Posts: 1524
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:11 pm
Location: Earth

Post by abpho »

MacroLab3D wrote:How can give love?
You could leave a simple comment stating "Like".

And Facebook is evil.
I'm in Canada! Isn't that weird?

MacroLab3D
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2017 11:40 am
Location: Ukraine

Post by MacroLab3D »

abpho wrote:You could leave a simple comment stating "Like".
No i can't. Such foruns restrict this. And if it is not restricted it is too much clicks to make it - it is not worth it, you see, no on doing it. Just pass through invisibly. Also retro thing here is coming back to thread to see if maybe someone mentioned you. Lucky me - i have 2 mentions today haha. Thanks.

If you think Facebook is evil - you was on another planet for too long. Come visit again. It's changed and it's different.

ChrisR wrote:This forum is quite old software
Yes but i saw "like" buttons on similar forums before. I am sure it is doable. And very easy to enable somewhere in setting. I am sure.

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