I'm not naming names, blaming or trying to cause problems.. I'd just like to see the photo forum become more about the fun of photography like it once was, instead of the mines bigger and better than your pen*s fest that its become as of late.

And your right there are pleanty of amatures who take some professional quality photos, you included at times. And those pros who take some that I think to myself, well I could have done better. However a good photograph is not always about being the best quality. People here now seem so focused on anet for instance. Personally I enjoy myav.net just as much because you get some cracking shots that arn't "anet material" but in some cases far more interesting than any shot on the main site.

Craig. wrote on Jan 7^th, 2008 at 5:58pm:


It'd be nice if some would realise that A.net isn't the be all and end all of aviation photography. In fact, it's very easy to get a sharp, well lit shot onto the site - it's no real achievement. It starts to get difficult when your photographs don't conform with their ideas, and so you have to take your work elsewhere. Which is no big deal.

J. wrote on Jan 7^th, 2008 at 6:30pm:

How's that then?

Ivan wrote on Jan 9^th, 2008 at 2:11am:


My giant collection of photos (all 6 of them) are all taken on a bridge camera, with nothing special in them. They're all very boring though.

This forum has certainly changed since it first started. The general quality of photos that people post here has improved considerably. In most cases this can be put down to the quality of the equipment which gets better almost every day. For example; the camera in Matt's phone probably has a far better spec than my old Fuji F401 which I still carry around with me.

I enjoy taking photos & get a lot of pleasure out of it. However, I've never considered myself a photographer or understood the obsession with Anet that so many people seem to have. I take my snapshots for my own pleasure.

As a comparative newcomer to the hobby I'm slowly learning the ropes. This takes time but experimenting is part of the enjoyment for me. I don't always succeed but know the results I'm after which might not fit the "experts" idea of what photos should look like. There is a certain amount of snobbery in photography as there is in the art world as a whole. I think this is a mistake & it would be a very boring world if everything was the same. I can only put up with seeing so many images of the same airliner in certain liveries.

It all depends on why you take photos & what you want to use them for. My passion is for vintage light aircraft & 'warbirds'. I started out a few years ago with the idea of taking photos of as many rare birds as possible, preferably in the air. Reliving my past when these aircraft were commonplace but I had no camera to record them. At the time I didn't realise what an undertaking this would be. My photos are for my own use first & foremost but if anyone finds them interesting I'm delighted.

I must admit that I haven't been as active on this forum as I used to be. There are several reasons for that but one is that I have no wish to enter any competitions, either for my photos or my ability to edit them. The hobby seems to be as much about graphics editing as skill with the camera these days. To be frank I have no interest in that. There should be room for everyone to post their photos no matter how good they are or which equipment they use. As Craig pointed out this used to be a lot of fun & the fun seems to have gone out of it recently. Please remember, owning a custom Gibson Les Paul guitar doesn't mean that I will ever be able to play like the man it's named after. It's not so much the equipment or how much it cost but what you do with it.

61_OTU wrote on Jan 10^th, 2008 at 7:51am:

LOL That was just a happy accident & proves what I'm trying to say. The situation is never likely to be repeated. A deserted air show bar with a lovely young barmaid who was no stranger to the camera.  I took 3 shots with my 2 Mp F401 on full Auto. Two of them are classics, probably the best photos I will ever take if I live to be a hundred.