Camera you, camera me

(L-R) Geramil Cordero, Melchor Daniel, Jr., Ryan Li,
Joel Diccion and Jude Montejo.

About a year and some months ago, I wrote a piece on buying a digital camera. “Five quick tips,” it said. One was about determining what you really need. Two was about choosing the mainstream brands. And so on.

I cannot ultimately say that people read my article (probably not, I had a few readers counting myself), but in over a year, more and more people are buying these little gadgets faster than you can say, “Say, cheese, one, choo, three!”

You can find cameras everywhere – in schools, at the malls, on the streets, at birthday parties, in a church. Yes, even those guests who are rudely walking out of the wedding reception immediately after quickly finishing their dinner, also brought cameras with them – taking pictures of themselves grabbing some giveaways on the way out.



This so-called occurrence has stirred nests in some “professional” photography circles in a lot of ways. Some of them are mad that Canon, Nikon, Sony and all those companies have produced cheaper cameras that, now, even mere ordinary blokes can take pictures. Crappy pictures, but still, pictures. Photographs.

Some have even gathered enough fury (and lots of free time, apparently) to create Facebook Pages like the “Just Because You Have a Camera Doesn't Mean You're a Photographer” page. I am, right now, checking it out as I type and clicking on the like-button next to the “Sasagwan ka ba sa KARANGALAN o Sisipa sa PAPOGIAN?” like-button which I am gleefully clicking as well. Not.

Mark Higdon says “i hate when people take pictures with their crappy phone and say its photography.”[sic]

Phillip Brady says “Just because you have legs does not mean your a runner !”[sic]

Samuel Ortega Lao says “‎(FREE) Online Business, GOOD INCOME, FREE TRAVEL LOCAL & INTERNATIONAL, and Many More…”

Geez, somebody is posting on the right FB walls. I start to fume. But then I come across:

Rosa Noreli Sanchez says “I love photography & i do it for fun :)”

Click. Like. One Million times.

(For questions and comments regarding this column, please email me at ryanmacalandag@yahoo.com or look me up at www.facebook.com/ryanmacalandag)