2020 it is time ...
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| Friday afternoon roadside advert on my street |
January almost half gone, and I am just getting here ... Happy New Year.
Sugar Mas 48 was a big surprise and it caught me off guard. What I expected and planned for did not come. Life is like that. We plan for things because we believe that we know, but we cannot take all the variables into consideration, because there is always that one unknown elusive factor, which holds the key to the result that we expect. In time we learn to live with the results, unfortunately, some of us never learn to re-adjust our mentality to suit the new environment. But SKB is a place where the impossible does not exist for all those of the correct mindset.
In Sugar Mas 48 I missed seeing some photographers who have been here making pictures and videos over the last decade or so. From my corner I saw that there was a 50% increase of photographers, and I mean youths with DSLR cameras. These days everybody is a photographer because their cell phone makes them so, but there are some folks who apparently take their photography more seriously, and invest in a good brand name DSLR camera.
My most humorous moment of Sugar Mas 48 was to see a guy with a Canon EOS-90D on his neck while he was shooting a video with his cell phone camera. I did not check if it was an iPhone 11, but even the iPhone 11 cannot outdo the Canon EOS-90D shooting video in 4K. I am not going to be judgmental here, because one needs time to practice, and truthfully, I do not know if the person had time to practice using the 4K video feature. For Sugar Mar 49, DV, I may be shooting 8K video instead of HD.
I was pleased to see many young people with DSLR cameras. I am yet to see their results, but from the equipment I expect their results to be top class, if they followed the principles for shooting in midday sunlight, using the proper lighting accessories. I saw some photographers using a lighting technique that I do not recommend for midday shooting, but if they are serious about photography they will learn for any mistakes that they encounter. It is key that we understand what results we want and then use the proper equipment to deliver the images that we need.
Photographers in Saint Kitts and Nevis, and around the world, have one problem that will not go away. In every country one has to strategize on how this problem will be solved. In the larger countries it could be worse, because there are always "loose cannon photographers", who feel that they can make a buck by underselling everyone else. Some people take their Photography seriously and offer services. These photographers invest in their equipment and more, to make a career, and living from the art. Many of us cannot appreciate these artists, their skills and talents and are often reluctant to reward them for their efforts.
People need to pay our local photographers for their efforts.
However it is not strange that photographers who come from overseas, from foreign, are paid twice as much and more than the local photographers for the same images. We do not honour our local artists, who are just as good and most times even better than the foreigner. I expect that in 2020 this will change in our favour as more of our photographers seek to get more professional with their services.
Photographers need to stop playing cheap. Cheap products do not enhance your photography. There is a big quality and reproduction difference between a Canon Rebel T5, EOS 5D Mark 3 and the EOS 1DX Mark 3. Of course you can use the professional Canon L series lenses on the cheap camera and get great results, but for the ultimate in results you have to move up the ladder to the professional photographic equipment. Then you need to take the photography seriously, and Photographic instruction is the key. Pay your money and learn more professional techniques. Mimicking people is a joke, know what to do, and why you do it, and make it pay.
Are there any photography societies or clubs in Saint Kitts and Nevis? If not, why not? Why can't the photographers in Saint Kitts and Nevis come together to form a local club, society, group or association. They do not have to wait for the Ministry of Culture. When SKN decide to expand the ARTS on the school curriculum I suspect that the art of Photography will rise again in the schools. In my days, somewhere between 1963 and 1967, there was a photography club in the Senior School, but no photography club in the Grammar School, which I attended. I heard of a photo club in the Basseterre High School. We need to get back here in 2020.
If local photographers could get together and put the necessary photographic framework in place it would be the start of a photographic revolution in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The ARTS in Saint Kitts and Nevis can flourish like it has never done before, there was always the potential, but maybe a lack of will to achieve what to some seemed impossible. In Saint Kitts and Nevis, nothing is impossible. I am looking for 2020 to birth a photographic society, as a matter of fact I am looking to see a Chapter of the Royal Photographic Society establish in Saint Kitts and Nevis. I was a member of the Royal Photographic Society around 1988-90, and I think it is high time that our Federation and photographers move higher up the photographic ladder.
Calling all photographers in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Join the Royal Photographic Society today and seek to carry your photography to another level.
Take a look at the rps.org website and let us see if we can think about establishing the Saint Kitts and Nevis Chapter of the Royal Photographic Society in 2020.
Have a nice Saint Kitts and Nevis photographic day.
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