Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…
What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!
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@ant_pruitt this is a great topic! I have always had an interest in creative arts. As a kid I tried writing short stories, comic books, poetry, then photography.
I didn’t buy a DSLR until I got married and sold my motorcycle lol. We got family photos and I was less than impressed and figured I could do better. I used the money I received to buy a Canon 60d. I figured it was a hobby I could with the family. Then I joined a photography forum and told the members I was a beginner and asked for critique on a photo. I received a lot of negative feedback without any context. Although I was upset I explained to them again that I was a beginner and to chill. I later joined Google+ and there I felt like the critism was more constructive. In the end I kept going and am continuing to improve.
Here is the photo that I posted. It’s not the most amazing picture in the world but it’s not the worst picture of all time.
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This right here. This is why I started a smartphone photographers community on G+ back in the days. This is why i said the second I have a chance to help someone create a cool photo or make their photos look better to them, I’ll do it. This is why when I shared my vision of HOP with the Laportes, I told them, “I don’t want to do a show for pros. Pros were jack a**es to me when I was trying to learn.” I’m glad you were able to continue to enjoy your hobby and time with the camera. THANKS for this comment and for being a supporter of HOP. Means a lot 
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And I LOVE this picture. Hits me right in my chest as I think about my first born #hardhead is now a senior in high school and I remember him learning what a “prodcesser” looks like inside of a computer case.
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For me taking photos is my external memory. I forget things and places so having a photo reminds me where I have been in the past and what I have been doing.
From time to time I even get a good one.
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I’m sure you get several good ones
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Sometimes the photo hits you. You just see it so if you expect it you are ready to take it.
But yeah most of the times the photo is not for the general public it has meaning only to me.
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Crazy that anyone would be negative about this photo. I think it’s lovely.
For that matter, maybe they were disingenuous? I’m thinking that some pros see a photo like this from a beginner, and they feel threatened. They think, “I shoot photos all day long and maybe come out with a few great photos, and now here comes this guy with his beginner photo…”
So that’s just a longshot theory. 
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Thank you @MacPhyle! I was told they didn’t like that he was looking down, they didn’t like the hand in the picture, they said I only like it because it’s my son. Shoot I barely knew my camera or the basics. I just chalked it up as pros being protective of a field that was changing due to affordable DSLRs and Smartphones. I’m sure there were plenty of people posting and thought their work was the next big thing but I barely knew how to use lightroom when I took that picture.
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Hahaha. Yup, they grow fast. He is 8 now and as hardheaded as he wants to be. Lol
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To answer the question why so you shoot? For me its a way to relax. Its a hobby of sorts for me. I shoot what I like, and I really don’t care what others think, I do like when I get positive feedback, but that’s not the reason why. Photography is a stress reviler for me as well as linking a bunch of my different interests together. Look at what I have posted and you can tell what my interests are. Trains and my personal character Waldolf Ursine . Going out on a weekend after a hard week of work and taking pictures of them, and sometimes both of them at the same time relaxes me and brings back my happy mood that disappears during the week. Don’t have anything fancy, my main camera is a Pentax K 01 plus I use the camera on my LG G4 as well. I do post my pictures on line I do have a Flickr account. It can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjbuttons/albums. I do try to post pictures on my Facebook, Instagram, and twitter pages every day as well
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