i was at a party on sunday and was talking to the photog. after a while, the conversation went like this. <BR> <BR>me "so who are you shooting for? <BR>her "the shoe company. i'm interning with them right now." <BR>me "oh cool! oh hey, that shot would be cool with a fisheye, huh?" <BR>her "yeah, but i don't have a fisheye right now. i want to get the 10mm." (she shoots w/ a 20d, btw) <BR>me "nice" (i thought, "did canon come out w/ a 10mm fisheye?") <BR> <BR>later, she was shooting w/ the built-in flash. not that it's bad, but was just curious... <BR> <BR>me "no speedlight?" <BR>her "no, not yet. i need to sell some of my older gear to get newer stuff." <BR>me "ah, totally understandable." <BR>her "wanna buy an 18-55 kit lens?" <BR>me "no thanks. i actually shoot nikon." <BR>her "that's unfortunate." (and she started crackin' up) <BR>me "umm, aren't you shooting in auto?!?!" <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/lol.gif" border=0><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/rofl.gif" border=0>

At least she knew the 18-55 was <a href="mailto:cr@p">cr@p</a>, you've got to give her that!

"later, she was shooting w/ the built-in flash. not that it's bad, but was just curious..." <BR> <BR>Oh no, you were mistaken. That IS bad.

rich, what do you mean the 18-55 is crap?? i just bought one from a guy for 1000 last week. he told me it was normally 2000 and so i thought it was a good deal. did i get dooped?? <BR> <BR>auto, whats wrong with auto? seriosuly who wants to acctualy work when you dont have to. <BR> <BR>okay i cant do it anymore... <BR>some people thinking buying a camera makes you a photograher. its kind of frustrating. this is why digital is such a double edged sword. i am thankful for it because it has increased my learning curve a ton but at the same time it robs the industry for those who acctually want to be photographers and want to put the effort into mastering the craft. <BR> <BR>and that 18-55 should be used as a paper weight.

Taking pictures makes you a photographer, selling them makes you a pro photographer. Other then those generalizations I'm not sure how to quantify the rest of it when it comes to equipment and knowledge of how to use it or for that matter learning the principles of composition etc. <BR> <BR>I wish it was that easy, that all you had to do was learn all that stuff and you'd automatically take good pictures.

Taking pictures makes you a hobbyist. Selling them makes you an opportunistic hobbyist. When the income from your hobby makes up 3/4 of your annual income then you can start to think about calling yourself a professional. <BR> <BR>Why people call themselves a "pro" when they make less than $10K a year is beyond me. Oh well. Whatever makes you feel important, I guess...

I thought the P mode stood for "Professional"

Well put Scott although you could say making over 10K a year makes one a businessman more then anything.

haha nice bakes! <BR>yeah i work for the student media center at our school, it's nuts how many rich kids drop 2 grand on a set up and think they are "pro's" since they get 100 bucks a month

That's awesome, Bakes! <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/lol.gif" border=0>

I guess it all depends on your perspective. I made over Scott A's minimum last year shooting wake, published in all three major mags, all but 4 issues last year and still consider myself a hobbyist. Well an "opportunistic hobbyist" as Scott put it.

thats probably just cuz your a humble guy Hahn... <BR> <BR>from what i've seen on here...never met ya