Earlier this month I while I was photographing the Ennis rodeo I ran into this very nice gentlemen who had recently retired and picked up photography as a serious hobby. He and I chatted for a bit, swapped some stories, talked about our gear… but I must admit he caught me off guard by announcing he was a “birder”? I said, you’re a what? He said, “I’m a birder” Folks, I had never heard this term before and I don’t know if the rodeo dust had clogged my synapses but my little brain just wasn’t grasping the obvious. Come to find out a birder is someone that loves watching birds–duh!. I guess this was lost on me because I’m not the best when it comes to finite titles…I sort feel pigeon holed if you know what I mean.
The whole conversation made me think about how we categorize photographers–and understandably so. Yellow Pages would be chaos if we didn’t have bold headings identifying us as studio photographers, wedding photographers, commercial photographers, outdoor photographers, travel photographers, pet photographers, people photographers, photojournalists…etc. I mean I get it, because I even labeled myself as a landscape/travel photographer. But, here’s the funny thing: since I’ve labeled myself as landscape/travel photographer I sometimes find myself hesitating to post pictures that fall outside of that description. So, I’ve decided for the blog’s sake I’m a little tired of the title and today I’m going to be a birder! Today’s photo was taken a few feet from my cabin with my newly acquired 100mm lens (which I’m loving). I once heard someone refer to themselves as a generalist…hmmm…I think I’m going to try that one out tomorrow.
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Generalist is good! I sometimes look at my photos and wonder what category I’d fall into. I’ve never actually categorized myself yet. Maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to be in a category!
Great post as always and love the pic!
Lauri,
Thanks for stopping by and for your comments…J
A generalist? You like to take photos of generals? I guess our military could use someone in this capacity but… only kidding.
If I had to, I would classify myself as an outdoor photographer (how is that for a vague classification). I do work inside from time to time but the lions share is outside. Once outside, nothing is safe from my lens.
The generalist made me smile too….
Don’t really have a comment to make, but I had to click through to tell you how wonderful this photograph is. So wonderful!
Erin,
Feel free to click through any time and just say hi…;)
I guess im a sunriser I take photos of sunrises about everyday I can ,do other shoots but I think of myself as a sunrise person more than anything else.
I have no clue why either just starting do pics of the sunrise a few years ago and just keep going it has taught me alot about light though.
You have fun with your new lens, filters and remote…
I’m a macro naturalist.
Love the bird pic!
I guess I’m a culturalist–photos of places and people doing their thing– street scenes, great architecture, cafes, back alleys and the like.
Is that a category?
Culturalist works for me…;)