I would class Nigel as a ‘proper photographer’ of the old school, (hopefully he doesn’t mind that).
Certainly not offended by this compliment.
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The problem is that there are now a lot of point and shooters (and no doubt this will offend some people) who have invested in high end gear that to their untrained eye gives them amazing images compared to what they have produced before, but close inspection reveals a woeful lack of any creative understanding of the fundementals of what makes good images.
Sadly also there are a good few people involved in the selection of and art direction of images who also lack a basic understanding of what makes great images too, you only need to look at some of the shots reproduced in the magazines to see poor focus point selection and lack of DOF and other basic mistakes.
However, in the main you will also notice that despite the huge increase in the number of wildlife photographers, it is generally the same names seen alongside most of the 'jump off the page' published images (whether Canon or Nikon users) this fact alone proves its the craftsman and not the tools that produce the goods, and you can apply that same logic to sculptor's chisels, artist's brushes or golfer's clubs.
Perhaps when Nikon catches up we will all benefit by a drop in price when we have real competition3
Sadly also there are a good few people involved in the selection of and art direction of images who also lack a basic understanding of what makes great images too, you only need to look at some of the shots reproduced in the magazines to see poor focus point selection and lack of DOF and other basic mistakes.
There are many well respected organisations and photographers that say the Nikon D300 and D3 have not only caught up but surpassed Canon.
I've been a regular reader of 'Amateur Photographer' over the years and I reckon that they've printed some pretty poor shots (including wildlife photos) recently - the fact that they only 'pay' for many of them with a mug, now, instead of cash probably sums it up!
Adey, I get AP too. I think the reviewers are a bit pro Nikon but I do not hold that against them. I think if you send a picure in to a magazine then you should get payment. You are a mug if you accept anything less, so I suppose a mug is apt reward for the mugs who send their pictures in. 3 I dare say this is an office joke at AP magazine.33
I dare say this is an office joke at AP magazine.33
Yeah, I reckon they've probably got a wry sense of homour (they keep sneaking shots of Buachaille Etive Mor in despite promising not to when the new editor took over!)
But now it's far more possible than it was a decade ago for the average person with minimal experience to get some bird photos that he or she can be proud of. That's a great thing! I confess that I have taken more good (I won't say great) bird photos in the past two or three years than I took in the previous twenty years shooting full frame using film. I don't think I'm alone in this.