Internet forums. You gotta love them. Somehow, no matter how nice the people, how much of a common interest they have, a forum will always end up in a flame war.

Its just the way it is.

People posting on there forget (or don’t care) that the recipients of their flaming, insults, anger and name calling are actual people too.

You wouldn’t have that kind of argument face to face. Well, you might, but after a smack in the teeth, you’d soon learn not to.

I think its the same thing that happens when driving. The level of detachment people get in their cars explains road rage and and the sometimes frankly disgraceful behaviour on the roads, and I think its this same detachment that allows perhaps normally nice people to hurl insults and act like petulant children on internet forums.

On Flickr, a photography forum/site thing, one of the groups I belong to, a group of people who are normally friends, there was an episode like this. It started innocently enough, some banter, some off-topic joking. All good fun. Then someone posted something fairly shitty. A caustic rebuke designed only to make people feel bad no matter what they tell themselves their reasons were. They do this a lot actually I’ve noticed, cutting one liners and then walk away, they never stay in the argument, just fuel on the fire and watch it unfold. And then it started, like a snowball down the hill. Name calling, escalated comments and some downright unnecessary behaviour. By long standing members of the group too, who really should know better.

So I’m over it. I didnt participate (who can be bothered) and am of a good mind not to ever again.

One of the things I really want to do is photograph a wedding.  Not just be a guest and point the camera at people and take nice pics kind of stuff, but actually shoot a wedding, either as an assistant/second shooter or as the main shooter and be in control of the precedings.

I love weddings – they’re full of interesting people, all dressed up and having fun.  People are generally all happy, loved up and are happy to give a few smiles in the name of an interesting photo or two.  And then there’s the bride and groom – the wedding party – so many possibilities for a shot – emotions, love, dressed up like they (hopefully) never will be again – its awesome.

I cant think of a bigger honour than to be invited into the middle of all this and be asked to document it for time eternal.

I recently read about some photographers that don’t really feel that way and somehow manage to view shooting a wedding as a miserable chore.   Anyone who moans about the lighting, the people, the challenge and how fast paced it might be shouldn’t be shooting a wedding.   Period.

I’d be horrified if our wedding photographer expressed some of these views – I’m paying her good money because she loves weddings, knows how to do them well, is in complete control and all her pictures look amazing.   You can’t and more importantly, shouldn’t be in wedding photography if you’re not in the spirit of the thing.

I think the problem with digital  photography its “free” to everyone to take as many photos as they can, and somehow people think that just because they can take a few photos, they are suddenly good enough to take photos of everything.    Its like any art – not everyone can do it and those that can tend to be good at certain aspects of it and that probably applies to weddings more than anything else.