Ken Rockwell- an interesting read

[oogieboogieman]

Ran across on another forum and this really applies for me. You either love this guy or you hate him. Anyway, I thought this was interesting. The part that I thought was interesting is just needing to keep things simple. Now while most of his comments are wierd some I do understand.



http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/simplicity.htm

 

[bob100]

Ran across on another forum and this really applies for me. You either love this guy or you hate him. Anyway, I thought this was interesting.

[/QUOTE] here's another interestin...p://www.kenrockwell.com/analprobe/dissent.htm

and another -
www.theonion.com

 

[Chikabowa]

I totally agree with him up to a point.
1) I hate how he makes generalizations about men and women. I just hate it when anyone lumps people into certain categories. "Men can only think of one thing at a time." "Women like to shop." "Men like to buy toys."
That kind of attitude REALLY turns me off. He could totally make his point without use of those analogies.

2) Every successful shooter is successful because of what they already own - unique to themselves. Their personality and their photographic eye. I agree that fancy equipment won't replace those two things.

3) I think there is a time and place for people to be carrying a lot gear. Obviously if you are walking around Disney, it may be an exercise in creativity to only have a 50mm lens on you. It forces you to think and shoot differently. I know last year I had a 24-70 and that is what I shot everything with. It was kind of fun. Maybe this year I'll just use a 60mm macro. Could be fun too! I took a class a couple of years ago from a photographer who made mention that he wanted to shoot an entire wedding with just a 50mm f1.4 lens. He wanted to force himself to look at the world in just those terms. Interesting concept honestly.

Anyway... I thought it was a good article. Thank you very much for sharing it. I'm not the hugest Ken Rockwell fan, but I definitely enjoyed reading that one!

 

[photo_chick]

The thing about Ken Rockwell is that he sounds good on the surface and he does tend to have one or two good points in his articles. But when you get down to it I've found he's flat out wrong on many things.. I'm not talking about opinion and subjective things, but technical things that are objective.

Though this article... sexist and insulting to both men and women in my very subjective opinion. But I agree with him with the idea that sometimes simple is better. I think every photographer could benefit from using a camera that forces them to use their brain instead of relying on electronics. And I do think a lot of bells and whistles are added to dumb cameras down for people who have the money to spend on equipment.

 

[WDWFigment]

You guys do know that "Ken Rockwell" is another of Mark's pseudonyms, right?

 

[bob100]

You guys do know that "Ken Rockwell" is another of Mark's pseudonyms, right?

I didn't realize that. I suppose someone like "cramberry" could give bad Nikon advice to further frustrate poor Nikon owners. - as if they don't have enough frustration already!