I Love Film
Well-known
Hmmmmm.....YOU were not obsessive and YOU did not care about getting a shot, but all those other obsessive a**holes were. But you got three or four frames.
And that reminds me of a problem created BY serious photogs:
Years ago, I got a permit to shoot the San Francisco Blues Festival. They even had a special platform built right in front of the stage that the photogs could use. The idea was that you'd go up there, keep down low, shoot your shots and get out quick.
Well, that all went to pieces when John Lee Hooker showed up. From the moment he got out of his car to the moment he went on stage, he was surrounded by a wall of photographers. I'm amazed he wasn't crushed or asphyxiated by the mob of camera-clicking obsessives.
Then, when he went on stage, ALL the photogs rushed up onto the aforementioned platform, stood straight up, and began firing away--not for a moment or two, but throughout Hooker's entire set. The audience--who paid for this, after all--was treated to the delightful view of a row of photographer's asses.
I got off the platform when I saw what was going on--it just seemed so rude and inconsiderate to me. Being an a**hole didn't seem worth it just to get the shot. I certainly was not surprised when in the years after that, no such privileges were extended to photogs. It's behavior like that which makes photogs as beloved as ...well, lawyers.
(BTW, I did get a decent shot of Mr. Hooker. I waited till the wall of asses parted for a few seconds, then fired about two or three frames.)