Converting the Wife?

[MrRanger]

Interesting experence yesterday, the wife comes up to me out of the blue and asks " Where is that sliver camera with the big lens?" (refering to my Minolta SRT-201 - I know, this is an RF forum 🙄 ).

Anyway, I go and get the SRT which by the way, is wearing a Auto Sears MC 300mm tele with a Vivitar 2X-5 converter. I asked her "What are you going to photograph?"
"Maybe get some close-ups of my flowers" she said standing about a foot away from her flower bed, complaining that she can't get the camera to focus!

I explain to her that you can't get close-ups with that lens. "Well it's a zoom, isn't it?" she huffed. I go in the house and come back with an Auto Makinon MC 80-200mm zoom with macro. I put it on and try to explain the difference between Tele and Macro, showing her how to work the lens, check focus, shutter speed, f-stops and light meter.

She goes around the yard, taking forever to compose her shots, but she's working with the camera 😉 I verrrrry gently coach her, trying not to lose the moment and before I know it, she has gone throught a roll of film.

Very few of her shots came out (mainly focus problems), but I was quite proud of her! Do you think this is a good thing? 😕

Anyway, I thought I'd share a couple of her shots with you. One is of our 1 year old black lab Sam and the other is from her flowerbed.

Mike 😀

 

[FrankS]

It's a great thing! You are a very lucky man!

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Risky... was my first reaction, but after reading your post, it seems she's already decided her particular field.

Just don't coach her all the time. Let her discover the joys of photography the same way you did... before you found out you could be a mentor!

Congratulations too! It's a very nice story! 🙂

 

[Honu-Hugger]

I made every camera I could think of available to my wife, including Nikonos for when we are diving, but she just has never taken to it. What she did feel a desire for was video so for Christmas I got her a little Sony Digicam (Zeiss lens, of course 🙂) and not only is she a natural at it but she absolutely loves it -- her narration is always hilarious and she takes interesting video. On the other hand, I have no interest in video so, as touched on in the "New Lens, Angry Wife" thread, we are compatible through complementary interests. Everyone needs to find what they are comfortable with and it's satisfying to watch someone discover an inner joy -- she has a great time with her Digicam!!!

 

[cp_ste.croix]

I find that when I ramble on about photography, I tend to cram in the 12 or so years of shooting knowledge into one complete breath, something that can be quite exasperating for my GF. I hope you'll have a lot of fun shooting together. One thing that has helped my gf is critiquing my shots with me...she's almost as brutal as I am now 🙂

 

[stet]

I'm actually the converted one in this home!

My girlfriend is a video photographer in TV news, and last year she took an interest in still photography and darkroom printing. I come from newspapers and was very happy in my world of words, until she successfully goaded me into taking the Photo I class. Now
look at what she's done. I'm always reading up on stuff and checking out camera porn, and in general have become a grom at the camera shop (well, in surf/skate shops that's what they call the pesky regulars with hundreds of questions, except they're 20 years younger than I am).

But for all my lusting for gear this and that, I look at her Canon XL-1 and Avid, and I just shut off. I enjoy the finished pieces, but, as of yet, the process doesn't grab me like fiddling with the RF and printing.

 

[ent2b]

did you coach her the same way guys coach girls to shoot pool by standing behind them and adding their "movements" to theirs? "here's how you hold this and you reach back and do this and...."

 

[breakaway]

Ha, great idea... Maybe I should train up and be a photo instructor...

 

[rover]

Nope, mine has no interest. She also is as coachable as a log so I have no incentive to try.

 

[Pherdinand]

Cool🙂
I did the same w my former girlfriend.
Just as Solares says: be careful not to coach her too much. From personal experience I can tell you, after some time they feel offended that you always want to 'teach them' (even if not true) and that's not good🙂

 

[Zorkiiglaza]

My wife did alot of photography before we met. When we started working together ,she decided to let me do the photography while she did interviewing. I still love using her old Nikkormat and the lenses as well as the old Zeiss cameras of her father.
On the other hand, recently I have met 2 different teenage girls boths interested in photography. One is a friend of my daughter (my daughter just loves my Rollei 35S) who wants to be a photojournalist. She was wowed by my collection of FSU rangefinders and folders and said I have more photo books than the local Barnes and Nobles.
I started my daughter (now 18) 10 years ago with a Smena 35.

Yes don't over coach and let them come to you for advice!

 

[Peter]

My wife who is more artistically inclined than me (she paints with water color) thinks that photography is too easy. She once took the digital P&S I bought her and produced some really nice candid shots. She told me that it is too easy for her to be taken seriously and she prefers painting! Talk about arrogance! 😛

 

[peter_n]

Nope, mine has no interest. She also is as coachable as a log so I have no incentive to try.

LOL but my wife is not too different. She was in Banff last week for a conference - "I forgot to take the camera" - her camera (a Canon P&S) never seems to work, either the batteries are dying/dead or the thing is jammed in some way. Unbelievable.

I do have hopes for one of my kids. She has a Nikon FM and loves it.

 

[Justin Smith]

I agree with previous posters regarding the caution to not coach too much. My wife likes our Powershot A70 digicam, but shutter lag was frustrating for her. I gave her my almost new-in-box Rebel G (that I traded a used Dell monitor for) and she instantly took to it. We started in the totally auto-mode, and are now gradually moving into the other program modes before tackling manual operation.

 

[MrRanger]

did you coach her the same way guys coach girls to shoot pool by standing behind them and adding their "movements" to theirs? "here's how you hold this and you reach back and do this and...."

Actually no. I just stood there watching her, biting my tounge waiting for her to ask a question. I thought I did quite good. 🙂 I kept telling myself - you want to be supportive, not overbearing!

Mike 😀

 

[kzim56]

My wife just spent two weeks travelling around eastern China with her sister. She took my Panasonic Lumix FZ1 and loaded a 256MB with what must have been great shots. Unfortunately she left it in a restaurant and it...and what's worse, her pictures...are gone forever.

She complained that the Lumix was too big to carry in her purse. As a welcome home present I bought her a Nikon CP 5900 (any excuse to buy a new camera...even digital) but so far her interest in photography has not recovered.

Karl

 

[bmattock]

I got a digital camera for my wife.

Good trade, huh?

Just kidding! Ann-Marie, I know you read this - don't hurt me!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

PS - Ow, ow, ow, ow, etc

 

[tetrisattack]

Man, I'm lucky! My girlfriend carries around a Nikkormat that's bigger than my head! She's loaning me her dad's graflex, we load bulk film together, I taught her how to print the other weekend, and life is good.

The only funny thing about having a girl who's into photography is that it's a compromise to actually shoot together. I wanna do my thing, she wants to do hers. She gets impatient waiting for ten minutes while I set up and shoot with the 4x5".

Inevitably she hangs her film in my shower and it's covered with okay-I'm-getting-bored pictures that look like this:

She says she's the bresson for my meatyard. :angel:

 

[Honu-Hugger]

We have a ski hill here and the rule is never teach/coach your girlfriend or wife to ski -- the money for lessons is the best money you will ever spend!!! I've heard the same applies for golf...

 

[popitz]

my wife started photography with a digital camera...underwater! now, she loads my Kiev 4a with b&w film, straps our baby on her back, and goes out to shoot while i go to school. and i thought she was gonna be the cure for my GAS. boy was i wrong! now we both have a serious case of GAS.