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Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

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Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#71

Post by breakintheweb »

JudgeWapner wrote: post #8
jrockway wrote: post #3

This just sounds like poor law enforcement to me. Stopping your car on the side of the road is typically legal. Photographing something from public property is legal in the US. What isn't legal is littering, trespassing, and theft. If you were there to damage the lavender because you thought that would be a fun thing to do, that to me is the same as being there because you want to take a selfie. You should be arreste…

In addition to this, I wonder if the farmers could set up props to discourage photography and sabotage the shots. Ugly banners, balloons, drones with ribbons, blaring offensive music, signs with semi-offensive verbiage. Or boxes of rotten fish to stink up the side of the road.

The weird thing for me is the people are literally taking a picture of themselves committing a crime. It seems like it would be easy to bring a case against someone doing this?

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#72

Post by throwaway9d0291 »

CPLX wrote: post #12

I mean this type of photography is a style right? Like the more people do it the more cliched it will get and then it will go out of style right? Every generation wants to do something new.

I think [0] posted elsewhere in the thread shows that it's already very clichéd. For the most part the audience doesn't care. As long as there are good looking people in exotic environments, they're satisfied.

I don't think it's going to go away any more than things like magazines or travel shows are going to go away. At best, some subset of the "influencers" will find something else to signal about.

[0]: https://www.instagram.com/insta_repeat/

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#73

Post by gadders »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #51
jwmoz wrote: post #42

Sums up everything I detest about photography and mainly typical instagrammers. You have the same problem where I am in Bali - idiot instagrammers using the farmers rice fields for their selfies, whilst the farmers are breaking their backs. I wonder how they'd feel if tables were turned - farmers all photographing young people on their laptops in cafes etc.

They probably wouldn't notice, but if they did they'd be unlikely to mind. If you go to China, Chinese tourists will want to take pictures of you (assuming you're white). And they really like taking pictures of white kids. It's kind of funny, but I've never seen anyone react by thinking the Chinese are all selfish jerks. That just wouldn't make sense.

A friend of mine is of Ugandan extraction, and she had lunch with her sister in China. She said people were staring through the window watching her and her sister eat.

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#74

Post by donretag »

pembrook wrote: post #55
jwmoz wrote: post #42

Sums up everything I detest about photography and mainly typical instagrammers. You have the same problem where I am in Bali - idiot instagrammers using the farmers rice fields for their selfies, whilst the farmers are breaking their backs. I wonder how they'd feel if tables were turned - farmers all photographing young people on their laptops in cafes etc.

On a recent trip to some more remote areas of Southeast Asia, I had this exact experience. Since westerners were a rare sight in many of the villages I visited, my friends and I found ourselves constantly being photographed, with the local teens and even older adults alike all posing in selfies with us in the background. I’d say we were photographed roughly 20-30 times per day, for the the month we were there. I’m no…

I also had this experience in Africa. Was in a location where few tourists went, most foreigners were NGO workers and workers in some capacity. Locals would take photographs without even asking. In other parts of Africa, the locals were too poor to have good cameras.

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#75

Post by thaumasiotes »

mdpye wrote: post #68
thaumasiotes wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They probably wouldn't notice, but if they did they'd be unlikely to mind. If you go to China, Chinese tourists will want to take pictures of you (assuming you're white). And they really like taking pictures of white kids. It's kind of funny, but I've never seen anyone react by thinking the Chinese are all selfish jerks. That just wouldn't make sense.

There's a power imbalance there. You're on holiday, exercising your economic power and generally having a good time. How would you feel if hoards of Chinese people came over to photograph you in your native environment, say, stuck in traffic on your commute, or late to drop your kids off at school, or while they're standing in your front garden while you're up a ladder trying to clear the guttering? Perhaps you'd tir…

Why? What happens if I show up in a Chinese photo album?

I think the problem in this subthread started when jwmoz decided the "equivalent" of tourists coming to your fields, trampling your crops, and cutting and taking bunches of produce for themselves was tourists coming to a Starbucks and taking pictures.

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#76

Post by ahartmetz »

mdpye wrote: post #68
thaumasiotes wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They probably wouldn't notice, but if they did they'd be unlikely to mind. If you go to China, Chinese tourists will want to take pictures of you (assuming you're white). And they really like taking pictures of white kids. It's kind of funny, but I've never seen anyone react by thinking the Chinese are all selfish jerks. That just wouldn't make sense.

There's a power imbalance there. You're on holiday, exercising your economic power and generally having a good time. How would you feel if hoards of Chinese people came over to photograph you in your native environment, say, stuck in traffic on your commute, or late to drop your kids off at school, or while they're standing in your front garden while you're up a ladder trying to clear the guttering? Perhaps you'd tir…

There is also an old-fashioned way to put it without reaching into the social justice toolbox: people doing something pleasant gawking at people doing something unpleasant. Imagine a tourist having a minor traffic accident or dropping their backpack into the mud, and locals standing around it taking pictures.

It is less about a global power imbalance and more about a situational one.

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#78

Post by robocat »

So, NZ is on the receiving end of some of this, and here's my opinion:

* Our popular areas are completely overrun during tourist season - I personally think not much fun for tourists or locals (unless a crowd is good e.g. party zones)

* As a local, I can usually find something way better when I travel in NZ that isn't overrun by tourists (e.g. from article, that one lavender farm in France is overrun, but I bet there are plenty nearby that are not).

* I personally love the vibe of the high tourist areas. Generally having tourists is good for nightlife, great for meeting other cultures, and tourists create heaps of economic opportunities (very often in places that would struggle otherwise).

* When travelling overseas, I skip anything "must see" that is in a guide or otherwise recommended (unless you want a tickbox or it is totally off-season). I go to small towns that are in non-tourist areas, and find my own awesome shit.

* When travelling, try to meet locals in a low-density tourist area. You get to see the real country. In reverse, I try to be super welcoming to travellers I meet (I have no problem giving a hitchhiker a room in my home if they pass my sniff test).

* NZ isn't a big country, but there is a huge amount of amazing places to visit everywhere, if you have your own transport and more than a few weeks to travel.

* Try to avoid staying in tourist high density areas. Avoid the easy tourist transport means, avoid the tourist backpackers or hotels.

* Yes, tourists often leave a mess (NZ has a real problem with tourists travelling by vehicle shitting everywhere), but the benefits of tourists really outweigh the downsides IMHO

* I would love NZ to introduce a visa fee per travelling day - that pays for cleaning and pays for free entry to high traffic tourist destinations. We should be striving to attract the high value tourist, and not nickel and dime them once they are here. Tourism can be a Veblen good.

Summary: there are places that are tourist destinations, but there are heaps of places that tourists don't go to that are incredible.

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#79

Post by speedplane »

jwmoz wrote: post #42

Sums up everything I detest about photography and mainly typical instagrammers. You have the same problem where I am in Bali - idiot instagrammers using the farmers rice fields for their selfies, whilst the farmers are breaking their backs. I wonder how they'd feel if tables were turned - farmers all photographing young people on their laptops in cafes etc.

> I wonder how they'd feel if tables were turned - farmers all photographing young people on their laptops in cafes etc.

easy, they'd say "thanks! Follow and subscribe!!"

Re: Photographers, Instagrammers: Stop Being So Selfish and Disrespectful

#80

Post by speedplane »

rofo1 wrote: post #63
pembrook wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a recent trip to some more remote areas of Southeast Asia, I had this exact experience. Since westerners were a rare sight in many of the villages I visited, my friends and I found ourselves constantly being photographed, with the local teens and even older adults alike all posing in selfies with us in the background. I’d say we were photographed roughly 20-30 times per day, for the the month we were there. I’m no…

> Instagram isn’t the root cause to why people suck. That's even more depressing (if true) than this abomination of "social networks" that we are seeing right now. But still, even if your point might be true, we should stop giving people easy ways to be degenerates. There should be repercussions or something, but good luck codifying it into a law :) It's a difficult problem.

> this abomination of "social networks" that we are seeing ... we should stop giving people easy ways to be degenerates. There should be repercussions or something, but good luck codifying it into a law

You don't always need laws to stop bad behavior. Influential social shame and scorn are often just as effective.

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