XtremeCamera

Trying Is More Important Than Succeeding

July 28, 2008

This week the staff at XtremeCamera will finalize, we hope, our Internet identity. The only positive thing to come out of the turmoil in May and June has been to decide what we DON’T want our identity to be. Now its time to cement the things we DO want to be and begin marketing ourselves in order to bring in new members.

Many of our changes have caused misfires and backlash, and we understand that. There are still some current members that have not accepted our changes and have expressed their dismay in private messages. (By the way, if you want to message an Admin you need to use the internal Messaging System, we do not check the forum PM system often, if at all) We’re attempting to deal with it, but let’s face it, if you try to make everyone happy you are going to dilute the message, and we don’t want that.

Compromise works at times, and sometimes they don’t. For instance, the renaming of the main gallery to Critique Gallery and new rules about the type of images you can upload. We compromised by putting up a new Member Gallery, but apparently that wasn’t enough for a couple of people who are making it known that they are unhappy about it. So let me make this official; while we try to please as many people as possible we will not always succeed. It’s okay to let us know that you are unhappy about the changes, but we will not make the mistake (again) and go back to the way it was. If you need to voice your opinion, fine, but don’t expect much of a reply. We just don’t feel we need to state the reasons for the changes over and over and over. When we make the change we write about it, explain why it was done, then move on. It will remain that way, so threats and intimidation will not work to your advantage.

Now back to Brand Identity

All staff members were tasked with writing down what they believed is the best way to accomplish our stated goals, which is to turn the tide of lousy photographs that permeates the internet due, in part, to the way camera makers market their products. We find it hard to believe that camera makers like Nikon and Canon really believe that are doing the photography community a favor when they make their preset exposures so effective that it allows a complete newbie to go out and drop a thousand dollars on a dSLR and take well exposed photos on Program mode. There are so many people out there that believe a well-exposed photograph is all it takes to be a photographer. Never mind the ability to choose the correct aperture or shutter speed, never mind skill at all, just let the camera do your thinking for you. How is that helping the community? If you think you have the answer, please share it. You just might change our minds.

So, we’re fighting an uphill battle. We’ve alienated a whole lot of people, and these people will spread the word to others about how elitist we are, how we think all amateurs suck, and other things that are simply not true. But, you cannot defend yourself on the Internet, or even explain yourself, because you will lose every time. Just ask anyone that has suffered through a flame war on a forum, or who have been the topic of a blogger somewhere. Don’t even try, just keep on doing what you do and ignore the hate.

We believe that after a time people will begin to take notice that the XtremeCamera galleries are displaying excellent photography, that our conversations are intelligent discussions on photography, and that however small our dent will be, we are making some inroads toward making people more critical about the photos that are being thrown up on photo sites and there will be less pats on the back and more critical thinking. Like I have said before, the impact we might have may be slight, or nonexistent, and we may fail miserably, but it is far more important to try than it is to succeed.

That last sentence above, “it is far more important to try than it is to succeed” can be, and should be, applied toward every aspect of a person’s life. Instead of complaining about something, like the fact that because you refuse to shoot manually, XtremeCamera should change its ways and critique your photos, it is far better to spend that energy trying to shoot manually and succeed in having your photos critiqued then it is to complain about it. Unless you are a complete idiot, you’ll learn how to effectively shoot Manually. In life, trying is the most important thing you can do. Success is just a bonus.

As it relates to how to brand XtremeCamera, how do you get that message across? As a matter of fact, how many people are left out there that even wish to learn how to properly create a photograph? Maybe we, the staff, take photography too seriously. I certainly know that going with the flow, adopting the mantra that ‘Program mode is good’ would open us up to more members. If that were the price we have to pay, its too high and we’d rather walk away. How do you get that message across, that you would rather fail then embrace this new ‘skill doesn’t matter’, mantra and that ‘only the end product matters’ that seems to be taking a firm hold on the photography community?

Even the one photo site that I have the utmost respect for ignores the exposure mode in their EXIF data. So, even this site, which is dedicated to great photography, doesn’t care if the photo was created on Program mode. What does that tell you?

This week is going to be tough on all the staff. Getting across our message is not going to be easy, but we’re going to try.

John Manzione