I-pad Warriors and Tablet terrorists...

Is it just me, as I am getting older, or is it everywhere , it seems one goes on a cruise to relax and enjoy yourself, granted their has been vast strides in technologhy in recent years , digital cameras on phones great for the quick snap ..BUT all these darn "selfeies" on camera-phones and I-pads

(that term is used as a multi-purpose statement to cover all gender specific items ) is just getting too much for me. and "SELFIE STICKS " where I would like those to be put would proberley get me put in jail !! .

Has anyone been at a fantastic location recently , only to to be

"elbowed into oblivion " by the shout of a I-pad or I-phone warrior of

"Ohh gaaawd a,int that great..." and to be battered either side of your head by the arms of the outstreached pad / phone operators .

For myself I am still in the land of the slr (single lens reflex to you camera buff,s ) although now digital, hundreds of shots per memory card , much better than 30 odd with film ,BUT most of all you have a viewfinder..!

I have now devloped a new Ninja like skill .. just as 4 or 5 five of the pad wrestlers , arms outstreached are battering eachother to "get the shot " with a quickly mumbled Excuse Me, check the veiwfinder , take the shot or shots and retire for a coffee, as they all wave their arms about trying to see their lcd screens as the sunlight obliterates their view of what they are trying to take (same applies to digital cameras that only have lcd screens .)

Will people once agin start to be polite, take their photographs, and then make way for some of the less able to take their memories , I fear not but hope springs eternal

I await with intrest other peoples thoughts and experiances ....:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Welcome to Cruise Critic spannermonkey.

As your question isn't specific to Cunard, I will move it to a more suitable board where you will probably get more responses.

I'll add a few thoughts. Taking photos with whatever you have is (to a photographer) better by far than not taking photos. That said, I have to admit that in an environment where there are a lot of tourist types, especially younger ones, courtesy seems to have gone the way of the Dodo.

Selfie sticks by nature aren't evil. I have one that I use to elevate my camera for different perspectives. The difference between good and evil is that when I do that, I don't bump into people and swing the thing around like a Three Stooges skit, whacking anyone too slow to move to a safe distance.

Shooting with a phone? Sure! My Lumia Icon beats most of the P&S cameras I've owned for sheer image quality and it is always with me. It doesn't have a viewfinder but Nokia was always very photo-centric and the screen on the Icon is very viewable even in direct sunlight. It is actually good enough to forestall the purchase of whatever my next P&S might be. I use it like a camera when I don't have a camera with me. What I don't do is stand in front of the subject of my attention and take 50 shots over a 5 minute span while I try to frame myself with said subject using the screen and the inferior front-facing camera so I can get the perfect duck-face shot to share with my 1,500 similarly-challenged "friends" that I have never met in person.

Tablet photography? Sure...but boy, does it still look silly to me! Silly aside, courtesy should still be the rule. Trying to take a photo of something over a herd of pad-holes who crowded in front of me tapping away with their tablets held high sometimes makes me wish I was shooting with a BB gun instead of a camera.

My tactics have evolved to compensate somewhat. I get there early or late or at lunch time. If the shot is worth it, I will squirm to the front (with varying degrees of courtesy depending on the varying degrees of courtesy in use by the crowd) and as mentioned, "get the shot", then withdraw. Regarding the question as to whether an air of polite "camera courtesy" will return, the fact that the word "selfie" was added to the Oxford dictionary leads me to doubt that it will. People seem to live entirely within a two foot radius and as long as they have battery power, are reluctant to leave it.

The good news? Though we have to battle the forces of discourtesy and aggressive unawareness, we get to do it with the finest, most advanced equipment ever available. That almost makes up for the rest. :)

Happy shooting!

Dave

That's a key reason that, as a photographer who uses photography to absorb and enjoy the scenery and really take it in more rather than someone who barely notices it and just wants to record it all on a screen or stick myself in it selfie-style, I rarely ever go on organized tours, hit regular known tourist spots, or if I do, hit it on a completely different schedule than the tour busses when I cruise. I love to walk out on my own to explore the places I go. I'll take a cab to some more distant and remote spot first, before the busses get there, or wait until later when I know they've left. I'll hit more odd or off-the-path spots not included on the tours. That lets me take all the time I want to photograph, and to sit and stare and absorb the beauty without 20 phones and tablets held aloft blocking my view.

I do find that one thing very annoying about the lack of viewfinders, and the ascent of phones, tablets, and viewfinderless-P&S models as the primary vacation memory tool of the masses: Cameras once required viewfinders in order to effectively get any shot, even little Kodachromes - so cameras were almost always held at exactly the eye level of the shooter, pressed up to their face, and not blocking the view of others. Nowadays, shooters using LCD screens are invariably holding them out, or up, effectively getting in the way of anyone behind or beside them. Selfie sticks put not only cameras in the blocking view, but also clear 4-foot spaces for the narcissistic to stand in everyone's way to get themselves in the shot. And at night, the problem grows even worse, as all those glowing screens gather even more attention and get in the way of the view, ruin night shots, and hurt night vision.

Such is life today...so I just go my own way, and avoid the LCD zombies.

[YOUTUBE]1fmQs37YqXg[/YOUTUBE]

Very funny!

Dave

In May I did the Galley Tour aboard Ruby Princess. While walking through the Galley Tour, one Asian passenger had to drop back in line so he could start photographing the Saran Wrapped Carved Watermelons with his iPad, AND then his iPhone. Dude, they're digital...sync them, and just use one!.

Meanwhile, I'm shooting with a DSLR, but I'm comfortable shooting from the hip without looking through the viewfinder. I could go through the galley getting my shots without stopping my walk, but this guy has to take two shots on two devices...ugh.

In May I did the Galley Tour aboard Ruby Princess. While walking through the Galley Tour, one Asian passenger had to drop back in line so he could start photographing the Saran Wrapped Carved Watermelons with his iPad, AND then his iPhone. Dude, they're digital...sync them, and just use one!.

 

Meanwhile, I'm shooting with a DSLR, but I'm comfortable shooting from the hip without looking through the viewfinder. I could go through the galley getting my shots without stopping my walk, but this guy has to take two shots on two devices...ugh.

Maybe one was for someone else and he had no idea about syncing with another persons device.

Maybe one was for someone else and he had no idea about syncing with another persons device.

I'm going to stereotype by saying that this person probably knew how to do that. Even if he didn't, perhaps he should do the "right thing" and go to the back of the line...alas, I digress.

I don't get the whole photos with iPad thing, the iPhone I can sort of see, it is about the size of a compact camera, but the Tablets must be way to big to hold effectively.

I have probably taken about 3 photos on my phone, none on my tablet, but then it is rare for me not to have a camera of some sort with me. If it's not my DSLR or my EOS M or me compact I have a little 5mp Minox [Leica Copy] on my key ring.

Except for snapshots meant for social media, I haven't seen a tablet or phone yet that takes what I'd consider "quality" photos. It's better than nothing at all, but not by much. That being said, on a scale of "Pixel Peeper" to "Grandma who thinks everything is just lovely, no matter how bad it is", I'm closer to the Peeper end. But when I see people at airshows holding up an iPad, I can't help but wonder why they even bother.

Admittedly, I've been carrying three cameras: DSLR, phone, IR-converted point & shoot. And while I don't break them all out at once, I do try to be considerate of others. Common courtesy is a lot less common, I think.

Is it just me, as I am getting older, or is it everywhere , it seems one goes on a cruise to relax and enjoy yourself, granted their has been vast strides in technologhy in recent years , digital cameras on phones great for the quick snap ..BUT all these darn "selfeies" on camera-phones and I-pads

(that term is used as a multi-purpose statement to cover all gender specific items ) is just getting too much for me. and "SELFIE STICKS " where I would like those to be put would proberley get me put in jail !! .

 

Has anyone been at a fantastic location recently , only to to be

"elbowed into oblivion " by the shout of a I-pad or I-phone warrior of

"Ohh gaaawd a,int that great..." and to be battered either side of your head by the arms of the outstreached pad / phone operators .

For myself I am still in the land of the slr (single lens reflex to you camera buff,s ) although now digital, hundreds of shots per memory card , much better than 30 odd with film ,BUT most of all you have a viewfinder..!

I have now devloped a new Ninja like skill .. just as 4 or 5 five of the pad wrestlers , arms outstreached are battering eachother to "get the shot " with a quickly mumbled Excuse Me, check the veiwfinder , take the shot or shots and retire for a coffee, as they all wave their arms about trying to see their lcd screens as the sunlight obliterates their view of what they are trying to take (same applies to digital cameras that only have lcd screens .)

Will people once agin start to be polite, take their photographs, and then make way for some of the less able to take their memories , I fear not but hope springs eternal

I await with intrest other peoples thoughts and experiances ....:rolleyes::rolleyes:

You will like this photo, read it was a DSLR on what is his improvised stick ( tripod ) :p

Being "vertically challenged" (I'm 5' 3"), people with i-pads, etc. are extremely aggravating. Especially if they decide to move between me and the subject - and I got there first. I try to get to an event or whatever early so I can move to the front.

I've found there there seems to be a definite difference between "people who like to take photos" and "photographers". Photographers tend to have real cameras and I think are more aware of what's going on around them. I try to watch the people around me so I don't walk through someones shot and appreciate it when others do the same.

[YOUTUBE]1fmQs37YqXg[/YOUTUBE]

Thanks a lot....now I need to clean my keyboard. :D:D:D:D:D

Thats some funny stuff right there.

On the positive side...most of the tablet/phone picture taking people are only going for the typical tourist postcard picture taken from the "kodak picture spot"...where as I like to try and get a different (more interesting) shot and will be in a different location that wont be as crowded.