malubs photography: 08/12/10

DSLR is the new Nokia.

There is a rising star creeping its way into becoming a craze: the DSLR. Everywhere you go, you find people hand carrying a DSLR as if they're all field reporters covering an event in malls, parks, clubs and even churches. It has never been this big since the Nokia craze, when everyone had to own the latest Nokia phone despite struggling finances. Perhaps the whole idea of going digital and eliminating the use of films have paved the way for aspiring photographers to skip the analog phase and strut along the catwalk of spoonfeed photography. Here you don't have to be too mindful of the

settings, since it's easy to delete unwanted shots and retain the pro-tographeresque shots. To top it all, there is the magic of photo editing softwares to further enhance the trickery into a full fledged work of art. I should know, because I do it!

Here are 10 photo ops normally followed by the DSLR owners:

Pseudo Model Shoots - Photo ops in the park, malls, cemetery, etc with aspiring models with the hair, make up, costume and props. Photographers would then shout "look here"...SMIZE!
Food Photography - Taking shots of your food 3 minutes before you chow it down.
Jump Shots - In beaches with a group of friends
Product photography - Taking shots of your beer or cocktail, before taking the actual shot. (nice!)
Street Photography - Exposing the urban poor in an artsy fartsy manner, then leaving them alone after you get the wanted shot.
Travelogue - Taking pictures of churches, landscapes, festivals, etc. To make it more amazing, you were able to include yourself in all of the shots while you are also the photographer.
Sunset Shots - no explanation needed. the most common to date.
Harbour Square Shots - I just had to mention this! hahaha. It's the rite of passage to every manila based DSLR owner to the world of photography.
Self Portraits - The hand-held-shoot-from-the-top pointing-the-camera-to-yourself maneuver. This works well with P&S or camera phones. Stupid if you use your DSLR with this.
Paparazzi - The douchebag photographer who takes shots of strangers (oftentimes beautiful ladies) for his personal collection.

The question is: are the DSLR owners, with all their expensive, highly advanced gadgets and a Million dollar bag full of goodies (lenses,filters,etc) maximizing their toys to its full use? Is it more of a fashion statement, an instant label as a "photographer", or a status symbol?

The answer can only be found in the photos they take.

This is my rebel yell to all P&S users: Gadgets don't make photographers out of their owners. Their works do.

All photos taken by my P&S and the wonders of photo editing softwares to increase contrast.