Photo Etiquette.

First come first served. As a photographer, if I arrive at a location and pick my spot before anybody else arrives I am an immovable object!

 

rudeness in the extreme to ask anyone to move if they were there first.

 

I agree - appalling behaviour. Never having been on a main-line railtour I have no first hand experience there, but I've visited enough preserved lines and galas to know that this is far too common.

I was at Rhyd Ddu at a WHR superpower gala a few years ago and a number of us (random individuals) positioned ourselves at the end of the platform to photograph and film Prince leaving on the vintage train. All very good humoured and friendly, with everyone making sure that they made allowances for all. We were then filming as the train came past us, and as it went off south towards Beddgelert this bloke pushed past, went beyond the end of the platform and proceeded to stand in front of us in order to get his photos. There was even plenty of space to join us on the platform! As somebody said "there's always one...".

I don't think that's right - there's often more than one

Steve B

 

I had an incident a couple of years ago filming the Atlantic Coast Express featuring Tangmere, Braunton and Nunney Castle. Chased the train from London and filmed it at Grateley and Honiton. Then went to Dainton and set up in a field with just about the only possible view through the foliage.There were several photographers who'd climbed over the fence to get a better shot but not my scene, I don't trespass. Just before the the train was due one of the guys on the wrong side of the fence received a phone call. One of his mates had just arrived at the top of the field and phoned him saying I was blocking his shot so could I please move! Apparently he had cycled all of 2 miles from Newton Abbott to get this shot and I was in his way! I had driven 200+ miles.
I do video, and meet up with a lot of the guys who post videos on Nat Pres. We have no problems negotiating positions if we are filming at the same location. The problem is the still photographers with their Canon effing Ds, who turn up at the last minute and think they can stand in front of you or tell you to move out of their way.

 

the one that test my patience, is people wanting to stand right on top of the loco with their iPhone * blocking everyone's shot and then not having the sense to move once they have their exclusive shot. Not so much rude as stupid

*other camera phones are available.

 

Edit: duplicate post, please delete

 

Agreed, seems to be an unwritten law among most regulars photographers.

The most amusing/frustrating thing I find is the few pillocks using the what I imagine is a questionable quality camera on their massive Ipads for photo's, holding them in the air like the 4th official making a substitution at a football match!.

 

Ralph, was the railtour in this country? I find that photographers in the UK are normally courteous and the rule is whoever is there first isn't asked to move and others work round them or everyone forms a gallery and stand in line. Sometimes It might be suggested that the better shot is further forward or back but if whoever was there first doesn't agree then his choice should be respected.In my experience this is not the case abroad where generally it's a free for all. An odd person in the way is less of a problem now in the digital age where he can easily be exterminated in Photoshop.
I attend a fair number of photo charters where everyone knows the rules and there is never a problem, even In tight what I call Zulu locations ( front rank fire, middle rank fire, if you remember the film) and if something does go wrong you can always ask for the run past to be repeated.
I agree with what has been said about the Phone/ iPad user, they were a nightmare on Steam on the Underground a few years back. I would cheerfully strangle whoever it was who thought it was a good idea to put a camera in a phone.

 

That's fighting-talk you know, what about Video fotters who expect nobody in their shot, whenever they turn up, from that spec on the far horizon until the tail lamp disappears (much of which is probably behind OHLE masts, trees bushes etc ) ! .

I see @Johnb has already said what I was going to; etiquette for as long as I recall has been for the first person to have their choice on a location and it would be up to them whether any discussion led to a change. And we've both been doing this for oh so many years now.
Getting in front of another photographer is just rude, inconsiderate, ignorant or whatever you'd like to call it but I do know of one well known photographer who makes a habit of it. Unfortunately these days as John says anyone with an ipad, iphone etc (others are available) seems to think they can wonder where they like to get their shot and trying to explain the concept of a gallery to Joe Public is just pointless.

If you look to the left you'll see Clan Line at Beeston & Tarporley back in 1989 - about 15 of us took this shot, all of us in an area not much more than 6ft by 6ft - it can be done with a bit of cooperation. Mind you I don't think anyone had a video !

 

Hehe. I like the way you trimmed my comment to suit your argument.
I have been photographing trains for a long long time (my first camera was a Brownie 127!)
To a certain degree you are right about video photographers who want nobody in their shot and this can easily be achieved by choosing the right location. I do film at stations, and expect people to appear in my shot, but why not, they have as much right to be there as I do.
As I said before, it is still photographers who tend to ignore or be unaware of needs of a video photographer. When I started photographing trains I used a number of different SLR'S over the years loaded with the rather expensive High Speed Ectachrome. You only had one chance with a shot, unlike nowadays, where somebody with a digital camera stands next to you or in front of you and fires off about 100 frames in an effort to get the best shot. No skill needed there! Why is it that modern cameras sound like machine guns?
I have had a few problems since I started doing video but, to be fair, most people react favourably if I politely ask them not to jump in front of me and to keep quiet when the train is passing.

 

First come, first served so you should stand your ground. I will say however that the distance travelled is nothing to do with it.

 

I don't understand the 'machine gunners' either, perhaps it's part of an obsession with getting the rods down. It is true that the skill has moved, to a certain extent, from the taking of the picture to the processing afterwards. The scope has also extended beyond anything imaginable, HS Ecktachrome was, I think 100ISO, I've now got a camera that will produce an image at 25600 ISO.
I think the type of Video cameraman Scott was think of is the type who turns up at an already populated spot and tries to insist on getting a full 180 degree sweep.

 

Better not stand next to somebody with a medium format film camera then. Shutter sounds like a howitzer and the power wind sounds like a traction engine.

 

HS Ektachrome was 160 ASA and then 200 ASA when I used it and they eventually made a 400 ASA version. That was grainy.

 

Not as loud as the tinny sound of the old Practica or Zenith SLR

 

The point I was making was that the guy was using the rediculous argument that he had cycled from Newton Abbott and that was a good enough reason for me to move. He would have no idea where I had come from.

 

Haha, me too @D1002. My Brownie was a Christmas pressie from my Gran sometime about 1964. Sad thing is I didn't take enough pictures until after steam finished. Quality was awful though.

I don't disagree with you about people shooting a stream of images, where is the skill ?. Worse still ( sorry if I offend anyone ) when they upload all of them to a Flickr (or similar) site. Actually I do wonder why anyone who takes a long stream of images doesn't shoot video, but then -- it's a free country ! .

But the point was we all suffer from the inconsiderate ones, and that's the problem - what they shoot is immaterial, but that's life. I have a lot of sympathy for your feelings about camera noise, I'm not sure it is necessary as all you should hear is the mirror bounce from a modern SLR and that should be well damped to avoid vibration. A friend of mine filmed 48151 at Whalley one evening, nice bit of film, lovely sound track of the assembled M645 shutters - they were noisy.

Only ever used HS Ektachrome a few times, in my Mamiya 645 days it was Agfa 100RS, followed by various Fuji 100 and 50 asa films, the high speed ones were too grainy -- but we are digressing from Ralph's original question.

 

I've done several Plandampfs and the etiquette amongst the photographers of all nations has been pretty good. Always the odd one or two muppets of course. The worst was a van load of French guys who appeared on two events as well as a pre Plandampf trip to the Harz. They were a right pain in the arse. Walked through video sequences, parked their van in the shot etc. Got our own back in the end though.

 

Fair point.