Pay no attention to the man behind the camera.....

...and don't hire him either. There seems to be some confusion about who or what a photographer is or isn't. Frankly, I think that the confusion is baseless. Yes, it's baseless. Why? It's baseless because the most important thing that a photographer isn't just some guy or gal with a camera. Consider the following:

1. If your great uncle Bob, get's a DSLR for Hanukkah, he is NOT a photographer.

2. If your mother's neighbor's step daughter from Iceland takes a class in in grade school on the history of Eastman Kodak and owns a polaroid, she is not a photographer.

3. Purchasing a D40 does not make a person a photographer. While I understand that some will make the argument for diffusion, sorry... it's not gonna work.

4. Owning a camera and hanging out at Nikon-Digital does not make a person a photographer.

5. Being a complete gear-whore of all things Nikon doesn't make you a photographer. It simply means that you either have parents who were generous with your trust fund or the cops are simply waiting to apprehend you and reclaim the money you stole from the bank.

I loathe folks who acquire a camera and then self-proclaim the title of Photographer within minutes. Did I say "loathe?" Perhaps I didn't use strong enough language. It pisses me off.

If you can't figure out why there's a yellow haze to your photos, maybe it's not a good idea to open up shop. Photography is serious. Titling oneself as Photographer means that you take full responsibility for immortalizing life. The word 'life' only has four letters, but it's a pretty big and powerful word. The word 'life' is SOOOOO important, that it keeps company with the likes of other big words such as 'civil litigation' and 'bankruptcy'.

People with cameras who don't have the chutzpah to post their work such sites as DP Review, Photocamel, or Nikon-Digital for C&C are not Photographers. Heck, GOD BLESS anyone that can manage to crawl past any of these forums with all of their teeth and their tails not tucked between their legs. The folks that play at these playgrounds can piss on an ant's ass from an airplane.

A good photographer can earn a lot of money. A good photographer cares about the quality of their work and the strength of their reputation.

A good friend will look at your photos and say, "Ooooh, nice pic!" A good photographer will say, "Are you fucking kidding me? You're gonna attach your name to that shit and try to sell it?"