[Early B.]

What do you guys think of this article? 

http://www.cnet.com/news/photographers-and-audiophiles-two-of-a-kind/#ftag=CADf328eec

[Early B.]

I dunno the connection between audiophiles and photographers, except that both are geeks. Photography is active, engaging, and creative, whereas audio is passive, selfish, and requires a lot of money to experiment. However, both share the same elusive goal which is striving for perfection -- either the perfect image or the perfect sound.

[Wind Chaser]

The only connection I see between the two is the tendency to obsess over gear.

Apart from that, audio is more about *relaxation* and enjoying the creative fruit of someone else. Photography OTOH, is more about *doing* something creative.

[Guy 13]

The only connection I see between the two is the tendency to obsess over gear.

Apart from that, audio is more about *relaxation* and enjoying the creative fruit of someone else. Photography OTOH, is more about *doing* something creative.

 

[mav52]

The only connection I see between the two is the tendency to obsess over gear.

Apart from that, audio is more about *relaxation* and enjoying the creative fruit of someone else. Photography OTOH, is more about *doing* something creative.

Man your spot on. 

[thunderbrick]

The only connection I see between the two is the tendency to obsess over gear.

Apart from that, audio is more about *relaxation* and enjoying the creative fruit of someone else. Photography OTOH, is more about *doing* something creative.

Now that I'm retired from (nearly) full-time photography I'm enjoying photography more; very much a relaxing process.  Back to being (like audio) a hobby as both started out in the early 1960s.

I think the obsessing over gear has far more to do with the male of the species.  Guns, cars, cameras, audio, computers, etc. are all big boy's toys where there is far more talk then real action.  I mentor a large photo group on FB and we often have group shoots.  When we hit the road the guys are FAR more likely to talk about the gear.  Women, OTOH, actually get very quiet (it's a MIRACLE!!!) and concentrate on the subject.

[MtnHam]

As a lifelong (now retired) professional studio photographer and audiophile I can confirm the connection. My studios always had the best sound systems possible within my budget at the time, but the music was always the most important element. My clients seemed to appreciate both.

[Early B.]

Obsessing over gear is much less of an issue in photography because there are fewer options. In audio, you have a zillion speaker options, a gazillion amp options, a bazillion cable options, etc. 

I believe what makes audio and photography similar is the quest towards the final result. It's just that one of them is sound and the other is visual. We enjoy the journey to taking the perfect image just as much as we enjoy trading out components to find the best sound.

I recently "retired" as a ardent hobbyist in photography, and the fun wasn't necessarily in taking the pictures, but in getting the images back home, picking the best shots, and editing them to see how I could make them better.  Likewise, audio is all about tinkering with your system to see how to make it sound better.

[LesterSleepsIn]

An interesting article and god points by all, especially the point by Early B, it's all in the tinkering and the tweaking. Needless to say, there's a strong visualization component to both 'hobbies'.

Showed the article to a still active Faculty friend and he said, "well obviously the eyes and ears are the main drivers for the whole psychoperceptive system". Of course I had to agree with him.

Best,
Lester

[Wind Chaser]

Obsessing over gear is much less of an issue in photography...

I don't visit many audio / photography websites, but that's not my observation. Check out DPR; most of the many gear forums are very busy with lots of traffic, teeming long threads discussing gear. In contrast, the few forums dedicated to actual photography and technique are comparatively very quiet with very short threads.

 

[Early B.]

I don't visit many audio / photography websites, but that's not my observation. Check out DPR; most of the many gear forums are very busy with lots of traffic, teeming long threads discussing gear. In contrast, the few forums dedicated to actual photography and technique are comparatively very quiet with very short threads.

Perhaps we see the term, "obsessing" in different ways. In audio, some gear comes with white gloves, we dress up our gear with beautiful platforms and isolation devices, we often consider the aesthetics of our cables as "jewelry," we'll pay $200 for an electrical outlet and another $150 for a pretty cover for it, we love to share pics of our glowing tubes, etc. We obsess over the look of our system just as much as the sound quality.

In photography, we basically want cameras and accessories that work well. For the most part, there's only one color option for cameras and lenses -- black. However, personalizing our gear is important to us, though -- the type of bags, the grips, the weight of the tripods, etc., and we can obsess over that.

I'll admit, though, the "pixel-peepers" can be extremely obsessive, but they aren't good photographers anyway, so it doesn't matter.   

[thunderbrick]

I don't visit many audio / photography websites, but that's not my observation. Check out DPR; most of the many gear forums are very busy with lots of traffic, teeming long threads discussing gear. In contrast, the few forums dedicated to actual photography and technique are comparatively very quiet with very short threads.

+1!  I've seen an enormous increase in OCD and neurotic behavior since digital got rolling.   So much obsessing about which lens gives a better "bokeh" (that's a stupid term) and how to make every woman's complexion just as perfect as can possibly be.  Hardly "real" anymore. 

And the disappearance of the smaller (and even bigger) B&M camera stores where people can really learn.   

Edit:  Facebook is full of photo forums, but few are of value.  Many snipe at newbies for "doing it wrong."