Robert Watcher
Well-known member
I'm afraid that after returning home to Canada in November - and after having been out on the streets shooting the same cities every day for years now - and then my wife and I both getting quite sick and worn down physically and mentally ----- I just didn't feel like taking pictures and posting my images. I had just had enough, and the importance is not there the same as when I was very active and busy providing my living from my photographic assignments. I have considered whether I am really interested anymore, with the changing values related to the craft and profession over the last 6 or 8 years. So my last posts on my Instagram account were on December 9'th.
I checked in regularly to my Instagram account to see what those I follow ere doing. Then on January 11'th, I notice a private Instagram message. It turned out to be from a Guatemalan photographer who has been following my posts for some time it seems. I don't know him, have never met him, but he is on my Follow list. This was his message:
Well, I have always been a self motivated shooter. But this time it took an outsider to get me back shooting daily.
Myself and other photographers skilled in their craft, would regularly receive such encouragement in the 2,000's when professional and serious photography forum were active and valuable as sources of learning the tricks of the experienced. Newer (and experienced) photographers, were grateful to find any tidbits they could that would allow them to get into the photography field and be good at both taking photos and the running of it as a business. As a result many of us went out of our way to share what we know and to even personally take an interest and help where we could. Well of course that internet source and interest has all but died off and posting photos to inspire, or tidbits to learn from, only draws criticism to even the best in the field (not including myself there) today. So this was nice.
Neither my wife or I are totally over our illness yet. My wife in particular has had every test possible for her symptoms, and it looks like it's just going to be a long wait out. There is nothing obvious. The docs who have looked at her say she is an extremely healthy person who happens to have been terribly sick for an extended period of time. And so we decided that if we were going to have to wait at home in Canada, we might as well head back to Guatemala and wait it out at this home of ours.
We arrived in Guatemala a week ago, and Jaimie has me back taking pictures - just so I don't disappoint him. LOL.
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I checked in regularly to my Instagram account to see what those I follow ere doing. Then on January 11'th, I notice a private Instagram message. It turned out to be from a Guatemalan photographer who has been following my posts for some time it seems. I don't know him, have never met him, but he is on my Follow list. This was his message:
Yo man are you alright? You haven't posted any picture since december 9th! In worry that you have quitted your job as a photographer! Aloud me to tell you something.. I've studied "digital photography" at Rivera building nearby central park in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. I can't remember exactly when, but as a kind of "test" we had to tell the class about our favorite photographer and why was it inspiring to us. Everybody talked about Ansel Addams, Annie Leibovitz and other dudes.
However I talked about you Mr Robert Watcher. To be honest with you I don't know if "Watcher" is your second name or just a kind of joke related to the fact that you "watch" with your camera or something like that. What I want to say is, I talked about you because you are kind of photography hero to me. When I started with this thing of being a photographer I started with a Nikon D3200 that my father landed to me. I literally took photos of everything on my way.
Some day I took the decision to make the jump to the social media and I started to share my photos in this place, Instagram And then I discovered your account. You are my inspiration because you see things in a different way, I mean I can be walking everyday for a year in xela's central park, but you can be there for a single minute and see things that I can't. You actually inspired me to take my camera and go out there to take pictures of everything and everyone with no fear.
That was a year ago. Today I'm owning an own camera, I'm working with external speedlites and executing the "strobist" light technique. And until this day you are still my inspiration. I still remember the day I did my keynote at loyola school of arts. I took a screenshot of your account and showed it to my classmates, I also talked them about your youtube channel where you had tutorials of how to edit with Lightroom. The last video I saw was of what was inside your camera backpack...
Please, keep impressing the world with your stunning job. By the way, everything was written by myself, nothing of Google traductor so I don't know how well was it expressed...
Jaimie Fernando Fotografia
Well, I have always been a self motivated shooter. But this time it took an outsider to get me back shooting daily.
Myself and other photographers skilled in their craft, would regularly receive such encouragement in the 2,000's when professional and serious photography forum were active and valuable as sources of learning the tricks of the experienced. Newer (and experienced) photographers, were grateful to find any tidbits they could that would allow them to get into the photography field and be good at both taking photos and the running of it as a business. As a result many of us went out of our way to share what we know and to even personally take an interest and help where we could. Well of course that internet source and interest has all but died off and posting photos to inspire, or tidbits to learn from, only draws criticism to even the best in the field (not including myself there) today. So this was nice.
Neither my wife or I are totally over our illness yet. My wife in particular has had every test possible for her symptoms, and it looks like it's just going to be a long wait out. There is nothing obvious. The docs who have looked at her say she is an extremely healthy person who happens to have been terribly sick for an extended period of time. And so we decided that if we were going to have to wait at home in Canada, we might as well head back to Guatemala and wait it out at this home of ours.
We arrived in Guatemala a week ago, and Jaimie has me back taking pictures - just so I don't disappoint him. LOL.
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