Please put the f****ing stick down!!

[bernhund]

What on earth is going on with people taking 'selfies' at the end of a fking great stick? To be honest I've never understood the 'selfie' in the first place, but to take a picture of yourself at arms length and then in addition a stick has left me completely bemused. What's wrong with a compact pocket tripod? No arm in the air with some plum at the other end trying to lean back, no unnecessary 'stick' and no horrible shadow. Is it just me who can't bare this crap?

[bernhund]

beanbag said:

What does it matter? It's better than handing your camera or phone to some random stranger only to have them bugger off with it.

I know PH'ers like to whinge but this is borderline pathetic!

No one mentioned using a stick in case someone stole the camera. This is the point of the compact tripod, you put your camera on it and take a picture of yourself. Job done, no stick in the picture and no arm held in the air.

To be honest I can't justify my hatred for it. I just can't get my brain around it.

[bernhund]

Could these be the same people who walk around holding iPads above their heads? I went to a wedding a couple of months back and couldn't actually take any photo's with my camera because there were people in front of me who held their iPads up. All I saw were iPads!

[bernhund]

Ozone said:

Borrowed for the C & H thread

Brilliant...it's clearly been getting to others as well!

[bernhund]

baz7175 said:

One of my German colleagues forwarded me this in November last year after we made fun of the selfie stick brigade while out in California with work:-

http://www.der-postillon.com/2014/11/teenager-lass...

Most likely a complete farce, but how long until someone actually does it!

I like that, very good!

[bernhund]

rottie102 said:

It took me a while but I mastered taking selfies with a 1DX and 24mm lens. Good grip exercise, especially with a back button AF
I have a whole album of them!

Ah yeah, I also have two selfie sticks but I converted them slightly so can film down low while moving.

This I understand. Put camera on stick near to the ground outside the car window...perfect use of stick.

[bernhund]

Gilhooligan said:

I think they're quite good fun. I have one for my GoPro. It allows you to get a more interesting perspective and get more in the shot. Here's me and my mates in Tignes last year. Cheer up OP!

Haha, I am a miserable bd right now it's true. Been in bed with pneumonia since Boxing day! But this stick thing is bugging me. Just the other day a friend of mine had to get a scaffold to carry out a repair to his chimney. While up there he decided he would capture the view on his Go Pro. Now I would hold said camera & point it away from me while I panned 360. But he put it on the dreaded stick & pointed it at himself while turning 360 on his toes. So a 30 second video of his gormless face & extended arm with some rooftops behind him!!

[bernhund]

I can't believe this 'stick' thing came about in case someone nicked your gear. The stick makes perfect sense for Go Pro action videos or attaching it to your car, but no, we are talking about people holding these things out in front of themselves for pure vanity. I'm now seeing images of people at parties at the end of their stick!
Hopefully the novelty will wear off soon.

[bernhund]

Pixelpeep7r said:

'selfie' shots whilst skiing, sky diving or anything else extreme or interesting = fantastic, good on you. well done.

'selfie' shots of you in your bedroom, bathroom, club, street or anywhere else normal = you are a tt.

Agreed.

[bernhund]

pilbeam_mp62 said:

How about this for a "selfie" - my Dad took it around 1955

That's great fun, I like it. I wonder what it would have been like if he had chosen to dump the tripod & with an outstretched arm, hold his camera on a stick?

[bernhund]

Edited by bernhund on Thursday 8th January 09:51

[bernhund]

NinjaPower said:

I have a selfie stick

I don't use it with my phone, I unscrew the phone holder piece and use the tripod thread to put my Sony RX100 on.

It's actually great for getting a shot over the top of a crowd or in a busy place which looks quite impressive when you view the picture as the camera is about 12+ feet in the air when the old selfie stick is fully extended and held aloft!

I also use it for shots of cars and other stuff when I'm walking about as the wide angle view looking down from a height gives a nice perspective.

Oh and I've actually used it for the odd selfie as the RX100 lets you flip the screen up exactly for this purpose

Never thought I would own one and even moaned on here about them when the topic cropped up last time, but now I'm a convert!

...you were doing so well too! Fantastic getting the camera up there in the air for some shots, but of course, there's never a stick in the photo itself. It's when your eye is lead down a stick, into a hand and down the arm to the subject that bugs me! The way in which you use it, as with many others, must surely be as intended and has opened up all sorts of photographic possibilities.

[bernhund]

DeuxCentCinq said:

So selfie sticks are rubbish, but tripods are fine?

Why, exactly?

Not that I condone their use or anything, I'm just interested to know why you think one device for holding a camera is acceptable, and another isn't.

Where do you stand on, say, monopods? Or propping a camera up on a low wall? Are they acceptable?

As previously said..put a camera on a tripod, point it at yourself if that's your subject & take a photo. Great. Not put camera on stick, hold at arms length, lean back & take photo (to include stick & arm disappearing into edge of frame).
Don't get me wrong, I believe everyone has the right to use a stick however they want. Just as I have every right to my belief that the end result is generally ridiculous if taking a selfish. (unlike the cat pic above, which again proves that used sensibly fantastic results can be achieved)

Edited by bernhund on Thursday 8th January 17:19

Edited by bernhund on Thursday 8th January 17:23

[bernhund]

Yes I do, I see a very clear difference in the end result. One looks good, the other looks ridiculous. I can't imagine why anyone thinks a photo down a stick and their arm is an acceptable result for a photograph.
This is the 'photography' forum & I'd like to think those interested in photography would also find the end result low in photographic standards.

[bernhund]

rottie102 said:

bernhund said:

Yes I do, I see a very clear difference in the end result. One looks good, the other looks ridiculous. I can't imagine why anyone thinks a photo down a stick and their arm is an acceptable result for a photograph.
This is the 'photography' forum & I'd like to think those interested in photography would also find the end result low in photographic standards.

I give up. why can't you accept that a) selfie sticks are not being used by serious photographers, but by tourists with compact cameras and b) that people can do whatever they want with their xameras is beyond me.

I'm off to stab myself with a selfie stick

Lol, I didn't want to get in an argument with anyone. It is simply my opinion & I thought it might prompt some interesting debate, that's all. I can't justify my hatred for the 'selfie down a stick'. People are entitled to do what they wish with them, and importantly, if the user is happy with the result that's ultimately all that matters.

[bernhund]

rottie102 said:

Mr Will said:

How do you feel about people filming concerts by holding an iPad aloft?

I would fight them with all my might. Just like people obstructing my view with a selfie stick.
But OP doesn't rant against stupid people obstructing his view which I would support wholeheartedly. He moans about the general use of selfie sticks. Live and let live if it doesn't affect you in any way.

I have made it quite clear from the off that using the stick in certain ways is fantastic. I've complemented images!. I've complained about the use of the iPad obstructing my view at a wedding too in the thread. All along I've talked about the 'selfie down stick' being my unjustified gripe.

[bernhund]

72twink said:

Shall I start a new thread for my pet gripe then, Mr "oh you're only taking that picture with a compact or phone so I'll stand in front of you to take my own with my 2 week old entry level DSLR and squeaky clean nappy bag because I'm clearly a better photographer". Reminds me of the old Olympus ads with David Bailey and George Cole!

[bernhund]

72twink said:

Just as your gripe is selfie sticks mine is the person who always steps into frame as I'm about to take a carefully composed image and it's always an "all the gear and no idea" type. I guess I'm saying we all have a type who grinds us ......

Lol. I'm there with you on that one too. I'm sure the actions of that kind of person must come out in all aspects of their life. I.e completely oblivious to the requirements of others because they're too blinded by their own importance.

[bernhund]

Simpo Two said:

http://www.mamamia.com.au/lifestyle/men-who-post-s...

Haha, like it!

[bernhund]

I'm in two minds about that last gif. I approve of the stick when used to get action videos etc. but when I see someone spending more time looking up into their camera on a stick than watching where their feet are while a mile up a cliff face, I just think his ego is going to kill him. His choice so that's that.