Stereotype has among its first usages several hundred years back as: image perpetuated without change.
More recently its use is in the realms of psychology deal with, so I’m told, the thoughts of an individual being applied (rightly or wrongly) to a group of people.
Rough boyscout definition only.
Our blog friend Eleanor raised such an issue for the other day as her new camera is cranking out huge CR3 files and its meant she has taken to using JPEG format. I made the comment that I often shoot JPEG format. And with good reasons. Bought the usual responses, of ‘can’t be a true committed photographer if you’re not using raw (usually put as RAW-but its not an acronym). My photos are doomed to the dustbin of the furthermost photo hell, and me along with it’.
Truth be told I like working in JPEG as it frees me from sitting staring at the screen cranking first this, then that slider. Strange old stereotype that judges the quality of work by the file type. I know pretension exists, still.
However changing thoughts, I had to go, on my doctors instructions to one of those, you know, what do ya call ’em, ohhh. Oh yeah, cognitive memory tests. Where you get asked if you can remember important stuff. Such as, What year is it? Who is Prime Minister of Australia? Count backwards from 100 minus 7 at a time… hmm, 93…..Oh, I give up.
All sorts of things I’m not all that interested in. I’m more interested not so much which day of the week it is, but will it be sunny, no wind, a low tide, what season, and will all that be good for photographs.
Among one of the questions was something about ‘Do I like to cook’. So I gave an answer. But. It didn’t match the stereotype required answer, and I came to the conclusion the inquisitor wasn’t interested in my answer, only that I’d fit the pattern of old male, unable to boil water. I took time to explain I learned to cook from my Mum early in life, spent a summer holiday working with a hotel chef, and had been househusband for #kneetoo for some 18 years since her back injury. I think I grasped the basic principle behind boiling water, and could, given a few moments notice, master the skill of opening a tin of baked beans.
However all to no avail, as it wasn’t in the stereotype answers required.
Why, I thought on the way home, don’t they ask me some questions I’m actually interested in.
How much sodium sulpite is there in a litre of Kodak D76 developer.
What is the processing time of Tri-X in D76 diluted 1:1 at 20C.
What is the calculations for DOF.
What are the three factors affecting Depth of Field.
Can you recall what is the significance of the Circle of Confusion.
etc
For the digital age:
Describe the Bayer Pattern
For bonus points what is the first name of Dr Bayer
For double bonus points, Have you met Bryce personally
Explain Discrete Cosine Transfer (DCT) as the basis for JPEG compression.
Ohh sneaky how I managed to get that in.
Not content I had to also see a podiatrist, just to check that my feet where still down there somewhere.
It was all going swimmingly until the question about ‘would I walk very far during the day?’
Stereotype kicks in. Old bloke, couch potato, might be able to walk to the mail box
My answer, most mornings I walk for an hour or before breakfast and on a day in the field I might make 10-12Km, was not the right answer.
So we had to spend the next few minutes going over the details, you know just in case I was doing my Walter Mitty impersonation. When I mentioned that, I received a blank stare!!!!
How easy it is to consign people it seems.
A good, dear friend, told me once that she attended such a ‘memory’ day, and was asked, “Shirley, What day is it?”
Her answer, with a straight poker face. (She was quite the intellectual, an educator and author), ” Oh, that’s easy, it’s the day you told me to come for my appointment!”. Dumb silence. And a little check-mark in the ‘failed’ box.
Gotta finish on a high.
Do you follow “First Dog on the Moon” cartoons on the online The Guardian, news. ?
If not then do take a look at this one. Why Vaccines should be like Hot Chips The birdo answer is in the last panel.
Tonight’s Image is bought to you by JEPG.
This is Jack the Eastern Yellow Robin, we worked two seasons with the pair.
Shot with a D2x camera on the Mode1 JPEG setting
The reason I like that mode is the beautiful clean greys that it produces. I still use a variation of it in the D500.
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER - --doesn't mean I'm LOST 
And very beautiful it is too. With my older camera I had found that it was good to have a bigger file to work on in terms of editing, but I’m very happy with the JPEG images the new camera is producing.
I did like your special interest questions to see if people were still with it or not. Apparently they gave up asking who the Prime Minister was a few years ago when we had such a revolving door for them that no-one knew who the PM was from one day to the next!
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Hello Eleanor, it is a matter of needing to ‘work on’ an image. I don’t do much heavy duty editing manipulation these days, and one of the uses I have is for photobooks of years work and species—my ‘body of work’.
The guys and girls at Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sony etc. put a lot of time into making the image look pretty good out of camera, otherwise customers would not buy their cameras if the JPEG looked dreadful. 🙂
Yeah, I had heard about dropping the PM question, I didn’t get it the other day, and Scomo is pretty easy to remember 🙂
I just wish the people conducting the test weren’t doing it for their reason, but rather for the benefit of the questionee.
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Well, I for one, am glad you don’t conform to a stereotype, that would be be just plain boring!
Nothing wrong with shooting in jpeg although raw has its place to.
Lovely to see the EYR – I haven’t seen one for a while!
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Hi David, I didn’t want to start an old raw V JEPG argument, its always a matter of horses for courses.
I had a bit of fun thinking about the process for the day at the doctors, mostly in a bemused state. Can’t really take it seriously, at least while I can still remember!!
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I never use raw and to be honest, I don’t really know how. I did one of those tests a couple of years ago and failed the memory bit, but I remember that part very clearly.
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HI Rodger, thanks for that. Photos App on the Mac does a super job of looking after and working with JPEG. #kneetoo has two hardrives full of JPEG and has never needed to bother with raw, (thankfully).
I did one with the same people about 18 months back, I was asked to remember three things—a quick bit of word association and I can still recall them. Infact whenever I used to see the nurse at the clinic on other visits, I’d repeat the three items. She had no idea what I was talking about. 🙂
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My wife had one of those memory tests not so long ago by her choice because she thinks she is loosing it, but she always comes out great, we are just getting older I figure and things do not rise to the surface in our thought processes as fast as we would sometimes like. As life is a little slower for us mature types, so is our thinking. I struggle with words at times, it is not that I have forgotten them, it is just that they do not rise to the occasion on cue, they often turn up by themselves a few seconds later if I do not continue to try and think of them, which is what many experts advise, Love the Robin David, and yes I went through the RAW or JPG issue and landed back with JPG mainly for the size of the image, as I take many and keep many and some have shared that the difference is minor for nonprofessionals like me, though my daughter a professional like yourself says RAW is the way to go. Name the past 6 Prime ministers in sequence could be a challenge for many of us, it is hard enough knowing what the date is when you live a retired life. Stay warm my friend!
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Hi Ashely, Funny ah! Made me laugh a bit. I’m pretty much mathematically dyslexic. Rows of numbers bewilder me. I had to do a “Draw a Clock face and show ‘Quarter past 4’. ( or was it Quater to 4.. hmmm) Easy peasy, but as I said to said inquisitor, “If this was my grandson he would not be able to do it, as clock faces mean nothing to him. His is a digital world, and while my 1/4to4 is approximate, his would be either 3:44 or 3:46. Or 15:44 etc. Half past the hour is a mute subject.
Also smiled at forgetting a word mid-sentence, I used to conduct seminars for up to 300 people on occasions once, and was often challenged as ‘never being stuck for words’ 🙂
I do find it frustrating to sit at the keyboard, knowing I know, and yet not being able to get the fingers to type just that right word. And as you say, by the time I’ve made a cuppa, “Ding” there is the word.
Don’t despair about my raw v JPEG rant. For magazines we have always shot, and always been accepted with JPEG. On the few occasions I’ll make TIFF. No editor has ever asked for raw as its too time consuming for their pre-press people.
If I was still a hardcore landscaper, I’d be likely to use raw, but then I’d be serious enough to be shooting on a ‘real’ digital camera.
All in all its fun to discuss.
#kneetoo, has been out this morning -with a camera- not a big trip, but a few minutes out of the vehicle at a carpark. Coffee aftewards. Looking good I think.
Thanks for your concern.
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G’day David, I’ve just returned from my morning walk around the wetlands in Braeside and while feasting on my usual rolled oats with some unusual additives of kefir and strawberries I was reading your stereotype post, and what a feast it was! I did not notice my bawl was already empty until I paddled a couple of empty spoons into my mouth. I haven’t been to any of those inquisitors yet but I’m very well prepared now. One is for sure: I will forget their names immediately after they’ve introduced themselves.
I turned to be a RAW man several years ago. I enjoy “developing” them as much as I’m happy if they can be converted into jpegs without much fuss. I’m sure I’d be shooting jpegs only if I were on a trip in the outback with one SD card in my camera. I’d make sure I had enough batteries for my hungry D500.
Thank you for all the fun and enjoyment brought today by your amusing blog and for the beautiful jpeg/Robin l.
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G’day Adam,
Naught wrong with oats and strawberries. Crisp cold morning indeed. Pity the sun hasn’t broken through yet.
Ahh, the grand debate of raw-v-JPEG, it’s a bit redundant these days on both sides I think. The technology has sliced through all the best arguments by both sides. Lightroom, DxO and Capture One deliver great raw transfroms, while the cameras have impressive conversion process built in.
I enjoy the best of both worlds, and have little concern how someone has ‘made’ a great image as long as its a great image.
One of the best parts of our craft is the ability out the feel and mood that we saw when we pressed the shutter.
Catch you Along the Track sometime
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