Younger members
Dec 5, 2023 00:34:06 #
Do you think it is possible to attract younger members to UHH? Or is that a hopeless cause? What would it take?
Dec 5, 2023 02:36:03 #
Interesting question. My immediate thought is probably not. Photography is both time consuming and expensive. On top of that we are an eccentric group, like birders used to be when I was growing up. There will always be a few who will join us old folks lugging around cameras and huge bulky lenses. I think that as cell cameras improve and fewer people print photographs the need for large sensors will decrease. We even now mostly share images electronically. We DSLR shooters hold on the old concepts of photography and like the the film people do we will become a small specialty group.
Dec 5, 2023 04:12:43 #
Blenheim Orange wrote:
Do you think it is possible to attract younger members to UHH? Or is that a hopeless cause? What would it take?
Let me count the ways...
Expensive ✔
Needs focus ✔
No instant gratification ✔
Need to wake up early ✔
May work alone ✔
Many critics on personal work ✔
Need to learn a lot of stuffs ✔
Heavy gear ✔
Good decisions & choice ✔
Walk far ✔
Can't be solved by coffee ✔
Need to get out of Starbucks ✔
Not useful inside malls ✔
Need to hang out with geezers ✔
Yes, younglings will definitely join UHH
Dec 5, 2023 06:20:00 #
Blenheim Orange wrote:
Do you think it is possible to attract younger members to UHH? Or is that a hopeless cause? What would it take?
Not a chance. I can't imagine young people wanting to. And I doubt that older members would tolerate the changes needed to revamp this site and make it attractive to young people.
Dec 5, 2023 06:23:14 #
I cannot guess the future but I would say that a young person joining us could benefit from the experience of so many talented photographers in this forum. How to attract them to join us is another story.
Dec 5, 2023 06:26:21 #
Curmudgeon wrote:
Interesting question. My immediate thought is prob... (show quote)
Photography is generally not time consuming or expensive. But writing about photography is time consuming.
Forget about DSLRs; soon there won't be any available to buy. And unless mirror slap becomes a fetish, there won't be a resurgence like there has been with film.
Cell cameras have improved, and they make much better prints than most digital or film cameras.
Dec 5, 2023 07:06:15 #
David Martin
Loc: Cary, NC
The interest in photography using a camera rather than a smart phone is clearly waning, slowly going the way of other once-popular hobbies such as ham radio, stamp collecting, home darkroom, coin collecting.
Dec 5, 2023 07:14:45 #
Curmudgeon is right. Many online forums have members who are "not young." I watched a video that a YouTuber posted about a trip to a train show - lots of old men. I used to go to the motorcycle show in NYC, and there were lots of old men there, too, although the younger crowd was well represented.
Come to think of it, every group I've belonged to has consisted of "mature" members.
We could take a survey of the ages of our members. I'm 79.
Come to think of it, every group I've belonged to has consisted of "mature" members.
We could take a survey of the ages of our members. I'm 79.
Dec 5, 2023 07:16:10 #
camerapapi wrote:
... a young person joining us could benefit from the experience of so many talented photographers in this forum.
Seeking knowledge from their elders is not a trait of youth.
Dec 5, 2023 08:20:06 #
The photography bug has to bite them.
Other than that, they are quite content with snapshots.
Other than that, they are quite content with snapshots.
Dec 5, 2023 08:21:26 #
I'm 57 years old and I can't remember asking 100 questions yet this decade.
Dec 5, 2023 08:47:26 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
I'm 57 years old and I can't remember asking 100 questions yet this decade.
. . .Memory is the first thing to go as we age.
Sigh,
JimmyT Sends (76 yo)
Dec 5, 2023 08:50:17 #
Jeffcs
Loc: Myrtle Beach South Carolina
I was a photo club president with around 75 members in NJ I’d have to say average age around 50+
Dec 5, 2023 09:18:29 #
larryepage
Loc: North Texas area
Blenheim Orange wrote:
Do you think it is possible to attract younger members to UHH? Or is that a hopeless cause? What would it take?
No.
They would not tolerate the clad in stone attitudes here for more than maybe two minutes.
However...there are many young people intetested in photography and interested in doing it right. I am working with a number of them. But you are going to have to go to them and work on their terms. They are legitimately interested in photography, but they don't care much about the attitudes and rigidity of old people. They are not interested in our forums, and they are not interested in our clubs. And if treated the way members here treat each other, they'll be gone in a minute.
Dec 5, 2023 09:21:21 #
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