I’ve been a teacher and an author and taking photos on and off for over 50 years now. Also as a programmer of some 35 years experience, I’m more than a little familiar with things digital, and how they work.

And I’ve got to say, some of the new self-proclaimed experts in photography, especially those who materialized out of nowhere in the last 10 years, and with large followings, need to stop reading and believing their own press releases. Over the past few years, when I’ve tried to politely correct some bit of misinformation they’ve published, I think only once have I been met with thanks.

Most of the time, I’m treated as if I were a moron, and “how dare I question them?. Don’t I know who they are?” (I’ve actually had a couple of them say exactly that!)

OK… it’s human nature. It’s particularly embarrassing for a writer to get caught saying something wrong, and because their credibility is vitally important to their careers, it’s understandable that they would be defensive.

But I’m a member of the photographic community… and have been for decades. We are, in person, and have been over those years, kind and giving and sharing. We learn from each other, and appreciate corrections… or at least that’s the way it used to be… and still is with my friends.

I have to say that I miss that spirit in the printed press however… or at least the authors with whom I’ve dealt. When was the last time you saw a correction, a mea culpa, in print?

Outside of this blog, I’ve given up on trying to share corrections based on my aggregate experience of over 85 years with digital & photography. Even 85 years doesn’t make me infallible however… I’m still learning… and I love it. But being a programmer and photographer has made understanding digital pretty easy for me.

On this blog, I hope we share ideas and opinions openly. I hope to learn from you and will easily admit it when I’m wrong about something, because that pushes the art of photography forward for all of us.

Anything less, including believing your own press, simply holds everyone back.