A few months ago, I was on the prowl for a new camera. At first, the biggest holdup with acquiring a camera was the debate I was having with myself, if this was going to be the time that I stop bullshitting around, and finally get myself a nice, DSLR, and aspire to actually take some nice photographs. Granted, the drawback to that option is obviously the price of a good camera. Or, alternatively, with the improvements beyond my old Sony Cybershot’s capabilities, simply get yet another point-and-shoot camera, which would be cheaper, portable, and more conducive to my typical array of photographic bullshit activities.
Right before I went to Miami, I got my new camera, and it was a Canon PowerShot, or a point-and-shoot. This decision had nothing to do with cost, as I could very well afford a DSLR if I wanted to go in that direction, but I chose to go with point-and-shoot, based on a conversation I had about Asian guys with cameras. Considering a big chunk of photographs I take comes at places like Dragon-Con, or nerdy and/or public events, I thought about all the times I see awkward and/or creepo and/or fake-nice-to-girls-only Asian guys running around with fancy-schmancy cameras. And it occurred to me, that quite frankly, I just don’t want to be like any of that.
Obviously, I’m not exactly the most captivating person on the planet, and my game could use some serious coaching, but I do like to fancy myself as someone with a modicum of social skills (sometimes): flirtation, charisma, attentiveness, gentleman-like.
I don’t want to be the psycho-quiet Asian guy lurking in the background of crowds with a cumbersome, expensive camera, taking voyeuristic shots, and reviewing them instantaneously to determine whether or not they’re going into the spank bank or if more effort needs to be exerted. I don’t want to be the transparent Asian guy with a fancy camera who needs to feed egos and kiss asses, and pretend like I’m a professional photographer, willing and capable of floor-mat for women, with the hopes that they’ll see me for more than just a friend and ultimately end up having sex with me someday. I don’t want to be the Asian guy that takes hundreds of shots, and be looked at like nobody is going to know what these pictures are for, and quite frankly, you don’t want to know. I see enough of these guys with my own eyes, and it doesn’t take deep investigative searching to find the popular stereotype of Japanese creepos who one, are giant pervs, and two, have fancy camera equipment, to essentially ruin it for all other Asian guys.
Dragon-Con had no shortage of living proof of what I’m talking about. While I’m mingling about my friends and acquaintances, many of whom happen to be attractive women, there were no shortage of Asian guys with awesome cameras lurking in the background taking pictures. It’s just this time, while they took their pictures with questionable agendas, I was taking pictures of them. Some of them were creepers who said nothing but took pictures, sometimes actually set up, and other times the occasional quick shot from a funny angle. Others were clearly buddy-buddy with just the females who simply adore the attention from the camera and supply of high-quality pictures to be promised at a later time, but more or less are awkward or completely ambivalent to other males, or everyone else in general. And then there was actually one example of someone who had the audacity to ask a friend of mine to actually get out of a shot, despite it being a public place, and furthermore used physical touch to usher her out of the shot; that’s what more or less has prompted this animosity. Granted, it’s hilarious at hell to see this stereotypical behavior at work, but it sure as hell doesn’t mean I want to get lumped up into that kind of reputation.
Some people might look at me, and my circle of friends, and think that I’m exactly what I’m saying I detest, or that I’m just a bullshit hypocrite. Of course I don’t deny the fact that I’ll say hypocritical things from time to time, but sure, yeah I do have a lot of female friends, and yeah I do take a lot of pictures of them. But 98% of the pictures I take, result in the same posting fashion that they’ve been posted for the last 11 years (exceptions being too blurry/crappy or personally requested to not be posted). They’re for others to see publicly, and I relish in the opportunities that sparsely arise from communication from those who see my pictures. And I post everything, not just women. Landscapes of baseball parks, my male friends, people drinking beer and having fun, and not just scantily-clad women in costumes.
I’m also not fooling anyone either. I’m no professional, nor do I aspire to really be one. Sure, it would be nice to take a DSLR to a baseball game, and get some truly incredible shots of ballparks and in-game action. Or it would be nice to see if I could end up taking a truly great picture of someone in costume, or catch a public event in action. So if this is the case, there’s really no need for me to even bother going the route of DSLR, when all I really want to do is take adequate images of the places I’ve been, and the people I’m with, and create visual memories of my own life.
But I’m not going to lie, the reputation that would come along with getting a DSLR was easily the biggest factor in why I didn’t end up getting one. Not worth it.
