Weekly retrospective #22: SEMI-PROFESSIONAL

If you get sick or you have been injured seriously you will head over to a professional doctor quickly. Would you go to a semi-professional doctor instead, if available? Would you fly across the ocean with a semi-professional pilot? Call a semi-professional firefighter if in real danger? Or consult a semi-professional advocate if necessary?

I’m sure you won’t, because we trust in the serious education of these professions, therefore the people get a diploma or something else after passing sometimes really, really hard tests.

Why the camera industry pushes that artificial branch called "semi-professional"? I guess they established that category to sell not only to hobbyists and professionals, there is so much money to earn in the middle …

In the past there have been amateurs and professionals only and the pros need to pass a study or a master craftsman’s diploma to verify that they really control what they are doing. A few years ago they decided (in Germany) to skip that kind of “proof”, so now everyone can claim “I’m a photographer”. The same with design. If you think you are crazy enough to build a chair with only one leg, you can call yourself a designer. No one who stops you.

Please be so kind and think about the word semi-professional, especially in combination with the digital revolution in photography. 

Have a nice day! Enjoy the pictures. Some random shot, all taken with the Nokia 808, edited in PS.