CAUGHT in
by Don Brice
THE WEB...

Are you on e-mail? It's becoming an increasingly common question and it's reminiscent of the question from not that many years ago.. "Do you have a fax yet?"

Well look at us now. There wouldn't be too many businesses that don't have a fax machine and like most things, mobile phones included, we wonder how we ever got by without one! What an impact these things have had on the way we operate. The simple action of delivering a written quote or perhaps a sketched layout required either a courier delivery or 24 hours in the postal system. Now that we take instant written communication for granted, it must have been incredibly inefficient- but it wasn't that long ago.

Micro sized, colourful mobile phones are still a new enough toy for us to still be caught up with the novelty of being able to talk to anyone, anywhere.

I once called a friend on his newly purchased, very chic Motorolla (you know, the one we now call a brick).

"Hello" his voice boomed and echoed down the line.

I remember thinking that the sound was reverberating so much that I could hardly hear the smug satisfaction of mobile phone ownership in his voice.

"Hi there John", I said (The name has been changed to save embarrassment) "Where the heck are you anyway? You sound like you're down a well! I hope all mobile phones don't sound like that."

"Er, yes, um, you see.." he stuttered, as his voice was joined by a variety of trickling, gushing and gurgling sounds. "Er..whoops, hang on a tick, I'm just in the SSWOOOSSHHH-GGGGLLLLLBLB-GLUB- GLUB"

The rest of the conversation was drowned out by what I later discovered was a flushing toilet. I only hope that he hadn't dropped it in, but I never did ask. The knowledge that I may have in fact been "aurally flushed" is a concept I find far too disgusting to contemplate, so I'll leave that story right there.

More than just a toy

Fortunately since then most of us have discovered that phones are equipped with off buttons! And I haven't been faxed a copy of part of someone's face or body for years now. This is not a bad thing really. My point is that new technology always seems to arrive along with it's own brand of novelty pranks and junior-school style jokes before it settles down to offer us all some serious advantages. Computers, I've noticed, are just the same. Otherwise mature and reasonable human beings have been known to leap from the breakfast table to the computer keyboard simply because some cereal company invites them to "visit our website @..com."

I should at this stage assure you that I'm not a complete Luddite, nor a member of the flat earth society. Computers are fantastically powerful tools and naturally, I'm writing this article on one. It's just that I've seen them used in really dumb ways.

Take for example the evolution of digitally enhanced photography. We used to see such pictures partitioned off into special classes in the AIPP National Print Awards. As if to quarantine digital work from "real" photography. I don't recall there ever being special sections for "photography using artificial lighting" in photography's history. No longer do we see garish, surreal montages featuring animals flying through an orange sky over apocalyptic lunar vistas! It's all a bit more sophisticated these days.

Similarly, the rapidly growing worlds of e-mail and the World Wide Web will settle down, each into their own useful niche. I suspect that I won't always greet bleary-eyed friends with "a big night on the net for you then?" One by one we tend to discover that as vast and all encompassing as the web is, four-fifths of it is boring, stupid or just plain badly done. Just like the rest of the world really. Unless you don't have a better way to spend your time, it pays to be discerning when you're surfing the web.

Hopefully I won't have to forever delete e-mails of dumb sexist jokes that seem to breed in the virtual world.

E-mail has been great for me. I have re-discovered the joy of communicating through the written word. I keep in touch with friends both locally and around the world, thanks to the convenience and economy of e-mail. Somehow I never did get around to phoning them. I have developed a new level of communication and relationship with interstate clients, many of whom I am still to meet face to face. Job briefs or requests for a quote are often waiting for me when I "log-on" on a Monday morning.

The web too, has become a great resource - if you know what you are looking for. It's very handy for keeping in touch with the world of photography. This can be especially important if you are a sole operator without the advantages of regular contact with your photographic peers.

Enter...The ACMP website

The website fulfils a number of important functions. It makes us accessible to the world. Interested professionals and amateurs alike can learn what ACMP stands for and who we represent. It also makes it easy to join up by using the on-line application form. You can find an assistant, buy or sell some equipment or simply "mouth-off" to anyone who might care to listen on the members bulletin board. You can even read this magazine on line, just in case you left your "real" copy in the toilet.

Your own mini website

Clients visit the site too. Using the "Find a photographer" button, clients can see a list of member photographers in the region they require, complete with contact details and the type of work in which that photographer specialises. This section has the potential to become even more useful as photographers take up the option of displaying a small portfolio of images. It's like having your own mini website at a fraction of the cost.

Photographers who have been successful in the first ACMP Fuji Collection will also find their work on display.

Useful Links

The ACMP site is also a very useful starting point for the "anything you ever wanted to know about photography" sort of thing. Under the "Links" button you will find a comprehensive list of website addresses for a range of photography topics. A wide range of manufacturers and suppliers are represented. This means that it could be the ideal point to seek product information, specifications or just "help" with almost anything photographic that you may own. Computer buffs won't need to be told that this list includes everything related to electronic imaging as well.

Photographic organisations from around the world are also just a click away. Some of these sites are extraordinarily detailed, with news, journals and magazines, galleries, competitions and bulletin boards.

If you just want to look at great photography you can visit any number of Australian Galleries or perhaps the New York Museum of Modern Art. The surfers won't be able to confine themselves to the ACMP links. A few clicks and before you know it you'll likely be visiting some obscure art based camera club in central Russia!

Have your say

If nothing else, simply have your say at the member's bulletin board. Here is your free soapbox for any topic you care to think of. This part of the site is only as good as the members make it. At it's best it can be a thriving provocative interchange of ideas and thoughts. At worst its lack of life could reflect an attitude of boredom and apathy among the membership. Perhaps the novelty value has worn off. Fine. Now let's see how this tool can teach us, inspire us and challenge us all.

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