Upon the few occasions when I manage to chew through the straps and escape, I generally take a camera to record sights of interest. In some cases this results in a thousand images on a memory card. It used to be ten rolls of 35 mm Kodachrome or two pro-packs of
Portra 160 but times have changed. I have exchanged worrying about X radiation on the film to worrying about running out of battery charge. Don't worry - the hit rate for good shots is still 10%...
So do many other people, and the round of tourist vantage points and camera-opportunity lookouts are crowded with the seekers of beauty. In the more popular places it would appear to be somewhat of a rugby scrum to get the best position for the best shot. I am sorry to say that I suspect most of the tourists would be better served by looking at the sight and then buying a book or postcard to recall it later.
Their attention and concentration would be undiluted by photographic side business and the vantage point would be less of a firing line. No-one would be pushing selfie sticks out in front of the viewers or holding up tablets. No need to buy a tripod that is either too small or too heavy.
The professional who provides the postcard or book illustration would be in work and would very likely produce a more iconic and/or beautiful record of the sight. The book would provide income for the tourist shop and no-one would be panicking about down loading it or erasing it. And they could swat flies or prop up a kitchen table leg with it in the end.
I realise that this will be anathema to the camera clubs, shops, manufacturers, and photo teachers...but they can concentrate on teaching portraiture and taking fluffy kitten shots for the web.
