Paul Stenquist wrote: >Yep. Either the people who do the pickin' like 'em or they don't. >Fairly simple. Their taste doesn't correspond exactly to mine, and I >suspect others feel the same way. But, hey, it's their gallery.
Precisely. Furthermore, I've come to realize that I *already know* which shots of mine *I* like best ;-) Part of the value in a selective gallery (or a photography contest) is specifically in gaining some insight into what *other* people like. Sure, any artist has to please himself/herself first and foremost. But if the only person you please is yourself you're not going to get anywhere. Moreover, if you're only pleasing yourself you clearly aren't communicating with, or connecting to, anyone else with your photographs. You can't possibly expect to please everybody, but that shouldn't be taken as an excuse to reject or ignore all other opinions. Another thing that's useful about selective galleries or contests is that they encourage you to think about *why* you disagree with the official selections. Thinking about why you like what you like (and how to achieve it) is a crucial part of growing and improving as a photographer. Even learning about opinions with which I may disagree is valuable. If the Gallery accepted every shot I submitted and put it in their Premier Collection it would be a huge ego boost, but I wouldn't learn anything. In light of all this, it certainly would be helpful if they provided some commentary to explain why photos were declined, but I can understand that there's no possible way they would have time for this. The note on the web site that says they'll provide a reason for declined shots was clearly intended to refer to technical issues like "not taken with a Pentax camera". They'll eventually remove that text or at least fix the wording, but this gallery is a huge undertaking and these projects never have all the staff they need. Heck, two weeks ago their list of Pentax cameras didn't even include the MX (for shame!) and last time I checked, their lens list didn't include the original "K" series. After weeks/months of being too busy, I'm determined to get out and do some shooting this weekend and I think the Pentax Gallery has played a major part in motivating me. Come to think of it, it's having shots declined by the Gallery that's the biggest motivator. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
