----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Sullivan"
Subject: Re: regards PESO 2009 - 052 ...
I agree with Paul.
There are other forums for critique of photos.
Some folks want frequent and rich feedback, plus more critique.
Perhaps they have outgrown this forum.
I'm going to be the disagreeable one, and here's why:
Because I'm a jerk.
But, besides that, there is an incredible body of talent on this forum, and
to be honest, I think if all we say is nice things about each other's
pictures, then some of that talent is being wasted.
Look at the evolution of this list over the past decade. Ten years ago, we
talked about lenses, and cameras and film and processing.
Now, a new piece of equipment gets introduced, and it barely gets noticed.
We talk more about software than lenses.
But boy oh boy, since everyone went digital and got high speed internet, we
sure do show each other pictures.
Lots of pictures.
Peso used to mean picture every so often, now it is an acronym for another
link to click on, whether the person posted 5 pictures yesterday or not.
Lots of pictures. Lots of good pictures too.
Now, one can probably presume that a person who takes good pictures has
learned how to not take bad ones.
At least to rise above it all every now and again, anyway.
So, why not pass on that knowledge and tell a person that a picture has some
suckiness to it, and had they done something differenty, it might have been
improved.
It won't help the picture in question, but it might give the photographer
something to think about.
Unfortunately, if there is a chill regarding honest and tough critiques,
then the whole process risks turning into a circle jerk.
Now, there is that school of thought that says that the "I would have done
this instead" does no good. The picture is what it is, so comment on what it
is, not what it could be.
The critique then becomes the official opposition, that band of losers who
bitch and whine, but don't come up with any credible ideas of their own.
Think the Federal NDP with a Pentax.
What an awful thing to think about.
Or, it turns into a circle jerk because no one risks saying anything
negative.
So, go to a forum that specializes in mean spirited critiques you say.
All very well and good, but when I put a picture up, I want the people
critiquing it people whose work I've seen so I know where they are coming
from visually, and who I've interacted with over time so I have an idea of
what they know and how they view the world.
I think the email format of this forum works better for critiques than does
the web page based forums.
OTOH, I have seen some very heated discussions result from something said in
an honest, but less than positive critique.
William Robb
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