Well said, Bill. I would welcome more constructive commentary, as long as it is respectful. That doesn't mean that a pile of dogshit is called a golden egg, it just means that you don't call =the photographer= a pile of dogshit.
Rick http://photo.net/photos/RickW --- On Tue, 6/29/10, William Robb <[email protected]> wrote: > > > That was the big issue with Shel. It wasn't that > he was harsh, but that he thought his way was the only way. > > Whatever one thinks of Shel (and I'm pretty sure that most > know what I think), he is/was a pretty talented photographer > within the genres that he pursued. I recall the critique > that he gave that had everyone up in arms. > He was, IIRC, commenting on a very bland photo that was > well below the level that the photographer was capable of, > and Shel told him that, almost to the letter. > > And all of a sudden people started throwing poo at him. > Unfortunately, it put a real chill on the list regarding > honest critique. > And that is too bad, because people do often want honest > comments about the pictures they present to the list, and > not just get told that the turd they dropped on the sidewalk > looks remarkably like the golden egg. > > I appreciate the kind words that my images earn, but I also > appreciate when the flaws get picked out, as this is how I > improve as a photographer and as an image editor. > > When I joined this list back in 1998 or so, it was almost > entirely gear driven. That was what the technology of the > day allowed. Image files were big and importing them into a > computer was not especially easy, and so people chose > carefully when they elected to show an image. > I don't think we take the same care any more, and I think > it shows. > Well, I guess that probably is pretty harsh, but I do look > at a lot of the images that get presented. > Is this an elitist attitude? > I don't know. > Am I full of shit? > Probably, at least in the eyes of some. > Do I really give a damn? > Well, no, I don't. > > What I do care about is photography. It's been the major > driving force in my life for almost all of my life. > What pisses me off is when I make a suggestion about how to > improve a photograph and get told that the picture is what > it is, and that I should judge it on it's own merits, and > not the merits of a picture that could have been. > I mean really, if I was judging it on it's own merits, I'd > just say it was a shit picture. > > But because I care, I'll try to tell the photographer what > I would have tried to get, were it my picture. > And sometimes, that involves telling someone that I > wouldn't have pushed the button. > And why I wouldn't have. > And if that is harsh, it is because I am a man of few > carefully chosen words. > > It's too bad that real critiques got shot down, though the > list is a friendlier place for it, I suppose. > > William Robb > > > > > > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link > directly above and follow the directions. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
