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From: "Doug Brewer"
Subject: Re: Feed Us Your Photoblog--The Solution
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
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