>> William Robb wrote: > >> Is one allowed to say: "Is this the best you can do?" >> Is one allowed to pass on his disappointment in the photographer? >>
IMO, even that first question is negatively loaded because it's aimed at the photographer, not the image. It implies the photographer is unskilled, uncaring, or lazy, or did not try their best (all the above could be true). However, it's a judgement rendered of the person not the photograph. What right does the viewer have to ask that kind of question? That certainly would not motivate me, it would just piss me off. Ask that question of your wife, husband, child about anything they've done and I'll guarantee a negative angry reaction 99% of the time. And even if the photographer did not try their best, who cares? Do any of us try our best regarding every task we undertake? Define "best". Is one person's best different from another's? Far better to speak regarding the image, where it fails or excels, instead of calling in to question the skill, motivation or dedication of the person. I recall Shel having an issue with an image I took of a rainbow and mountainside, and he complained that the background was washed out and lacking in constrast. I forget his exact words but they struck me as caustic at the time. OK, it wasn't a masterpiece and I never claimed it was, but guess what? When looking through miles of falling rain, does one expect a crystal clear high contrast scene, or might contrast be lowered because of the conditions? IMO, Shel simply had his head where the sun doesn't shine much of the time, and was often not qualified to render the judgements he did... regardless of his schooling in photography, which I think counts too little and was mentioned too often. He justfied his style of critique by saying he was emulating his teacher in photography school. Give me a break. Just because you're teacher's an butthead, doesn't mean one has to copy that behavior. -- 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.
