old church

[Michael79]

I agree, TCampbell put it best in words.

A Compliment Sandwich hardly ever hungers anger.

Nice photo by the way!!!

[bert]

Thanks, Tim and Michael79.

I'm sorry if some of my replies are rather abrasive and not, "nicey-nicey",

but I don't respond especially well to condescension.

My picture of the church is not one of the best on the forum.

Nor do I even consider it to be one of the better pictures either.

My initial disgruntlement was caused by the insult dished out to Johanson.

Ok, maybe it's not an amazing picture - but that is not the point.

To act superciliously as if one is in sole possession of the secrets of the gods is plainly insulting.

Also, there is no reason to assume that just because somebody doesn't like the style of the picture, that I am ipso facto

a blithering idiot without any clue whatsoever how to take a picture.


A bicker-free forum would be nice - I agree wholeheartedly.

But a bicker-free forum will not happen as long as some people go around disrespecting people on a massive scale.


I don't want to respond to Stranger's peculiar and immature repsonse as it will simply lead to more bickering.


The reason I put Cameron on my ignore list was because I was entirely sick of his insults.

Upon finding out that he'd dissed me yet again (and in CAPS no less...) I was rather angry, to put it mildly.

And then I got angry again with Stranger because of his extraordinarily condescending arrogance.

Since my opinions do not sit well with the important people of this forum, I think I'll just quit *

*Absurd emoticon placement #557

(Yes, I counted all of 'em !

Every single one )

Oh, nearly forgot :

may I remind everybody once again that the Almighty Critics are invariably the ones who don't post pictures...

[Dazzaone]

Don't quit Bert your imput into the forum is genuine and valued. We are losing to many people like yourself who don't mind sharing their images. I too have felt like moving over to another forum, but as I have stated before I have grown as a photographer from being involved here and I don't want to go just yet.
Your a good honest man Bert and you can take a fair image too

Dazza.

[bert]

Thanks, Dazza, u is a gent

I'll maybe pop by from time to time and post something

[Michael79]

Thanks, Dazza, u is a gent

I'll maybe pop by from time to time and post something

That'd be nice I enjoy seeing your images!

[John B.]

I'll maybe pop by from time to time and post something

I done told ya, Bert, we've been missin' ya! If you don't start posting here again soon, I'll come over there and eat your camera!

[willard3]

Way, way too much of this here:

[Cameron]

Thanks, Tim and Michael79.

Oh, nearly forgot :

may I remind everybody once again that the Almighty Critics are invariably the ones who don't post pictures...

What a lot of BS! I have posted more than a dozen images. You have just not bothered looking at them.

Cameron

[Cameron]

Diversity of opinions is human nature. It isn't important that everyone agree on a point. But what is important is to at least be pleasant on the public forum.

Not everyone necessarily wants a critique on their images. If they do want a critique, they'll either post it in the "brutally honest" forum or they'll specially request comments. In this post, Bert did neither. As such, keeping the comments pleasant OR, before offering unsolicited opinions, ask the OP if they'd they'd like some comments.

It's a photo of the upper spire of a church. I get that some of you would have preferred to ground the church by showing the lower portion. I happen to like the rich blue/gold color balance (and blue/gold classically work well together because they balance... some photographers specially keep an eye out for color-balance in a scene and shoot it simply because it offers a pleasing balance.) I think it might have been fun to shoot the gothic arches along the side as a play on the rhythm and pattern of arches. There are many ways to shoot a building. This one is Bert's choice.

Let's just assume someone posts a marginal photo. To make an initial critique (even when one wasn't requested) which starts out with an abrasive tone isn't helpful. Rather, you could have said "I noticed that you've only captured the upper reaches of the church, Bert. Have you thought about 'grounding' the image by walking back a bit further to take the shot or using a wider angle lens?" then Bert could have replied with something such as "Yes, I had thought about that myself. But I wasn't able to walk back further due to having to stand in the middle of a busy street and didn't happen to have a wider angle lens with me and/or didn't like the wide-angle perspective on this particular subject. I found that that even though my shooting perspectives were limited, it was still a photo worthy subject and preferred to capture the church with a close perspective to offer more detail in the image."

Had the conversation progressed like that, you'd have made EXACTLY the same point, but you'd have done it effectively and without anyone being able to take offense.

There is almost always a way to offer constructive criticism without coming across in an abrasive tone. I find that the key intro words such as "Have you thought about ____ ?" Or "I'm wondering if ____?" will almost always tone down a message in such a way that the same point is made, but it doesn't come across as an attack.

Please keep it pleasant.

Why take a bizarre view of critique! You can't have it both ways. If someone indicates a positive view toward a photo, it is equally VALID for someone to disagree and point out its failings. How can POSITIVE views NOT be critique, but NEGATIVE views be critique!! That makes absolutely no sense or perhaps nonsense. You are in the www.thephotoforum.com and you see both positive and negative comments made of ALL photos and you take part in those mixed reviews. I don't see factual comments about photos as being abrasive and neither do photographic competitions.

If you don't want critique, then positive comments about a photo should not be allowed either,....because they are just as much critique as negative comments. For that matter suggestions for improvement are NOT negative.

Cameron

[bert]

I done told ya, Bert, we've been missin' ya! If you don't start posting here again soon, I'll come over there and eat your camera!

Well, I just hope you've got titanium steel teeth !!