Unique or unusual comments or reactions to photos

If someone posts a photo which is not very good, it is best not to say that the photo is not very good. If you say that a photo which is not very good is not very good, you might be accused of being a person who just loves to criticize those who actually make art, a person who has a sense of moral entitlement, a person who is suffering from a grandiose sense of intellectual superiority, and/or a person who is small, petty, and myopic. It is best for you to say something nice about the photo which is not very good. In that manner, the next time you post a photo which is not very good, the person who previously posted a photo which was not very good about which you said something nice, will say something nice about your photo which is not very good. Then everyone will be happy about their photos which are not very good.

Speaking of unusual comments about photos, I once posted a landscape photo and a guy said "nice catch". I am waiting for him to post just the right photo, say a still life or an abstract, so I can return the compliment.
 
Thank you, all. All your comments have been duly "noted".

As one of our more extremist Australian politicians recently said - many thanks to those who have commented, and my apologies to those who were hoping I would drop dead.

Before writing this, I did go back to the original photo and had another look. It's a nice snapshot. Does credit to both the model and the photographer. I liked the piano and the background decor. Nothing more, nothing less.

As for the comments, well, let's not forget. in this particular case, nothing fell over, nobody died. Time passes, all things change. The world goes on turning, churning, puking. Or to put it another way as the Buddhists would, shit happens.
 
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I had one of the ladies here on RFF comment on a photo of mine saying the color was "Delicious", I thought that a different but very expressive response. I also think it applies to the tones in the OP's work
 
ptpdprinter said:
If someone posts a photo which is not very good and invites comments about it, it is best not to say that the photo is not very good. If you say that a photo which is not very good is not very good, you will be accused of being a person who who just loves to criticize those that actually make art, and/or of being a person who has a sense of moral entitlement. It is best for you to say something nice about the photo which is not very good. In that manner, the next time you post a photo which is not very good and invite comments about it, the person who previously posted the photo which was not very good about which you said something nice, will say something nice about your photo which is not very good. Then everyone will be happy about their photos which are not very good.
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I am just curious, do you apply this to all photographs on the board or just those of women? Have I missed your ire on past postings? Are you this assiduous a critic of all submissions? I do not think you have criticized anything I have posted. Or at least I have taken no notice of your criticism. Maybe I should post a photo or two of women to get your reaction to them?

I am in a quandary as to what your critical standards are. Can flowers be offensive? See Georgia O'Keefe. Rather than telling me what you are not, how about telling me what you are? Is nudity offensive, especially of women? How about Botticelli's Birth of Venus. She is almost completely nude. Are nude or nearly nude men offensive? If no one else is interested I sure am interested in what your rules of criticism are if you care to share them with me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Canna_(paintings)

Thank you.
 
So a few years back, I photographed one of the White Flower Power riots here in Berkeley.
I only posted a few photos afterwards, and was contacted by one of the flower power thugs asking if he could order prints of him assaulting a young woman in black.
 
I have decided to delete this post (specifically [NODE="27"]Being a Photographer[/NODE] and not the original post) as having been written in too great haste.

The OP is thin-skinned and obviously cannot accept any criticism that contradicts his personal views.

My original comments to the OP on the image he posted for critique, remain the same.

(It's now too late to edit or delete them anyway...)
 
boojum said:
I am just curious, do you apply this to all photographs on the board or just those of women? Have I missed your ire on past postings? Are you this assiduous a critic of all submissions? I do not think you have criticized anything I have posted. Or at least I have taken no notice of your criticism. Maybe I should post a photo or two of women to get your reaction to them?

I am in a quandary as to what your critical standards are. Can flowers be offensive? See Georgia O'Keefe. Rather than telling me what you are not, how about telling me what you are? Is nudity offensive, especially of women? How about Botticelli's Birth of Venus. She is almost completely nude. Are nude or nearly nude men offensive? If no one else is interested I sure am interested in what your rules of criticism are if you care to share them with me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Canna_(paintings)

Thank you.
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Calm yourself. Cleanse your mind of the thoughts expressed in your post. I was merely satirizing in a general sort of way Brusby’s apparent moral outrage and righteous indignation that someone actually had the temerity to say something negative about a photo he posted in a photography forum. I mean everyone hopes for positive comments, but if you are going to blow a gasket if someone says something negative about a photo you post in a photography forum, it would probably be better not to post your photos in a photography forum. Unless you enjoy blowing a gasket. And some people do. It is right up there with playing the martyr.

Brusby’s photograph looks pretty good to me technically (lighting, exposure, and the like), but what do I know? I am just some random guy on the internet so who cares what I think. I would probably choose some other photo to promote a recording studio, say a photo of a vintage Rupert Neve analog mixing console with a about a hundred gain sliders and maybe some classic Nuemann tube mics, but I am not an expert on promoting recording studios, so what I think is pretty much beside the point. Who knows, maybe having a photo of a woman posing on top of a piano is just the ticket to draw musicians looking to record an album to your studio. I would certainly defer to the judgment of the owner of the recording studio about using the photo for promotion and advertising. It’s his call, not mine.

By the way, this discussion has nothing to do with nudity, male or female, or whether nudity is offensive, or if so to whom. The woman in the photo is clearly wearing clothes. And even though it is not relevant, I want to assure you that I am a big fan of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. I like Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings too, but if I had to choose between the two artists, I would go with Botticelli every time without question.
 
brusby said:
I'm just amazed at the number of people on this forum who seem to take pleasure in criticizing others. I consider it small, petty and myopic. Obviously you don't.

And people wonder why viewership and participation here seem to be at an all time low.

I had a similar experience here a few months ago and stopped posting for that reason. 'Decided I'd give it another try, but apparently nothing much has changed.
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The beauty of real discussion forums is you get real people with real opinions, instead of artificial “likes” and “friends” like over on Meta. Sadly, there are people on Instagram and Facebook who are making careers of garnering “likes” for their images, and many can’t handle criticism because Facebook doesn’t have a “hate” button, and these people grew up with only false acclaim, never having to face the harsh truth of criticism.
 
JoeV said:
The beauty of real discussion forums is you get real people with real opinions, instead of artificial “likes” and “friends” like over on Meta. Sadly, there are people on Instagram and Facebook who are making careers of garnering “likes” for their images, and many can’t handle criticism because Facebook doesn’t have a “hate” button, and these people grew up with only false acclaim, never having to face the harsh truth of criticism.
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+1 to what JoeV said. Perhaps that's the real reason participation is at an all-time low on this forum. Not enough real discussion or criticism. I try to imagine the impression this forum must make on young, potential members. All they see is a bunch of old guys who are afraid or unwilling to engage with any of the critical issues in the contemporary world, guys for whom "Nice tones!" is the ultimate accolade. Yeah, I'm 70, so that makes me an old guy, but I still believe the world is messy, frightening, and beautiful, certainly worth confronting and embracing.
 
JoeV said:
The beauty of real discussion forums is you get real people with real opinions, instead of artificial “likes” and “friends” like over on Meta. Sadly, there are people on Instagram and Facebook who are making careers of garnering “likes” for their images, and many can’t handle criticism because Facebook doesn’t have a “hate” button, and these people grew up with only false acclaim, never having to face the harsh truth of criticism.
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Do you know of any such real discussion forums with real people with real opinions for photography?
 
Retro-Grouch said:
Perhaps that's the real reason participation is at an all-time low on this forum. Not enough real discussion or criticism. I try to imagine the impression this forum must make on young, potential members. All they see is a bunch of old guys who are afraid or unwilling to engage with any of the critical issues in the contemporary world, guys for whom "Nice tones!" is the ultimate accolade.
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Is participation on RFF really at an all time low? Do you have some data about visits, threads, posts, and views for the past couple of years which when plotted show a downward trend? Do you have any information about what portion of the downward trend, if any, may be a result of less photographic activity attributable to COVID and what portion may be as a result of a lack of real discussion and criticism. To your knowledge, are there any photography forums where participation has increased over the same period of time as a result of the participants entering into real discussion or criticism?
 
Personally I'd appreciate a "critique" forum. I have thick skin and realize everyone has different tastes. I've done this with a small group of friends in our NM Film Photographers group on Flickr. (everyone is welcome BTW!) It's been successful but the group is small so participation is as well.

I've been guilty of "nice tones" comments. But I appreciate them, as I don't see in or do B/W. That said when I see something I think can improve an image here or out in the inter webs I try and make gentle comments suggesting how a different crop or perspective might have helped the image. So far outside of our specific critique group these have been largely ignored.
 
JoeV said:
The beauty of real discussion forums is you get real people with real opinions, instead of artificial “likes” and “friends” like over on Meta. Sadly, there are people on Instagram and Facebook who are making careers of garnering “likes” for their images, and many can’t handle criticism because Facebook doesn’t have a “hate” button, and these people grew up with only false acclaim, never having to face the harsh truth of criticism.
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I really enjoyed your post ~ Thank You

Had a Great laugh over a 'Hate' button....
really LOVE the Idea !!
and it may take the edge off some whose words can be more harsh then intended
 
filmtwit said:
So a few years back, I photographed one of the White Flower Power riots here in Berkeley.
I only posted a few photos afterwards, and was contacted by one of the flower power thugs asking if he could order prints of him assaulting a young woman in black.
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Wow, how wild is that, just crazy !
 
I saw this thread when it started, and remembered the same person linked a video to me (Liszt-Wagner : Spinnerlied aus der fliegende Holländer. Pianista Antonio Castagna). I could not find it at the time (tried search on Flickr, even Google), but just came across it again by chance when posted the photograph under environmental Portraits a few days ago.


butcher by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr

Antonio Castagna 3y

My musical comment to your excellent shot :

www.youtube.com/watch?v=safipVsBrL4
 
You will get plenty of comments with nice lady, doesn't matter where you have put her.
What I wonder if instead of lady in nightwear it would be this pianist who posted some comment.
It would get comment from me for sure. I respect non-cliches.
 
ptpdprinter said:
Do you know of any such real discussion forums with real people with real opinions for photography?
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I had it on rangefinder.ru and foto.club.ru. Russians are not afraid to tell what they think about someone else photo.
Comparing to Pupolitics.

I was trying to be Russian at critique forum on P.O.T.N. One time person put "hit me with your opinion". I told his photos are trash at was snitched for been honest.

Where are many photos I don't understand, but dross is dross.
 
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