Comments from an old timer.

[greyflash]

Being one of the charter members of the Nikon Cafe as well as a moderator on the site I wanted to request some help from the members. One thing I have noticed is that some of our newer members (especially those new to photography) do not get many responses to their image posts. Judging by the number of "viewers" many of you are already looking at the image but fail to take the time to make a comment or critique. As one of the most prolific posters on the forum (OK Flew you are still ahead of me) I feel that I can say that and not have three fingers pointing back at me.

One of the really neat things about a forum is to hear comments from fellow photographers. Lets all take just a few seconds and try to give feedback to those that are just starting out on this forum or are new to photography. It will make them feel good and I hope it will make you feel good to do it.

 

[TOLady]

Good point, Gordon, now where's your picture???? LOL The least you could have done was stick a pic into that message....

Seriously, I think that people should leave some sort of comment. That's how we all learn...

 

[greyflash]

Good point, Gordon, now where's your picture???? LOL The least you could have done was stick a pic into that message....

Seriously, I think that people should leave some sort of comment. That's how we all learn...

Ok Sandi, you asked for a post and here it is:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Thanks for your support.

 

[Chris101]

Dude - that's a bee butt. Or, as I'm sure they prefer, the business end. Nice and close! - a great illustration of the hairs on it's leg where they gather pollen to make honey.

 

[Leigh]

Hey Gordon, thanks so much for bringing this to everyone's attention. It's something that I had noticed myself but didn't know how to approach it w/the cafe. Well done!

So, does the picture have a title? Maybe you could say it's "The Bees Knees"....does anyone else know that term? My grandmother used to say that when something was neat or interesting....just like your picture!

 

[Retief]

OK, folks, after seeing that image from Gordon I'm off the Cafe Office to request that we open a new image forum. Given what I am seeing from this, Panos and Frank with his Ducks I think we need a....

.....

......

drum roll please....

BUTT SHOT FORUM :!: :!: :!: :lol: :lol:

Gordon, you make a great point. I sure know that when I post an image I do it for feedback and critique, and as often as not I'd like even more.

Good reminder,

 

[PGB]

That is a good observation Gordon. I think we are all guilty of it. I'm going to try to post more and give my opinion and help where needed.

Thanks,

 

[Jonathan F/2]

It's Panos' fault. He distracted me with those volleyball cheerleaders!

 

[greyflash]

Hey Gordon, thanks so much for bringing this to everyone's attention. It's something that I had noticed myself but didn't know how to approach it w/the cafe. Well done!

So, does the picture have a title? Maybe you could say it's "The Bees Knees"....does anyone else know that term? My grandmother used to say that when something was neat or interesting....just like your picture!

Thanks for your comments Leigh. I am not aware of the term "bees knees" but it's kind of a cute colloquialism.

 

[greyflash]

Chris, Bill, Patrick and Jonathan:

Thanks for your support of this proposal. Also, glad you liked the image of the bee. But (pardon the pun), I understand if you prefer the Panos post. :roll: :roll:

 

[Flew]

Very cogent point Gordon. When I spent a lot of time over on DPR, I always looked for two things when I first got to the forum. First, I looked for posts from my friends, so that I could catch up on the latest buzz. Then I looked for posts from newbies (like I was not that long ago) that had no or only one or two responses. There is nothing so discouraging as timidly joining in an established on-line community and then being ignored. Talk about your basic buzz off messages. :?

The problem there and here, is that some folks don't always know what to say. I belonged to NatureScapes.net for about a year. The members and moderators there were very good at nailing problems in shots while still being encouraging to the poster. We have a few folks here that have that ability (Gale is a prime example), but most of us (myself included) typically just respond with a 'wow, great shot' comment.

Now I like being told that all of my shots are great, but that obviously isn't the case. I'm sure that most others feel the same way. To cut to the chase, I totally agree with Gordon, that we should do a better job of responding to posts, especially those from new members, but we also need to be more forthright in our comments sometimes. I appreciate an honest 'you over-sharpened these you dweeb' response than just a bunch of generic responses, and I'm sure that most folks feel that way.

So let's all make an effort to review and comment on the posts from others, and let's also try to give each other honest feedback.

Frank

 

[Bubba]

Really good post, Gordon. I'm not necessarily new to photography but am quite new to digipics. Any comment, positive or negative is greatly appreciated in that it helps me learn.

BTW, that pic left me in stitches. Thanks for the pick-me-up

 

[greyflash]

Hey Bubba, glad I could help.

 

[Rich Gibson]

Hey Gordon, thanks so much for bringing this to everyone's attention. It's something that I had noticed myself but didn't know how to approach it w/the cafe. Well done!

So, does the picture have a title? Maybe you could say it's "The Bees Knees"....does anyone else know that term? My grandmother used to say that when something was neat or interesting....just like your picture!

Thanks for your comments Leigh. I am not aware of the term "bees knees" but it's kind of a cute colloquialism.

The bee's knees means it is "cool" as we old-timers used to say in the 1960's.

Now does anyone know the origin of 23 skidoo?

 

[PJohnP]

The bee's knees means it is "cool" as we old-timers used to say in the 1960's.

Now does anyone know the origin of 23 skidoo?

Rich :

Great. I use that expression of "bee's knees". Now I know where I'm relegated in things...

As for 23 skidoo, it's not clear as to the origin. I've heard it ascribed to Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, the name of a mining encampment, telegraph lingo, and furthest back, as a battlefield expression from the U.S. Civil War.

Now let's figure out where the term "groovy" came from, eh ? Jazz ? Phonograph records ?


John P.

 

[DavidM]

Frank,

I remember you doing that at DPR. And I've been very guilty lately of lurking too much and not commenting at all -- being a sponge basically. I've recently started to post a bit more, but perhaps I need to pick less contentious issues.

Every time I see a photo (from anyone), I start to think about what worked and didn't work in it. Then I start to think "who am I to second-guess what this photo looks like to other people??? When I can take photos as good as everyone else, then I can start critiquing." And probably because of that, I become reluctant to say anything other than "great shot."

Maybe Gale should give us all some lessons...

 

[greyflash]

Frank,

I remember you doing that at DPR. And I've been very guilty lately of lurking too much and not commenting at all -- being a sponge basically. I've recently started to post a bit more, but perhaps I need to pick less contentious issues.

Every time I see a photo (from anyone), I start to think about what worked and didn't work in it. Then I start to think "who am I to second-guess what this photo looks like to other people??? When I can take photos as good as everyone else, then I can start critiquing." And probably because of that, I become reluctant to say anything other than "great shot."

Maybe Gale should give us all some lessons...

David, I always find you comments to be of value and hope that you will continue to give them freely.

 

[gmaker1]

This is a very interesting thread. The problem with giving a critique about a photo or any type of image is not knowing what the person was thinking. Why did the individual use the set up they did, what was in the "minds eye" when the shot was made. What type of statement was being made?. I could go on and on. So, I would like to offer this suggestion: Add a critique section. Images that are posted there would have to have some kind of background from the photographer. With that knowledge, we could better give comments that could be helpful. We could also try to replicate the shot to give examples of our thoughts. Have an almost running photo class so to speak. Or instead of a challenge, a shot of the week that tries to work on one aspect of photography. Any thoughts?

Gil

 

[greyflash]

This is a very interesting thread. The problem with giving a critique about a photo or any type of image is not knowing what the person was thinking. Why did the individual use the set up they did, what was in the "minds eye" when the shot was made. What type of statement was being made?. I could go on and on. So, I would like to offer this suggestion: Add a critique section. Images that are posted there would have to have some kind of background from the photographer. With that knowledge, we could better give comments that could be helpful. We could also try to replicate the shot to give examples of our thoughts. Have an almost running photo class so to speak. Or instead of a challenge, a shot of the week that tries to work on one aspect of photography. Any thoughts?

Gil

We did talk quite a bit about that Gil and finally decided that we leave it like it currently stands and encourage people to comment on the forum the image was posted on. Even if you just say Great Shot, that is meaningful to the original poster. I don't think that most of the individuals that post her mind actual critique and one concession we did make was to suggest that if someone really wants critique to post that in the title.

 

[mike mac]

Gordon
Will do I try to comment as time allows will make a more concentrated effort. thanks for bringing this up