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Bragging Rights?


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How do we, as a community, feel about sharing our successes, such as posting images and announcing their having won in competition? Perhaps I'm just a bit dense, but I would appreciate the opportunity to share good outcomes, but without crossing the line into braggadoccio. Is this even possible? Certainly we post our work and encourage feedback in various forums. Would it be considered bad manners to announce our success, or failure, in competitions outside Pnet?

 

I must admit that this is entirely new territory for me, and I have not seen it welcomed or rejected by others. So, how do we feel about it?

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Don't we all know more or less when we are vulgar and when we are tasteful/tactful? - also when it comes to informing about our achievements? I guess it would always be polite to simultaniously express your humble gratitude. I thought that in the US you had a much more healthy and natural self-esteem, where it is legal to be proud, when it is well earned. Not like in the little envy-ridden and provincial shit hole I live in. In Denmark it is soo political incorrect to brag in the slightest way about anything. Oh boy, I wish I had been born in America.

 

I would recommend that you tell everywhere about your victories, also those achieved in this community. We all benefit from the added positive attention.

Edited by philip_carlo_jorgensen
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It is natural to take satisfaction in success.

When the display of that satisfaction becomes the priority, the success usually diminishes.....

Vanity is counter productive..

Over the years it has been my experience that lasting success had little to do with peer approval and more to do with personal principle.

One lasts, the other doesn’t.

It is certainly beneficial to share with others how you manage to be successful.

As stated above, genuine humility is the key balancing ingredient.

Edited by Moving On
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Over the years it has been my experience that lasting success had little to do with peer approval and more to do with personal principle.

 

Agreed, in a lot of cases. This article reminds me of something else I’ve known, not to take for granted the combination of principles and lasting success, especially in art.

 

Opinion | Good Art, Bad People

There’s always something new under the sun.
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"Would it be considered bad manners to announce our success, or failure, in competitions outside Pnet?"

No actually self Actualization is a Basic psychological need of all humans beings as opposed to self exaltation. In my opinion, completely ignoring someone work or contribution is just as ill-mannered as self exaltation.

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Given the decrease of photo-centric art competitions, I'd love to see what folks are displaying and winning awards for. At least in my region you rarely see photo contests anymore, and if you do they are mixed in with other 2-D and often 3-D media. That's fine with me....things got WAY to pretentious in the late 80

's and 90's and I'm seeing much more creativity now.

 

In my opinion, completely ignoring someone work or contribution is just as ill-mannered as self exaltation.

Total 1,000% agreement. Last time I checked photography was a communicative art form, and if you've noticed there as always been a group that doesn't like that.

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This post could have easily been about what I posted last week regarding being accepted in the Lenswork Seeing in Sixes book project. I thought long and hard about posting it and took over a month to decide whether or not to. Because I know that there are many serious photographers here on PN that may know about Lenswork I thought it was a good thing to do. I have been posting here on PN since 2004 and am probably one of the longest survivors that happily weathered the various ego driven battles on a variety of subjects, most amusingly the photo rating system. I keep on taking photos because I love it and never get sidetracked about what others think, good or bad.
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There are people who envy the success of others.

There are people bragging about their success.

The line between the two is thin, variable and sometimes missing.

 

So in my view, it's terribly hard to tell others how they should treat any of this. One can only hope for good taste and reasonable common sense (rare as it may be) of the community, and try to be empathic about it. A community guideline of sorts wouldn't help, as it would likely degrade every such discussion into a discussion whether the right rules were followed, and force moderators to act like police.

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A forum called 'contest/award winning photos' where pnetters posted their own 'successes' might be interesting, particularly to those who like to engage in contests. Though in reality, any given judge or set of judges might well have selected a different photo as the 'winner' at a different moment in time.

 

For me, I would feel most comfortable presenting 'successes' in the context of some photo-related conversation - for example, if someone wanted to know about what lens to use for wildlife photography and I posted an award-winning wildlife photo (like I actually have any) taken with a specific lens.

 

As for failures, I doubt anyone would take any offense to them.

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I welcome someone sharing an image they are proud of and has won a contest or awarded highly in a contest or judging

and thank them for sharing allow us to admire and study a winning photo and perhaps learn something in the process. I think we all are better for it. Toot away.

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Cheers, Mark
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it’s socializing. human contact. what can be learned from waving hello to someone.

I didn't know online chatting was socializing or sufficed as human contact.

 

I've always associated socializing with others as being able to tell what cologne they like to wear, which way they lean when they walk, how they pronounce their 'S'es, check if their eyes are too far apart, how much ear hair, or whether they shake hands with a soft grip and then go on to tell me about their boat they just bought.

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I've always associated socializing with others as being able to tell what cologne they like to wear, which way they lean when they walk, how they pronounce their 'S'es, check if their eyes are too far apart, how much ear hair, or whether they shake hands with a soft grip and then go on to tell me about their boat they just bought.

That sounds to me like detective work or forensics. I always thought socializing had to do with emotional human connections.

I didn't know online chatting was socializing...

Clearly.

...or sufficed as human contact.

Did someone say it sufficed?

There’s always something new under the sun.
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What can be learned from someone posting an announcement that they won a photo contest or generally speaking was a success at something?

Funny comment! I personally like to hear things like that, especially from others on a photo site I participate in. I am not talking about photo contests that are "pay for play" (getting a gold, platinum or silver certificate) but legitimate photo magazines, books, art museums etc. I get somewhat annoyed when I find out a friend or photo site member gets a rather prestigious award and doesn't say anything about it until I mention it to him/her after I find out about it. It's called "sharing" amongst serious photographers. I find it a lot more interesting than any kind of gear head talk.

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I get somewhat annoyed when I find out a friend or photo site member gets a rather prestigious award and doesn't say anything about it until I mention it to him/her after I find out about it. It's called "sharing" amongst serious photographers. I find it a lot more interesting than any kind of gear head talk.

So you are annoyed about strangers you meet online that don't share their success at getting a prestigious photography award. Looks like more socializing is required. How does one get into this sharing group of serious photographers?

 

Seeing that the creative process is a very self centered endeavor I wouldn't know how to find the time to cultivate a group of individuals who see them self as serious photographers but then I guess that makes me a serious photographer. I'm too busy photographing to enter photo contests. I also don't have the funds to pay the fees to enter. I wonder if more socializing would fix that.

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That sounds to me like detective work or forensics. I always thought socializing had to do with emotional human connections.

So you interpreted my very descriptive account of what I see in people in the flesh as overly analytical instead of an appreciation of the nuances of a personality. Maybe you don't look very closely at the world as I do.

 

I can't imagine your take on the Mona Lisa.

 

Comradery is about the most anyone can expect in the form of an emotional human connection whether in exchanges online or in person. It feels good to be connected this way but it is short and sweet unless there is a clear demonstration of a true commitment and that isn't happening online or in chance meet ups in person.

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So you interpreted my very descriptive account of what I see in people in the flesh as overly analytical instead of an appreciation of the nuances of a personality. Maybe you don't look very closely at the world as I do.

 

I can't imagine your take on the Mona Lisa.

 

Comradery is about the most anyone can expect in the form of an emotional human connection whether in exchanges online or in person. It feels good to be connected this way but it is short and sweet unless there is a clear demonstration of a true commitment and that isn't happening online or in chance meet ups in person.

So you are annoyed about strangers you meet online that don't share their success at getting a prestigious photography award. Looks like more socializing is required. How does one get into this sharing group of serious photographers?

 

Seeing that the creative process is a very self centered endeavor I wouldn't know how to find the time to cultivate a group of individuals who see them self as serious photographers but then I guess that makes me a serious photographer. I'm too busy photographing to enter photo contests. I also don't have the funds to pay the fees to enter. I wonder if more socializing would fix that.

So you are annoyed about strangers you meet online that don't share their success at getting a prestigious photography award. Looks like more socializing is required. How does one get into this sharing group of serious photographers?

 

Seeing that the creative process is a very self centered endeavor I wouldn't know how to find the time to cultivate a group of individuals who see them self as serious photographers but then I guess that makes me a serious photographer. I'm too busy photographing to enter photo contests. I also don't have the funds to pay the fees to enter. I wonder if more socializing would fix that.

I can't even comment on this comment because I find it very bizarre and the antithesis of what I believe. I totally disagree with your view on photographic history also but I am a firm believer in free expression no matter how strange I think it is.

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