livvie

i think it would be a great idea claudia but since there has been little response from the powers that be, suggest you maybe post on the brownie forum to see if anyone would object to opening up the topic a little more to include pinholes and toys. last post there (at my present posting) refers to trying to achieve the "diana" effect from a brownie - so its worth a try!

 

fwiw am baffled why stephen is putting in so much time into troting out so many reasons why its not a good idea. the problems of defining a "toy" - the lack discussion topics - critiquing probs - geez ... wheres the harm in it? no tax dollars being wasted here... but if there is a sucessful one he will jump in and contribute!

apologies ...above PT is me ... the guys will kill me for this!

have five macs laying around dating from the mid 90's and gave away a couple more from early 90's! - they were so easy to fix when they did hiccup and not one of them ever died on us, they just grew too old to upgrade.<p>

 

transitioned around mid system 9 and have had too many unexplained pc deaths ... but still use them now due to cheaper and range of mods and programmes.<p>

 

still miss mac simplicity, file extentions that make sense and those <a href="http://www.tcp.com/~dschaub/readme.html" target="_blank">great startup sounds of the past</a>

aside from the above good info - sounds like day trip over to blue lagoon island might suit you both - its only a small island that houses the dolphin experience (optional) and snorkling with stingrays (also optional)

 

its a bit "touristy" but the tourists (and maybe your wife) tend to spend their time laying on the first beach they see, sipping the over priced drinks or dipping in the lagoon (even a non swimmer would be safe there!) and the more adventureous can seak out postcard beaches with hammocks etc a bit more off the beaten track - grab a hammock on the more peaceful side to the right of the landing bay for your wife and head off exploring!

http://www.dolphinencounters.com/index.html

http://www.darrenkeyes.com/bahamas/blue-lagoon.htm

 

something i unfortunately missed (they were treating the grass) was the flamingos that march to the order of a drill sergeant - that has got to be worth a look!

http://www.ardastra.com/flamingo.html

 

a few more nice photogenic locations here

http://paradiseweddings.hypermart.net/WeddingSites.htm

have fun!

Just adding further balance to the skew ( by my count you are still off blance by three) but more to the point, quosh that "ladies intimidated of the boards theory".

 

For the record, i dont live in Brussels (who would ;), paint my toenails or even post pics on pn much these days ... but i do eat brussel sprouts - especially the english ones!

saw <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2574977" target="_blank">this</a> and thougth of this thread (i see its still here).<p>

 

i think this more blatently bends the "what is and what is not photograph rules" that prompted your original post than the watercolours. the original poster's uploads were of paintings, obviously so, and didn't claim to be otherwise ... and were actual photographs i believe, albeit of paintings.<p>

 

i would be more concerned about this one.<br>

just a bit more food for thought.

Thanks for bringing this "to light" garry. I see there is a glut of homework to catch up on but will definately drop by in the future.

ditto above ... a welcomed return.

totally agree with joe... internet provides easy access to all the classic tourist locales, then just keep your eyes open - just damn sheep mentality lazyness i think.

your question has provided for a very interesting and informative thread, the variety of responses cover most of the important factors to keep in mind while using pn.

 

venicia makes some very good recommendations (although i dont get the impression you are demending critique on a silver spoon) and i whole heartedly agree that self critique should be your goal. one of the main benefits of the trp is it gives you the opportunity to learn this from others by looking at their work and critiquing it (either openly or internally), what you like, what you dont ... what you feel works, what doesnt, then read what others think - do you agree with them - do you think otherwise - this will all add to your critiquing skills. make notes, retake shots till you are happy with your results - its a gradual process that evolves and changes with time - it isnt just a simple matter of is this shot/my work, good or bad - and to me this gradual process of improving and learning is one of the pleasures of photography.

 

the other forums are packed with solid technical knowledge and there are plenty of sidetrack forums as well to keep you thinking and evolving.

 

its sad to see you have little support at school but as venicia pointed out ...learning to overcome such obsticles yourself will work well for you in future ventures.

sorry lex... just trying to add a bit of levety ... tone doesnt always tranfer to print.

Took a quick peek out of nosyness and - my goodness man, she has a mere 6 photographed paintings out of her 176 uploads, all her own work as well(unlike some who photograph the work of others without so much as a mention)!!

 

if it was some pot or somthign similar she had just thrown together that mornign would you have been similarly affected - the paintings may not be your cup of tea but each to their own, either way its hardly a watercolour coup d'état. id be more worried about the cats taking over.

 

i suggest some deep breathing and possibly a small scotch ... you dont want to mess around here for too long, even for new experiences... heads roll ... and it gets very messy ...lol

not that you need any more praise on these but ... i came back to this thread as your photos made quite an impression ... have been hanging around here to get some ideas for an upcoming event and yours are truly super. that guy you work for had better start looking for a new assistant soon!

much as i do very much appreciate the hard work that has been put in here, i do but tend to agree with above. seeing all the information on one screen works better imho than having to click to three different screens. dial up users will find the previous view better too i suspect.

 

call me a stick in the mud but if you are leaving the classic viewing option at /photodb/photo0?photo_id=99999 alive after the changes - i think i will be using that quite often.

The Bell ...a favourite subject of mine<div></div>

tough challenge youve been handed out there matt... the reason i suspect you are striving to decide whether censorship is a good or bad thing is that there really is no clear cut answer here. tis neither bad nor good ... it just is.

 

Censorship is really not about being good or bad tho - its about how we keep the majority happy and in a democracy its the majority that gets their way. one might argue that where there is no censorship ...there you will find anarchy and we dont want that do we ...lol.

 

Good and bad art which you also mention falls into a silmilar catagory, usually named as such by the majority, very subjectively and is often dependant on the mood of the times. jackson pollack's work may seem like childish splatter paint to some but many would pay dearly to own an original today and i suspect that even if you are not a fan you wouldnt turn one away yourself - why? becuase at present it has been decided that jp's work has more merit than others of its genere and that gives it *value* appeal today - this would certainly not have been the case for jp had he showed his work during the renaissance. so maybe they just didn't recognise "good art" back then - hmmm.. i think not!!

 

in short these are questions with no fixed answer - one thing is for sure though - good or bad, we do need art as a form of expression and there is much to be gained from it both cerebrally and physically. men (and women i suspect) have been drawing on cave walls since time began and i bet they came up with a catchy tune or two as well while they were out there trackng down the prey.

 

my conclusion - we need art good or bad - and i guess censorship - for the good of us all.

 

hope my late night ramblings have helped some matt...

a fake ...oh so very dissapointing ... what is the internet coming too?

 

no offence but i will pass on the signed pic Takkinda.

in answer to your question: i dont worry who my critiquers are rusla - but then i dont pay much attention to the rates anyway, i prefer the comments which is why i noticed your comments rather than the rates.

 

your original question was -how should you deal with "stupid raters"?

i suggested you should not deal with it by leaving unpleasantness on the work of others (such as allison). by doing that you become as bad as those of whom you complain. i originally picked up on this as i find the whole argument of who should/shouldnt be allowed to rate whom arrogant at best and useless at worst.

 

and ...to avoid another all caps post - am ending my input on this one here.

my comment refers to your recent comments to rob and especially allison, who seems to have drawn your wrath on a number of her photographs for a 4/4 on one of yours.<p>

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/1662441<br>

http://www.photo.net/photo/2324888<p>

 

it appears rather harsh of you rusla, on further investigating i notice she too has been low rated by those you mention on top of receiving your less than helpful comments.

from a quick glance at your portfolio, you seem to have persued those who have given you a 5/4 and a 4/4 and thanked them for their "average" on your pics. i noticed a none too pleasant comment one of your "low raters" photos too!

 

... sounds like someone has a problem here ...and it may not be your raters.

they have a real nerve tamara!!<p>

 

as well as demanding damages for flagrant use without your permission, if they are practising real estate in usa and are "realtors" (you will see a small R logo on their site) i suggest you contact the national association of realtors and let them know - this organisation can fine and pull a realtors licence if one of their members flouts the law. a mention that you intend to do this should get you a result - keep a snapshot of the site or copy of the ad and send it to them (NAR) if needs be.<p>

 

check <a href="http://www.realtor.org/realtororg.nsf/pages/WhoisaREALTOR?OpenDocument&Source=realtor" target="blank_"><b>this page for more info on NAR</b></a><p>

 

this should not be tolerated!

Since abuse is when someone/something is treated in an improper manner, in this case as others, i would suggest its the rating system that is being abused, a common, one might even say every-day, event here.<p>

 

Id suggest <b>abuse is: ratings covering anything other than the photo quality. </b>That would seem to cover the multitude of "rate sins" include mate rating, excessive low/high rating and even rating with graphics off. A 7/7 should be a rare event (hmmm...) and a 1/1 should look like something the cat dragged in. In truth its going to be difficult to spot the "in between" abuse of the system, so much so that unless its obvious, (and it can be) and regular, its really not worth getting one's knicker's in a twist about.<p>

 

Harrassment is jsut an annoyance and needs to continue over a period of time to become abuse (of the poster), fortunately we mostly seem to have other lives.<p>

 

You do seem to have been minorly harrassed, Gabriel but as far as i can see not abused, even tho the return rates were a bit lower ... how different were they might be a pointer but more to the point how often has this happened, and in the scale of things ...does it really matter that much?

am fairly new to this forum and certainly not a wedding photographer but am attending one soon and planning on taking a few snaps (or better) so have been dropping by here for some thoughts. its a great forum for ideas and a good read to boot. i find your aim to be an interesting challenge.

 

my thoughts are along similar lines to timber's in that i think i would merge two or three shots to hint at what was going on inside the temple.

 

the "thought bubble image" would be a *very* clumsy way of describing my concept ... that combined with the images mostly related to the renaissance period (those biblical images of heavanly and earthly moments combined) i believe if tastefully done this would work very well to add that extra dimension you seek while keeping with the dignity of the moment.

 

if you venture back in the art world you will find that they tackled very similar problems back in the early ages. they often had to depict that which they did not know and often incuded additional information to be "read from" their paintings by viewers and achieved this by use of reality mixed with heavy symbolism. i have visited mormon temples and they are indeed architecurally superb buildings - these and the gardens you mention would make a wonderful backdrop for this type of imagary merged with imagination. i would test out a few stock ideas first as this type of thing would need detailed planning. and possibly props (fabrics, furnishings, frames etc to add to the effects).

 

do take a look back and you may find your inspiration there.

 

...good luck with your challenge!

Couple of questions spring to mind:

 

Do you always bail out when things arent going your way?

Why do you feel the need to highlight it here? (making sure the little boi rant gets read are we?)

 

Otherwise -what Tom says - sadly, I think youve missed the beef Kent®

the mind boggles lannie lol... i imagine many would be getting the recomendation "such and such thinks it might be to your use to *read the ratings rules*" ... and ratings comps between theirs and others etc... adding further fuel to rate-wars.

 

i can see your suggestion is in good faith, but i can see so many ways it could be misused and clog up email boxes (of those who actually use them!) to boot. dropping a note on one of my recent upload usually works for me and others seem to respond well to this too.