soltani

Dear Mohsen, I think you should use the photography related forums, this forum is to help the members use the site. You would probably want to ask this from the guys at the "Photography Practice & Technique Forums".

Have fun.

One thing I noticed looking at the ratings is that all raters of the 2008 photo are subscribers or frequent posters, and nearly 75% of the raters of the 2005 photo are non-subscribers and non-frequent posters, so I think one reason for reduced number of ratings is the reduced number of raters. I also agree with Andreas Kinell:<p>

<i>"On the other side, the amount of ratings one receives is hardly linear. Only by getting many ratings fast, one manages to get into the "last 3 days/last week/last month/etc." sections, where additional exposure is given to the picture. And of course, being selected as POW gives another boost. "</i><p>

There is also an issue that when a photo is good enough to receive 7/7s, any better photo will receive 7/7s, which will make their average ratings very near. Many also prefer not to rate a photo which has an average of over 6/6 with any thing less than 7/7, many would not rate in such an instance to avoid both being dishonest and rating below the average . Thus I too think that at near averages the number of ratings is important.<br>

While I find the question valid I also think this comparison is rather incorrect since the two photos come from two very different dates, with different site admins, different policies, etc.<br>

Regards.

That:<br>

1. I can do better than I think I can, yet never as good as I wish.<p>

2. Without composition a good exposure is worthless and without a good exposure there is no use in a strong composition.<p>

3. There is no way to theoretically model all people as robots, but there are good models to present some.<p>

4. Post processing is important, but a good lens does far more.<p>

5. A good photo is shot once in every minute, a great one, once in every year.<p>

6. As Les Berkley said: <i>"No matter how good you are at things 'A' 'B' and 'C', what you really want to do is thing 'D'."</i>

<i>"Drop a link if you come across such a page. I would be interested to see it. Thanks."</i><br>

Last one missed the link. sorry.<br>

<A HREF= http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=1715775> Here you go! </A><br>

Regards.

<i>"Drop a link if you come across such a page. I would be interested to see it. Thanks."</i><br>

<A: http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=1715775 > Here you go! </A><br>

Regards.

Sergey, I think you can put html code in your biography section to include specific photos on your portfolio page, I've seen it on some portfolios. They can also have links to the photo's page or folder. Those three photos will still always appear there.<br>

Regards.

It seems not. Mr Dixon was right except it's 4 per week & one per day. This is the message I got:<p>

<i>"You have already posted 4 photo(s) for critique in the last 7 days. The limit for non-subscribers is 4. Consider purchasing a photo.net subscription, in order to eliminate this limit. "</i>

<i>"Non-subscribers are limited to three critique requests per week. Or maybe two."</i><p>

Is this true? last year I almost had one critique request each day and I've had requests on the 10th, 12th, 13th, and 14th of August 2008, thats 4 in less than 7 days.<br>

I don't like ratings either but It seems that anonymous rates (Forgetting about the abuse rates) are an honest measure. A 1-10 scale would make rating easier but people would probably only tolerate grades higher than 4. A 1-10 scale would probably be limited after implementation to 4-10 or 5-10, which gives more choices than the 6-10 scale. Yet I agree with Mr. Atkins that "numerous psychological and sociological reasons" exist for the 6-10 scale.<br>

What I have experienced lately though is that the number of anonymous rates has decreased. My requests of 12th and 10th of August got 2 and 0 anonymous rates respectively. Maybe the rating system is going to become a non-used feature by itself. Hope not.<br>

Regards. Ali.

New features are great!<br>

My browser (Mozilla Firefox) does all the spell checking, it underlines all mistakes and gives suggestions so you can correct the mistakes. No grammar checking though, yet I am certain there is an add-on you can download and use for that.

PN : Please delete the last reply. it is mine and it is incomplete. If you do so, then delete this one too. Thank you.<br>

PS: If you can recover it then do so.

Dear Fred!<p>

Thank you.<br> Frankly I don't know much philosophy, yet I have spent much time trying to solve the problems I faced. I will try to explain further what is meant by misery, the "I"; I choose to speak of myself as a case study, hoping it will not result in an image of me in others minds.<p>

To many in Iran, being qualified for higher education is like a matter of life and death. They face the fear of missing a healthy and wealthy life if they get unqualified. Around the world though, there are problems, we all face, like fear, anger, jealousy, ... When these problems reach an extreme point it is often the time when we act to solve them.<br>

That is when I started. I remember the time when I thought everything was mathematical; I believed in Islam and it's teachings as if it was a fixed algorithm for living, there was also my opinions in politics, rigid. So then, there was this Ali, who was politically left, religious, and he was also one of the best at his studies. At this time photography came to me as a tool to prove to the outside world, that this Ali is not a nerd, he can also practice Art. All this would bring fear, anger, shame, guilt, and above all a lot of contradictions, and of course pleasures; At this time the mind is full with images, of himself, of others, and of different aspects of life; and thought is working very hard to manipulate all these and solve the contradictions; and of course it leads to action. Actions based on images of the past, images manipulated by thought, all towards the safe keeping of what is called I, and at all these times and through all these actions one is unconscious of the evil in his doings. It is only when fear, anger, and numerous contradictions reach a threshold that one realizes the amount of misery being taken, the many chains that bound one to this misery; but there is also pleasure, the pleasure of winning, of proving others wrong, of being praised, of remembering the happy times. So

Dear Fred!<p>

It is fine. I just wanted to know the cause.<br>

The 29th, it was my first contribution to a forum, and after reading the whole thread I felt like people were trying to prove each other wrong instead of helping; So my response was to be honest and tell them what they cause. I was scared, and the process that helped me over come it was just what I stated there. I thought that brief introduction might help.<p>

Yes, I am all over the map, I am sorry. Marios invited me to the thread and our idea or what we had spoken of was the relation of art and life at our time. So first I tried to clear things about the relation between the photo and the observer:<p>

<i>First of all I'd like to point out that a photo of any genre is not what it shows; I mean to say that the photo of Mario is not Mario, it is paper with some chemicals over it; Get the point? The photo of the Vietnam war is not the Vietnam war, it is just paper and some ... So let us be clear that it is the observer that makes the relation between the photo and what it shows, and that the photo, in soul has no relation what so ever to what the observer thinks it shows.</i><p>

Then I tried to clarify the relation of a photo to reality:<p>

<i>A photo when seen by the observer has no relation to reality, because the photo shows something of the past, and the past is not real. Now is the only reality. So what is real in the observation of a photo is the brain of the observer working to find a relation between the photo and the many bits and bytes of info and things in his/her memory. Our thoughts make images and store them in our memory, so does the camera except on paper.</i><p>

Then I asked myself and others what was so special about a photo, and for a moment then, I saw no point in photos, as a means of help to life. But after some time something struck me, and to explain that we have to see the nature of thought and what we call "I" or me. I see thought as PS software working on

Dear Marios!<p>

<i>"... I like making eye-candy photos. But I want to try for something better.."</i><br>

Maybe us trying for something better is in itself a defeat of our purpose. I would like to discuss that.<p>

Dear All!<p>

5000 years ago we killed using stones, today we kill using guns and mass destruction weapons. I see no difference; we are still killing. No person, no group, no ideology, nor religion has stopped this. Let us stop depending on these and act on our selves. The American president won't bring peace and harmony to the middle east, nor will the president of my country, Iran, stop Americans from watching American Idol. If the world is this way and we are concerned, let us start with our selves; We are all responsible for what goes on in the world. Hoping for the butterfly effect to work it's way around the globe, doesn't stop us from taking part in protests and voting. Do what is right.<br>

Photos do harm, as they do good; There is no virtue in Photography or Art for that matter.<p>

I was touched by this movie named <i>Gandhi</i>. Gandhi stoped the Indian civil war. He fasted. He didn't make speeches or gather in groups, he didn't even try to find the people who provoked the issue, he just fasted until the people realized the wrong in their doings. Gandhi only tried to make them realize, and for that he acted on himself.<p>

To define Art is to limit it, let us just shoot, yet beware of what we cause. Art has shown to break all sort of limits. To define Art would also limit the Artist.<p>

I see no responses to what I say, except of Marios; Maybe I am off limits or real damn wrong, tell me if it is so. Maybe it's because I am younger or maybe it's my name or religion or nationality. What ever tell me. I am free of all. I find no use for borders, or difference in religion, or age.<p>

Dear Marios and Fred!<p>

what difference does it make, to believe or not to ... ?<br>

They're the same in nature, and that is memory. Seeing, is what makes the difference. Seeing a flood coming right at you, makes you take action, what difference would it make, to believe in or not to believe in, the coming of the flood. Let us be free of our beliefs and see.<br>

<p>

For Dear Fred!<p>

<i>"... when I speak of soul not existing I am thinking of something nonphysical about us that often gets elevated as being above or more important than or superior to our corporeal existence. I also don't believe we are living in the past. I believe we exist in the present, remember the past, and look forward to the future."</i><p>

That something that often gets ... superior to us, what is it Fred?

Is it not an image in your memory, when you speak of it? Is it not of the past?<br>

The comment on May 29th written by me might help clear out what is trying to be said here.<br>

We exist in the present, our body and mind; but where is our thought wandering? Can thought act on the present? Is it not thought that takes us to action? If thought can not act on the present and if it is thought that takes us to action, then our actions, although carried out at present are the result of our memories, thus we humans seem to pull the past and bring it to the present, thus living in the past.<br>And when we look to the future dear Fred, is it not an image of the past, trying to fake it self as the future? The future does not exist thus looking at the future is a mere illusion of the past.<br> Regards. Ali.

Dear Jonathan! Art is not Life, Rather Life is Art.<p>

Life is beautiful, every second of it, it is in itself a creation, which helps one understand the world; so if Life "really stirs something inside" it is in no doubt, Art.<br>

Yet Art is not life, because life requires one to be free of all; one can not devote his/her being to the creations of others and his, and chain himself to Art, rather one would do the right thing what ever it may be( That may be devoting one's being to Art, if that is the right thing to do at all times ). If one has the energy and peace of mind to be serious of all aspects of life, learn from and enjoy each second that passes by like he/she enjoys and learns from Art, then his life is in no doubt Art.<p>

Regards. Ali.