Reply To: Let's see if this ends in tears……..

[Sharra]

@MBC

I looked at your images and passed the link on to my friend. I’m in no position to critique them and I don’t think he will be either. I think they are very nicely done, but I was wondering if the shot with the woman having the sphere coming out of her elbow is any better that having a lamp post growing out of one’s head that professionals and amateurs alike frown upon. And I thought when I saw the face in the rippled glass (at least that’s what I think it is) that “Hmmm, I’ll have to try something like that.” As for meeting my friend, you’ll have to make a date to come see the Calgary Stampede or stop by on your way to Banff or Lake Louise, either for skiing or summer vacation. I know he’s overly critical of himself and I think he has the impression that there’s maybe a half dozen images in the thousands he’s taken that are worth anything. I tell him he needs to have more confidence in his abilities but maybe he think he’s another GWC who knows the technical details but has problems with the artistic side. Like you, he is VERY good on paper, even with creative writing, but photography is a whole different thing altogether. Like me, he is a software developer so I suppose our left-brain logic far outweighs the right-brain creativity, if that makes any sense.

It was your comments about the reprehensible nature of shooting women without any concern for dignity that got me thinking about your type of criticism. I do agree with you that shooting women needs to be done with a lot of respect to them; I just took exception to the way you replied. I also don’t think rattling and tearing down are very different from each other because there are times when both do more damage than good. I also addressed what you thought were my misconceptions about photography and pricing n the pricing thread.

When I read your responses to MeriLeighPhoto, I was thinking, “YES! This is the way photographic discussion should be!” The way you took the time to explain filters and other concepts to her is very commendable to say the least. It’s not wrong to be harsh, but there are times and places where it needs to be done. I’m not saying everyone needs to be treated with kid gloves or be treated as a total neophyte to photography either. I suppose you and I don’t agree on what some of those times and places are for being harsh, but they are pretty close for the most part. I’ve heard about the 20 terms you mentioned in another thread but admittedly didn’t know them all (I got 17).

It was not my intention to be sarcastic, but I have to wonder about the passive-aggressive thing. There is a video on YouTube that has several thousand comments where the term appears in several hundred that I know of. It’s about a person in one country that calls the other country insignificant and stupid and of course the thousands of comments are petty bickering about which one is better. There is another video that talks about the peace and great relationship these two countries share. The countries in question are the US and Canada. You’re American and, yes, I’m Canadian, but I have to wonder if all Americans think Canadians are passive-aggressive? I don’t take offence to it but that is a topic that shouldn’t be discussed in a photography forum and so I’ll leave it at that. If you or anyone reading this would like to see which videos I’m talking about, search YouTube for “Tucker Carlson calls Canadian retarded” and “Tom Brokaw explains Canadians to Americans.” Any guesses which one I like better? Just out of curiosity, how close do you live to Tommy Jordan? 🙂

All in all, I would like to thank you for your candor. If you continue with your advice and doses of harshness where you think it’s appropriate, I know I’ll be back to seek them out. I’m thinking there’s a lot I could learn from you, too. Are there any other forums, like Digital Photography School, that you regularly contribute to?