Welcome & a few notes on this forum

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Advanced Photography : One Thread

I was contacted by the person who put this forum together. So, a few notes on what it is & what we are looking for. Equipment posts: Please, no "what lens/film, etc. is 'best', in any GENERAL sense. Gear posts are fine as long as they look at what one actually uses for professional/serious photography, and are answered with KNOWLEDGE of what one is talking about. Not, "a friend has one", or "I have heard that...". We all have to use cameras, lenses and film to photograph. So solid info on what does and doesn't work, or queries as to specific ideas or impressions on gear or what it will/won't do should be welcome. Please, NO attacks on brands. Nikon, Canon, Linhof, Sinar and others all market head to head & their stuff works well for a lot of people. Take part but don't have your ego bruised if your favorite Wonderflex 9000 doesn't get great reviews from the group. If it works for you, fine. Discussing gear realistically is not attacking a brand. So discuss, don't attack.

Be open and honest in what you put down, not trolling for egos please. I take some good images and I take some lousy ones, just like most others who will post to the list. If you don't like my comments or don't agree, I can easily live with it. But don't attack the messengers. Open discussion will accomplish more and keep the ideas coming. Please don't attack photo organizations or publishers. Stick to facts and it will help. ASMP, NPPA and other help some and others just aren't joiners or don't like them, that is personal. Again, stick to facts & when pointing to actions by these organizations, put down links, websites or information so the rest of us can look it up and find out reality for ourselves. Be frank in discussions. Since this is an "advanced" list, we should all be able to take whatever is said(no personal attacks), with the understanding that honest opinion is not an attack. Say it & live with it, but don't keep hammering on the same old saw, or same old photog you think is great or a hack(either way). Don't be afraid to state an opinion but then don't be surprised when others disagree with you. Those who know me know I am opinionated & I live with it. It won't change. If you disagree, let me know, on or off the list if it pleases you to do so. I and any others you disagree with may or may not change our ways or opinions, but either way we are all entitled to our opinions. Respect that, the opinions, even when they aren't yours.

Reality is simple. Creative people have opinions. Some stronger than others, some more vocal. None are "The one true way" for everyone. For one persons great images he uses 35mm while another shoots 12x20 inch B&W and only makes contact prints. If the results are good, who cares? Learn from each other(& I might have to be reminded myself on this one from time to time)& even if you DO know it all, remember most others won't believe it. But, state your opinions freely and honestly and ask questions openly. I look forward to an open list with discussion of photography by everyone who wants to participate. So, wade in and lets keep it on a high level to match our finest efforts at creating excellent images.

-- Dan Smith (shooter@brigham.net), July 27, 1999

Answers

A couple administrative-type questions.

1. Given that this page is listed in Philip's lusenet index, how long do we expect to keep the 'riff-raff' out? (I'm referring to the totally lame questions that drove us here, not to anyone in particular.)

2. I had posted some Woodstock 99 pics and commentary on photo.net Q&A; it was deleted because some of the responses were pretty juvenile (mostly due to the fact that one of the female figures in one of the photos was topless). Would this be a more appropriate forum?

I'm considering doing an article on what I saw and photographed at Woodstock intended for inclusion on photo.net main pages (if Philip is agreeable), and hashing out some ideas in a forum like this one might help me get my ideas organized.

-- Russ Arcuri (arcuri@borg.com), July 29, 1999.


Sorry -- one more question. Dan says, "I was contacted by the person who put this forum together." Of course, I'm curious -- who's the person who put this forum together? I assume anonymity is not appreciated in question-askers and -answerers. Why the big mystery about the person who's idea it was to set this up? (A good idea, BTW, IMO.)

-- Russ Arcuri (arcuri@borg.com), July 29, 1999.

How to keep the forum on track? Ruthless moderation. A zero tollerance policy for stupidity! Lots of moderators, though not so many that everything gets deleted!

I don't think photo critiques here are a good idea, but links to images are OK if they illustrate some point (e.g. a question about lighting ratios). Nobody wants to see a picture of your cat!

Nudity seems to bring out the juvenille. I think in-line images with nudity shoulf be avoided, but links (with a warning) might be OK in the right context (see the above comment).

Why the anonimity? One good reason might be that it's not somebody's personal forum with a dictator, but a forum run by a group of dictators...

-- Bob Atkins (bobatkins@hotmail.com), July 29, 1999.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ