Does anyone know a good forum where grown-up photographers meet?

Iron Flatline · Mar 22, 2010

It has been decided to shut down the Nude/NSFW Forum, for no discernible reason. None was given either. As an active and long-term member of this community I am really crushed. It was an integral part of my work-flow, and I have found the members here were a valuable help in a final edit and pare-down. It was probably the sub-forum with the most respectful and useful discourse. If the level of exchange would be this thoughtful in the other galleries or the main forums this site would be an even better place.

I consider shutting down the nude forum a poor decision. I am saddened, I am mad, and I feel completely ignored and made irrelevant. This is completely counter-intuitive to a community. At least some discussion would have been nice, or a "heads up" to those of us doing serious nude work. After several thousand posts to be simply treated without any respect is disappointing.

I believe I will recuse myself from The Photo Forum. I have worked on nothing but nudes over the last six months, and had very good discussions here, none of them juvenile or inappropriate. I will be back occasionally (old surfing habits die hard after all these years) and I am almost finished with my new website, to which I will invite people here upon completion. But I think the time has come, it has certainly been made clear that those of us who contribute steadily are only community members at the will of a group whom we don't even know.

...but now I need to find a new place to go. Does anyone have any recommendations? I need to find a community that has a relationship to nudity and adult content that mirrors my own more closely.

table1349 · Mar 22, 2010

photoSIG » Main

Yes it is a Canon site, but the group you seek is an good one. Canon Digital Photography Forums - Powered by vBulletin
You must log in to see that particular forum.

Check out this one and see if it is to your liking.
http://www.dpchallenge.com/

Oh, and one more thing. Don't go just because of this. Your knowledge and participation has been a valuable asset to the forum and the ones you help are not the ones that made this decision.

icassell · Mar 22, 2010

I have always felt that some people go overboard to be overly critical on Photosig, but in general it is a good forum and, in general, I would rather have too-harsh critique than watered down critique.

Who made the decision here and why? I didn't even realize that decision had been made. Perhaps a moderator can explain the rationale?

I agree with gryphon -- I'd hate to see you leave TPF as you have been a valuable asset.

LahPhotographer · Mar 22, 2010

Iron Flatline:
I am new here and only got to see a small part of your work on here and enjoyed it. I also now just looked at your flicker profile and see you do amazing work. I am deeply sad to see you go cause I could of learned a lot from someone like you. All my best and please think about going to deviantart also many wonderful nude work goes posted to there as well. Hope to see you there. -Lah

KmH · Mar 22, 2010

I would suggest you take a look at www.photocamel.com but I have never participated in the glamor section of that site which is where the discuss nudes.

manicmike · Mar 22, 2010

I just registered for photocamel under the username nillapoet. :thumbup: Looks pretty good so far.

NateS · Mar 22, 2010

Interesting that it is having such an impact when that section has only even been here for a few months....maybe 6 months? Amazing how something taken away that was added 6 months ago makes you leave, yet you didn't leave 8 months ago when that section wasn't here.

I hate to see you leave as I did enjoy some of your work (not all your stuff is nude), but if you feel that's best for you then I wish you good luck. None of the other two sites I'm on allow nudity either so I can't recommend anywhere.

usayit · Mar 22, 2010

Sorry to see you go Flatline... it won't be the same with out you here.

PM me when you find a new home.

Overread · Mar 22, 2010

For refrence here is the thread where the annoucment was made:
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/people-photography/197960-no-nude-nsfw-photos-allowed.html

its not removal of the nudes section which Iron is riled about its the change to TPF rules that now prohibits the posting of any nude/NSFW images to the whole site. A move that I feel is rather confusing since we haven't had any (to my knowledge) outcry or major arugments/disputes at all and the nudes section itself was possibly one of the more friendly and informative areas on the site.

As I say there removal of the section I could well understand as it does send a message about TPF content, however removal of all NSFW postings seems very harsh when there is apparently no great call from the community of TPF for such action to take place.

And for what its worth I'll add my voice to those asking you not to leave Iron!

Do please find other places to post and get feedback on your works, but don't forget us in the mean time.

usayit · Mar 22, 2010

Yup.. I saw that thread but I have yet to read it.

I was one of the ones that voted against a separate forum as I think the TPF already had way too many forums; "NSFW" designation was good enough. BUT I didn't want a total ban on NSFW/Nude photos... after all what is the world of photography without a celebration of the beauty of all types.

I hope the TPF staff reconsiders but I have to wonder if it was motivated by the revenue of the advertising associated here.

Josh66 · Mar 22, 2010

NateS said:
Interesting that it is having such an impact when that section has only even been here for a few months....maybe 6 months? Amazing how something taken away that was added 6 months ago makes you leave, yet you didn't leave 8 months ago when that section wasn't here.

The 'NSFW' section was new, but nude photos were always allowed - there just wasn't a dedicated section for it. Now anything 'NSFW' is not allowed.

TPF is PG now.

Josh66 · Mar 22, 2010

Overread said:
As I say there removal of the section I could well understand as it does send a message about TPF content, however removal of all NSFW postings seems very harsh when there is apparently no great call from the community of TPF for such action to take place.

There are a lot of photography forums out there... I think, with the new rules, TPF might be the only one I know of with a ban on nudes. Not all of them have a dedicated sub-forum for it, but it is generally allowed on every other forum I know of.

usayit · Mar 22, 2010

O|||||||O said:
TPF is PG now.

I like to say "catering to the lowest common denominator".... :er:

keith foster · Mar 22, 2010

Iron, let me also say I really enjoyed all your posts and hope you don't decide to leave completely. If you find a new home please let me know where it is so I can follow your work.

I am not in agreement with the TPF decision. I like that the forum has had a wide range of styles and I think it is a mistake to begin to restrict this one.

The NSFW posts have generated a lot of interesting conversations and had a lot of beautiful pictures posted.

SoonerBJJ · Mar 22, 2010

I can't say I'm really surprised when I look at where this forum has gone in just the short time I've been around.

This place belongs to newbies and teenagers who can't seem to find the search function. The forum is fortunate to have a few old timers that have stuck it out but it seems their numbers are dwindling as they leave for greener pastures.

"Look at my snapshots" and "I wanna be a wedding photog" threads dominate the front page of the most active room and it seems the best way to generate responses is to post really bad pics or ask repetitive questions. The signal:noise ratio has been on a steady spiral.

Just my .02