Silent appeciation society...?

[ralphh]

Edit: just wanted to make clear this is not a poorly masked moan for more replies on my thread. Just a question / discussion about the dark side gallery in general

Posted on here for a little c&c, got nothing, felt a little huffy, then looked at views vs posts starts for this gallery.. nothing gets a reply - one recent thread on here has over 7000 views and 30 replys! everything else has views in the low hundreds and a handful of replies, if any...

Does no-one talk about the dark side..? is everything here taboo and just not to be discussed? :lmao:

Given i'm posting this on here i guess this'll never get a reply either unless it gets over 1k views, so i may never find an answer

 

[pgriz]

Well, the way it works is... If it is truly horrible, you get lots of replies. If it is truly outstanding, you get lots of replies (but less than if it is horrible). If you get no replies, then it's probably decent, and no-one has any obvious pointers to make about making a huge improvement. If your stuff falls in this category, you can get some replies IF you are clear about some specific aspect that you want help with. Otherwise, busy people quickly look, and move on.

 

[Designer]

Yea, sorry if your thread was a request for a specific type of critique, and I missed it. I think there are always lots more "lookers" than commenters.

 

[snowbear]

For myself, unless I feel confident in photographing the subject myself, I tend to just look. I have way too much to learn before offering C&C on more than just some basics.

 

[Rick58]

It's a shame, but what these folks are saying is true. If it's crap, you'll get your lens handed to you and if it's great, you'll get praise, but many "run of the mill" or "just pretty" snapshots get passed by. Trust me, I've been there

I, along with others I'm sure, will occasionally stop and comment on a nice snapshot, but I admit I don't do it as often as I should.

I saw your "empty" thread. I instantly felt your title, but I didn't care for the photo, I didn't know where to begin, so I passed it by.

Sometimes we should take a second to comment on those "run of the mill" photos



Hang in there

 

[snowbear]

I left you a couple of thoughts.

 

[ralphh]

Thanks snowbear! But seriously, i wasn't having a moan and demand people go comment on my thread - just seems like in the darkside gallery specifically, threads get a lot of views, but not a lot of replies...

fully understand that mediocre photos get fewer replies - reason for this post was that after 12 hours my mediocre shot was still at the top as no-one else had any replies in that time either!

maybe it's just a function of the subject - you're unlikely to post here if you're very new and can't get the basics right, but a lot of the stuff is a bit wacky, or experimental and not 'great'

I myself have also not posted on a number of threads here which i looked at and could have, but finding something useful to say was hard. I'm going make an effort to do so

 

[Rick58]

Many times I'll give a simple :thumbup: or :thumbdown: so at least the OP knows I at least took a second to form an opinion. I really need to make a note to do that more often.
After all, if I was standing face to face with a person and they asked my opinion, I wouldn't simply turn and walk away. The internet makes it too easy to do just that.

 

[MiFleur]

I too sometimes don't know that to say because I am here to learn, and I even learn to comment on other's pictures, like that, it helps me to see the criterias that I should apply to my own pictures as well.

I have never visited the dark gallery because the name does not appeal to me, and if I do, it will be out of curiosity. So I guess I would be one of the numerous view without comments.

 

[sm4him]

Edit: just wanted to make clear this is not a poorly masked moan for more replies on my thread. Just a question / discussion about the dark side gallery in general

Posted on here for a little c&c, got nothing, felt a little huffy, then looked at views vs posts starts for this gallery.. nothing gets a reply - one recent thread on here has over 7000 views and 30 replys! everything else has views in the low hundreds and a handful of replies, if any...

Does no-one talk about the dark side..? is everything here taboo and just not to be discussed? :lmao:

Given i'm posting this on here i guess this'll never get a reply either unless it gets over 1k views, so i may never find an answer

I had NO IDEA there was a Dark Side gallery. :lmao:
Not even kidding--but I tend to just view from the "Active Topics" screen. That means if something gets posted, then drops off the Active Topics list when I'm not on, I often miss it. I need to go check some of the galleries out from time to time to make sure I don't miss something I might enjoy.

Many times I'll give a simple :thumbup: or :thumbdown: so at least the OP knows I at least took a second to form an opinion. I really need to make a note to do that more often.
After all, if I was standing face to face with a person and they asked my opinion, I wouldn't simply turn and walk away. The internet makes it too easy to do just that.

Excellent point, Rick. You're right, and I'm guilty of it, too. I look at the picture and think it's nice, or it doesn't do anything for me or I have nothing to suggest and so I just wander off. But I don't want anyone to do that to MY threads--I want them ALL to leave a comment, or at least "like" it. Maybe if we had "like," "dislike," and "completely uninterested" buttons.

Your statement gave me the visual of holding one of my pictures up to a friend and having them look at it and then turn and wander off. BUT--to be fair, posting pictures on the forum is really more like standing up in front of a ROOM full of people and saying, "Hey everyone, look at this and tell me what you think." Some of them ARE going to ignore you.

 

[Rick58]

Edit: just wanted to make clear this is not a poorly masked moan for more replies on my thread. Just a question / discussion about the dark side gallery in general

Posted on here for a little c&c, got nothing, felt a little huffy, then looked at views vs posts starts for this gallery.. nothing gets a reply - one recent thread on here has over 7000 views and 30 replys! everything else has views in the low hundreds and a handful of replies, if any...

Does no-one talk about the dark side..? is everything here taboo and just not to be discussed? :lmao:

Given i'm posting this on here i guess this'll never get a reply either unless it gets over 1k views, so i may never find an answer

I had NO IDEA there was a Dark Side gallery. :lmao:
Not even kidding--but I tend to just view from the "Active Topics" screen. That means if something gets posted, then drops off the Active Topics list when I'm not on, I often miss it. I need to go check some of the galleries out from time to time to make sure I don't miss something I might enjoy.

Many times I'll give a simple :thumbup: or :thumbdown: so at least the OP knows I at least took a second to form an opinion. I really need to make a note to do that more often.
After all, if I was standing face to face with a person and they asked my opinion, I wouldn't simply turn and walk away. The internet makes it too easy to do just that.

Excellent point, Rick. You're right, and I'm guilty of it, too. I look at the picture and think it's nice, or it doesn't do anything for me or I have nothing to suggest and so I just wander off. But I don't want anyone to do that to MY threads--I want them ALL to leave a comment, or at least "like" it. Maybe if we had "like," "dislike," and "completely uninterested" buttons.

Your statement gave me the visual of holding one of my pictures up to a friend and having them look at it and then turn and wander off. BUT--to be fair, posting pictures on the forum is really more like standing up in front of a ROOM full of people and saying, "Hey everyone, look at this and tell me what you think." Some of them ARE going to ignore you.

Sure they are. Right or wrong, I'm guilty of that myself.
I like your idea. Like, dislike or neutral would make a quick way for an OP to see that their work is at least being looked at. "Views" just shows that someone mustered up enough energy and clicked on it. It doesn't tell what opinion was formed.
Although I can see it now...OP..."What?! you didn't like it...WHY!"

 

[pgriz]

The idea that only "experienced" photographers should critique, is really wrong. A photograph should, at its base, appeal emotionally. And an emotional reaction to an image requires only that a person have feelings that can be touched. The method(s) used to reach a viewer through the image does require some technical understanding, but really, it's like asking what temperature you grilled the meat at, when you're asked to sample a steak dish. Yes, it's important in getting to the result, but not knowing it would not make the steak taste any less delicious.

So there are at least two parts to the critique: 1) did the image appeal to us emotionally, and 2) did the method used by the photographer result in the end-result that he or she wanted.

The reality is that most of the time, the image may be "pretty", but does not resonate with us on an emotional level, and therefore we don't post our (minimal) reactions to the image. That is life. We don't stop and remark upon most of the ordinary and banal things that we experience during the day (well, some do, and we tend to avoid them). So for an image to elicit comment, it has to be out of the ordinary, and by this fact, the outliers do get the commentary. Now, if a photographer specifically says, I was trying to do "x" and this is what I did, and did it work, then there is an appeal directly to the method used, and most of us, being photographers, will at least consider the question and propose an answer or solution if we know.

Much of the forum discussion tends to be social, rather than focused on strictly photographic issues, and that is how people behave in groups. While our common interest is "photography", there is a universal interest in relating to other human beings, and that is what the good forums end up cultivating. As long as the poorly-behaved are kept in check, either by peer pressure, or by effective moderation, the majority of the discourse will be quite pleasant and occasionally, informative.

 

[Rick58]

But if we blow off the mediocre, how is someone supposed to improve and take their work beyond mediocre. It's fine to tell a pro how to tweak a photo, but it's sad if only the pro's are deserving of critque. After all, THEY are the ones who should need it least.

 

[ralphh]

Sadly it's probably a lot more effort with a middling photo.. Issues with it are harder to identify than with a bad photo, and if an image isn't working for you, you need to put some thought into why that is vs pointing out to a newby their focus is miles off or whatever. Commenting that you like a great photo is easy, and suggesting small tweaks to a photo that inspires you also don't feel like much effort as you're happy to put in the time looking at it..


The like, dislike, uninterested idea is a good one.

Maybe i'll attach a poll to all my gallery entries in future :lmao:


Ironically, this thread now has the highest view to post ratio on the whole first page of the dark side gallery, and it's probably the only thread in the gallery without a photo in it lol

 

[pgriz]

But if we blow off the mediocre, how is someone supposed to improve and take their work beyond mediocre. It's fine to tell a pro how to tweak a photo, but it's sad if only the pro's are deserving of critque. After all, THEY are the ones who should need it least.

Well, to me "mediocre" and "ordinary" are not in the same camp. Maybe we're using the words differently, but "mediocre" to me is something that is almost going out of its way to be bad. Whereas "ordinary" usually means that a lot of effort was not spent thinking about the image. A lot of snapshots are "ordinary" in photographic terms, even though they mean a lot to the person making the image. Where the photographers can help themselves is to identify what they were trying to do with the image - then there's no question of intent, and the focus becomes whether the tools/techniques chosen got them where they wanted to be. Of course, at the beginning, few even have the vocabulary to ask the right questions, but that's why some truly beginner image critiques are so awkward. Heh. It's part of learning as well.