[MF3D.FORUM:1495] Re: Joel/Tom MF Folio II

[Brian Reynolds <reynolds@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sam wrote:
> I took a record amount of MF slides last year, so if there was room
> for a "guest" I wouldn't mind seeing a new group of artists. I
> certainly can understand Brian's frustration regarding folio
> delays. The ones I've already contributed seem to just get slower
> and slower.
> 

I'd love to have you as a member of the folio.  I've also been
contacted by someone else who would like to join.  I haven't heard
back from enough people yet to know what the total number of people in
the folio will be.  When I have the routing figured out I'll let you
know.

> >8) Comments are mandatory.  I don't care if you just say "Ooo!
> >   Pretty picture.", but I want to know that people do get to see
> >   the images.  At the least it's another way to track the progress
> >   of the folio.
> 
> But what if you don't like the slide? I would prefer just leaving a
> comment out than perhaps insulting someone who's work you just don't
> understand. A phoney "great shot" isn't very honest.
> 

I haven't had this problem yet.  I've liked everything I've seen in
this folio and others I've gotten a chance to see.

Personally I feel that if you are putting your slides out for others
to see you need to be thick skinned enough to deal with the fact that
not everyone is going to like every slide.  So long as the comments
are not mean spirited things should be OK.  I know that my slides
aren't the best in the folio, neither technically nor artistically.  I
hope that by getting comments from others I might be able to improve.

I learned this lesson a couple of years ago.  I'm a member of the
International Center for Photography.  Once a year they have a
member's day and offer portfolio reviews by various professional
photographers, museum curators and teachers.  I picked nine of my LF
prints and then decided to take a MF stereo slide from my honeymoon.
Except for one of my architectural images (the firehouse you can see
on my web page) the reviewer (an ICP curator) wasn't impressed with my
work.  Then I showed her the MF stereo slide in my SaturnSlide viewer.
She was blown away.  She immediately closed my portfolio case and
pushed it aside to talk about MF stereo.  This might sound like a good
reaction, but I was dismayed.  I'm a LF photographer.  I did the MF
stereo on a lark.  This was one of my honeymoon snapshots.  I learned
that if I show people my work (I generally don't) I have to take the
comments I'm given, and not listen only for what I want to hear.

By the way, this was the Inis Mor slide that was in this last loop.  I
ony received two comments on it.  I knew what Tom's comment was going
to be because he had seen the slide previously at a TFSD.  Paul's
comment wasn't 100% positive, but I know the criticisms are well
intended and accurate.  Hopefully my mounting skills have improved
since this very early attempt.  Image softness is something I have to
learn to deal with given the equipment I use most often (the Lubitels
and Sputnik).

-- 
Brian Reynolds                  | "Dee Dee!  Don't touch that button!"
reynolds@xxxxxxxxx              | "Oooh!"
http://www.panix.com/~reynolds  |    -- Dexter and Dee Dee
NAR# 54438                      |       "Dexter's Laboratory"