ArtBistro

... YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!

No more Mr Nice Guy... if I have to waste my time weeding through the "Photography Portfolios from Hell" I will now critique them also. Maybe, just maybe some good will come of it... get thick skins or keep your day jobs at Dominos.

sonoman says ...

Awesome, can't wait, this could be some fine entertainment. Take the glove off, let's go!........................Honesty, I love it. Great post Gio........

It's not meant to be entertaining... educating maybe, but not entertaining

BTW...  I'm only critiquing photography (it's all I'm qualified in doing)... and I'm only getting rough with "certain" people who just "don't get it"... EVERYONE can get better.

I agree as well.  I love that this is a forum for established and emerging talent to show our work to our peers, but there is much too much fluff.  Personal photos should be placed in your profile pictures or private albums.

giovanni says ...

BTW...  I'm only critiquing photography (it's all I'm qualified in doing)... and I'm only getting rough with "certain" people who just "don't get it"... EVERYONE can get better.

 

Everyone really knows what "good" is as opposed to garbage... it's inborn.

There are thousands threads on "What is an artist"... "What makes a good artist" yaddah, yaddah, yaddah. It's really simple (at least to me)

 

An artist creates "Something"... a POV... an image that has a reason for being. An artist makes a statement whether it's political, environmental, social or artistic... it's a statement. If you look at something and don't come away with anything... then to me, the artist didn't do his or her job.

wish to hell there was someone doing this with other media...

Many artists I've encountered lately have been really sensitive to my criticism..  I actually had one of the local photographers here in town ask me to come along on a few of my shoots so I could "teach" him how to shoot better photos, because he never gets any work. 

a) I've mentioned numerous times that if you don't have an eye for the art, there isn't much outside of posed, studio shots that you can do.

b) I've mentioned numerous times that if you don't have a site or blog where you can post work, the only other form of advertising is word of mouth. When you don't do work, you can't get much work.  Saavy?

That being said, critique me, please.  I enjoy constructive criticism, and as a young photographer (fresh out of college, still getting my name out there, I need the advice!!

you must post some of your work - tranceformer - i quiver and wait the first glance of your upload. 

abuxbaum says ...

you must post some of your work - tranceformer - i quiver and wait the first glance of your upload. 

This is very strange... I was THINKING the same thing!

BUT... what is STRANGER... on my browser... your comment is up before Transfarmer  said whatever he said  (I gotta be honest... I only understand 1/3rd of what he says... hmmmm.... I also don't like the New Yorker Magazine for that very same reason)

TranceFarmer says ...

Yes, you're probably right - and it had occurred to me, too. But, most - thankfully - don't quote my remarks as they are merely meant to invoke a general response to the topic. Not me! I don't consider anything I do here as being about me... kinda counter-intuitive for being here in the first place. Frankly, I just came to see all the pretty pictures, read some great news articles, and get a leg-up on my own re-education... oh... look, something is swimming in my coffee!

A cockroach perhaps?

sonoman says ...

 

TranceFarmer says ...

Yes, you're probably right - and it had occurred to me, too. But, most - thankfully - don't quote my remarks as they are merely meant to invoke a general response to the topic. Not me! I don't consider anything I do here as being about me... kinda counter-intuitive for being here in the first place. Frankly, I just came to see all the pretty pictures, read some great news articles, and get a leg-up on my own re-education... oh... look, something is swimming in my coffee!

A cockroach perhaps?

but if you want to invoke a response... deleting your original post fractures the dialogue UNLESS we quote you (like  sonoman and I have done... there fore when other members come onto a thread... there is some kind of continuity to the dialogue and it doesn't look like people are just making random outbursts. Deleting your own post tends to fracture the thread dialogue.

kevinwoolgar says ...

i totally agree with being honest in critique and have been doing just that lately.   from my recent experience with being honest it seems like 35% seem to appreciate honesty while the remaing 65% say they appreciate honesty, but really don't and send you messages giving you a hard time.  regardless i'm goin to keep being honest and try to be as nice as possible.   

now as for people having a sense of what's good and not...well some do and some don't.... if everyone had an idea of what's good (especially with photography) then artbistro would be much lighter. 

 i'm not an expert in all art mediums, but there is crossover in artistic principles regardless.... for instance a poorly composed painting with bad lighting...is just as bad as the crappy snapshot it was painted from. 

people just need to be honest with themselves.  i feel that we should be our worst critics...we should edit our work to the best of our abilities before putting it out there.  we should be very honest with ourselves and learn from critique.  it may not always be pleasent, but it's needed...regardless of how good or experienced a person may be.  and for the record i don't think that any of my work deserves 5 stars.

We're all our own worst critics... you have a hell of a lot of photographs that deserve 5... a lot more than mine BUT the REAL question here is as a photographer... forget points... as a photographer... or just a normal human being taking a photograph of a phenomenal sunset that came out as you originally pictured it and then a blurred photo of a poorly cropped group of people drinking at a friends party... would you NOT know the difference. If you had ONLY ONE PHOTOGRAPH to post... which would you show?

There in lies the MAJOR problem with Bistro... UNLIMITED UPLOADS!

My REAL WORLD PORTFOLIO... contains 12 images (actually I have 3 different portfolios depending on who I'm approaching... none have more than 12. Unlimited uploads DOESN'T mean... load everything you have

I had some of the most blistering critiques when I was in graduate school expecially. I watched a lot of people cry. I usually waited until I got to my studio or my car. As painful as all that was- it made me a better artist. I'm still my most unrelenting critiic. Where I have my studio now is situated with two other artists and I get loads of feedback. Take what you can and leave the rest for future reference. L

Kevinwoolgar, you have been to hard on yourself (which is sometimes ok). I commented on your work and and you had 5-star material. I don't rate without commenting. I also take in a persons age and experience in a medium when I comment and rate. If I find something that I think could be improved or bothers me, I mention it, but I balance it with something I like. Its ok to be honest, but especially for people who are not used to critiques or to whom you have not approached before, it sometimes helps to be tactful. I tend to comment on work I like. Sometimes people ask me to comment on work I think is weaker, I do, but I usually find something encouraging to say. I don't comment on work that does not appear very serious.

I found out that it apparently takes 2075 images to get 100 points in the photos section. This counts for less than 10% of the total point score. But it would not surprise me if people are downloading without editing in search for points.It would seem to favor people who upload photographs and vacation pics. 

Dude!!!  I must be tripping.  It's like I've seen all these images before..

phoenixfirestorm says ...

Dude!!!  I must be tripping.  It's like I've seen all these images before..

more than likely... BTW... who got this message (I figure it was sent to everyone considering the generic title)...

Dear Top Point Getters,

In case you were wondering how many images you would have to upload to get your full 100 points for that category on your score card, I just hit it at 2075 images! Good luck and have fun getting there...............

The King Point Monger,

Stan