Bill P wrote>>
I like your story, and I like your suggestion. In my former life -- not as
any sort of artist, but as a publishing academic in the physical sciences --
I got used to some occasionally biting reviews on research grants and
journal manuscripts. But it made all of us in the group more careful
researchers...<< (and more)
Thanks Bill, your story sounds familiar too. Obviously I agree with what
you're saying. I should have added to my commentary that I realize that the
direct approach is not for everyone. I welcome the comments but I do
understand that there are those who do not.
Paul M. Provencher
(ppro)
-----Original Message-----
From: Peifer, William [OCDUS] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2001 1:06 PM
To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'
Subject: RE: About PUG Commentaries
Paul Provencher wrote:
> I think the decision to ditch the PUG commentary is premature.
> Perhaps is should be sent to the recipient and they can decide if they
> wish to share it with the group, although that would diminish its value
> for the rest of us, it would "protect" the meek.
Hi Paul,
I like your story, and I like your suggestion. In my former life -- not as
any sort of artist, but as a publishing academic in the physical sciences --
I got used to some occasionally biting reviews on research grants and
journal manuscripts. But it made all of us in the group more careful
researchers. As a graduate student, I had the fortune (sometimes good,
sometimes bad) of working for a very critical and exacting research adviser.
He was pretty brutal in his critiques of any of our written work or verbal
presentations, and generally a jackass. His style didn't endear him to any
of us, but it made us all much better writers and speakers.
I don't shoot too many rolls of film, and most of what I shoot probably
doesn't look too much different from the hundreds of properly exposed
snapshots sitting under the counter at your nearest drugstore at any given
moment in time. Nonetheless, I get an occasional shot that turns out
especially nice, or especially interesting -- at least as far as I can tell.
I'd like to learn what I need to do consistently to be able to get better
shots more frequently. I'd like to know if I'm really on to something, or
if I'm just fooling myself. I'd like to know if I have a better knack for
some subject matter than for others. I'd certainly appreciate the direct
and straight approach from somebody who professes to have the background and
experience to comment from a technical, artistic, and/or commercial point of
view. Sure it's subjective, but it's (hopefully) a subjective opinion from
somebody with a greater exposure to this sort of thing than I have. I
figure the reviewer is doing me a favor by sharing his/her opinions. I'm
not asking, "What do you think as my friend?" I'm asking, "What do you
think as someone with an appreciation for all the technical details of
setting up a shot and making an image? What do you think as someone with an
appreciation of the successful photographers who have tried to capture a
similar idea or express a similar sentiment? Did I really miss the mark
here? What might have made this a better shot?" If I've done something
correctly, that's always nice to hear, but if I want to improve, I need to
hear about the details I may have missed or the things I may have done
wrong. By all means, take the gloves off and tell me what you really think!
Now I certainly wouldn't blame anyone who'd rather not subject their work to
such intense scrutiny, and we should certainly respect their wishes. On the
other hand, I'd hate to think we'd get to the point where reviewers are
afraid to be honest and forthright on account of possibly rubbing someone
the wrong way.
Bill Peifer
Rochester, NY
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