My incidental comment: We've all been dismayed by the inconsistencies in judging. A photo which may have been honored with a first place ranking in a well attended inventory of work assembled by a respected gallery, would reasonably be expected to show well in most judged exhibits. Not the case.
Jack --- Mark Roberts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Paul Stenquist wrote: > > >Yep. Either the people who do the pickin' like 'em or they don't. > >Fairly simple. Their taste doesn't correspond exactly to mine, and I > > >suspect others feel the same way. But, hey, it's their gallery. > > Precisely. > > Furthermore, I've come to realize that I *already know* which shots > of > mine *I* like best ;-) Part of the value in a selective gallery (or > a > photography contest) is specifically in gaining some insight into > what > *other* people like. Sure, any artist has to please himself/herself > first and foremost. But if the only person you please is yourself > you're not going to get anywhere. Moreover, if you're only pleasing > yourself you clearly aren't communicating with, or connecting to, > anyone else with your photographs. You can't possibly expect to > please > everybody, but that shouldn't be taken as an excuse to reject or > ignore > all other opinions. > > Another thing that's useful about selective galleries or contests is > that they encourage you to think about *why* you disagree with the > official selections. Thinking about why you like what you like (and > how > to achieve it) is a crucial part of growing and improving as a > photographer. Even learning about opinions with which I may disagree > is > valuable. > > If the Gallery accepted every shot I submitted and put it in their > Premier Collection it would be a huge ego boost, but I wouldn't learn > > anything. > > In light of all this, it certainly would be helpful if they provided > some commentary to explain why photos were declined, but I can > understand that there's no possible way they would have time for > this. > The note on the web site that says they'll provide a reason for > declined shots was clearly intended to refer to technical issues like > > "not taken with a Pentax camera". They'll eventually remove that text > > or at least fix the wording, but this gallery is a huge undertaking > and > these projects never have all the staff they need. Heck, two weeks > ago > their list of Pentax cameras didn't even include the MX (for shame!) > and last time I checked, their lens list didn't include the original > "K" series. > > After weeks/months of being too busy, I'm determined to get out and > do > some shooting this weekend and I think the Pentax Gallery has played > a > major part in motivating me. Come to think of it, it's having shots > declined by the Gallery that's the biggest motivator. > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > ____________________________________________________________________________________ No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mail -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net