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12/11/2009 07:38:47 PM · #1 |
Dear registered users and members,
I am starting this thread because I feel the need to express my toughts after reading a thread touching the topics in the subject. I'm not posting to the original thread as it is now closed because a member forgot some rules of politeness.
I have been a registered user of this site for almost five years. I have been visiting DPC at least once a week in these years, to browse pictures, read in the forums, very rarely to submit to a challenge or to write in the forums. I learnt so much, this community is really very rich and helpful and this is why I keep coming back whenever I can.
The tutorials and "how did they do that" sections are really fantastic and even only voting and commenting on submissions teaches you a lot on how to look at a photograph.
I never considered becoming a paying member for two reasons that I will explain. For sure, not for the amount of money needed: I am lucky enough to be able to spend 25 dollars a year for my leisure, and if I weren't, I could go and sing in the street and I'm sure that very soon someone will give me that money to immediately stop!
All joking aside, I never upgraded my account because in my opinion there would be two reasons for that:
1) to have more choice of challenges to which submit
2) to have more editing freedom
I am not interested in 1) because I think that having less choice is even more "challenging" and, not less important, I currently have the time to shoot for challenges around once a year, and I am not interested in 2) because I am totally unskilled for any editing that goes beyond automatic levels and resize and would like first to learn the things that I can make in basic editing.
Whenever I will feel that I want more, or that I have other reasons to become a member, I'll pay for it. In the meantime, I try to get the most from what I have (which actually is even more than I can enjoy).
These are my reasons for being a registered user and not a member. I am sure that any single person in this community has her/his own personal reasons, and that the division between members and registered user is not reflecting any other difference in the real people behind the usernames, as rich/poor or photoshop lover/hater and so on.
Coming to the photo editing, for a complete dummy like me, this site is wonderland! With the HUGE quantity of pictures posted here, there is a wealth of choices to refine one own's personal taste!
You can go from the heavily edited pictures with an unreal look like these lovely ones
 
to check how little importance can have editing when you have creativity and technical skills
  
to learn how editing can bring out the real image that was seen by the photographer and was not faithfully registered on the file on this amazing thread on DPC with so many examples, among which I would like to remember these ones (if you don't know the thread, it is worth to spend some time to click on the links, thumbnails have unfortunately disappeared)
         
and absolutely my favorite
 
In the end, why are we here? As it has been written hundreds of times in the forums, we are here to learn, to get inspiration, to be stimulated to improve. I think that the visible and hidden treasures in this website can help all of us to refine our taste and get better pictures according to our own judgement.
And if this means that I am developing my own style in a different direction of the *assumed* artistic judgement of DPC, then who cares! I don't need to win a ribbon or to get a high score to be satisfied with a picture of mine :)
Well, no special point after all, I just wanted to share these thoughts.
Thanks everyone for the contribution that any of you brings to this great DPC!
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12/12/2009 06:07:09 PM · #2 |
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12/12/2009 06:38:05 PM · #3 |
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12/12/2009 06:42:45 PM · #4 |
Bottom line, you do whats best for you.
Not many people can identify what is best for them as easily as you did. It is nice that you are able to do so and continue to do so. Cheers.
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12/13/2009 10:22:13 PM · #5 |
| I like the ad-free browsing, especially since I'm on a wireless network right now. I also like having a portfolio. I'm a member on deviantART, and no matter how many dozens of images I submit, I can't seem to get comments from anyone but my watchers. To request a comment is kind of a long process and in a special section that seems more like either begging or quid pro quo (give a comment, get a comment). Here, I can just go into the "Photography Discussion" (I think that's the right one) section and ask for comments or a critique (specifically what I should change). Not because I love getting comments, but because I love getting feedback. I'm here to learn, and what better way to do so than to ask others "what could/should I change?" |
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12/13/2009 11:09:41 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by george917:
Here, I can just go into the "Photography Discussion" (I think that's the right one) section and ask for comments or a critique (specifically what I should change). |
Almost ... you really want the Individual Photograph Discussion section ... |
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12/14/2009 07:17:54 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by george917:
Here, I can just go into the "Photography Discussion" (I think that's the right one) section and ask for comments or a critique (specifically what I should change). |
Almost ... you really want the Individual Photograph Discussion section ... |
Right. My bad. That's what I did last time, so it seems I just screwed up in this post. |
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