julian.gang

I would agree...Julian

nj53 Loc: Canon City, Colorado

i agree. it's subjective of course. "salt to taste" is my comment.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

How can that be? You are an accomplished photographer and I have to believe you shoot RAW. RAW files cannot be presented without filtering.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Are you using filtering to mean any processing? I think the OP was talking about the filters on phones to make people look like animals, etc. I use some Photoshop filters like sharpening or liquify, but most of my processing is with adjustment layers. I have no use for filters which make photographs look like paintings or drawings. RAW files can certainly be processed without using filters.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Different kind of "filtering"...
It has a dual meaning now with "filters" on phones.
I don't do the funny/fancy stuff.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If Ansel Adams was the photographer worthy of that name, he'd do a better job Straight Out Of Camera like a Real Photographer.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I liked your reply to JohnSwanda. It inspired me to say something to UHH I've had kicking around for a while:

It is pointless to tell someone they are not a photographer (or [whatever]). We're all on journeys of various sorts. Some of us want to go farther in a given direction than others. Those who want to go the farthest will seek help, seek advice, will practice, and will hone their skills repeatedly. They will see it as a personal goal and an obligation to themselves, not as something done for a grade, an "attagirl", or *just* a paycheck.

The older I get, the more I appreciate a truth I learned as a teen: Those who really succeed in life have a passion for what they do. They think about it constantly, systematically, relentlessly, and do it as often as they can. The few things I'm really good at are those where I've taken that to heart. The many skills I don't do well are those I find boring, or intimidating, or awkward, or uninteresting, or too time-intensive, and most often, simply unimportant to me. For those, I either learn well enough to get by, or I pay someone else to do them!

Back when I was five, my uncle gave me a camera. When I was eight, Mom gave me a typewriter (!). Those two sorts of tools for photography and writing have been central to my continued sanity and success. Writing and photography, in service to the photo industry, made me a good living, a good retirement, and continue to satisfy my soul. Along the way, I've dabbled in all sorts of creative arenas. I might be a photographer who writes, but I prefer the term 'communicator.'

Not everyone who makes an image with a camera wants to be a "photographer's photographer." If someone submits an image here, that's great. At least they're trying. Hopefully, they're having fun, find it satisfying, learn something, and if they're like a lot of us, they do it to keep their minds active.

If they ask for help, it means they are trying to get better, not that they're stupid for not knowing how to do something.

If they post a snapshot, the subject of the snapshot is important TO THEM. It's part of their psyche or experience they wish to share. It behooves us to respect that, whether it suits the bottom of a birdcage or suits a gallery wall.

If they post an advanced image that takes reality and turns it on its head, that's their right, and something we can all admire. I don't think creativity and the creative mind set should have boundaries or hard-and-fast labels.

When little Paulina Villarreal Velez started playing piano at age 3, she learned she liked hitting the keys. She took classical music lessons and liked it even more. When she played the drums in the video game, RockBand, at the age of six, she liked hitting things so much, her Dad got her a toy drum set and found a music teacher who would take her as a student.

By age 10, "Pau" (POW!) was playing drums better than most adults. At age 11, she and her sisters Ale (9) and Dany (14) were playing in their own rock band, performing live, and posting videos on the Internet. At 12, she and her sisters wrote and recorded six songs in English, their second language. In 2016–2017, they crowd funded the recording of an entire album that they released independently. In 2018, they crowd funded the recording of a concept album they called a "rock novel." In 2022, they released their first album for a record company, and began a series of world tours that has seen them open for headliner bands and sell out smaller arenas by themselves. They have a fourth album in the works, and will tour Europe this year.

That little girl, Pau, who liked to hit things, just took the Drumeo Award for 2023 Rock Drummer of the Year. The contest is judged by peers all over the world.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/904176504 is a 35-second sample of her work.

Oh, yeah, she writes, composes, and sings while playing the drums on some of their songs. And she can wake up a crowd with that scream. I want it as a ring tone for my alarm clock.

Pau and her sisters (equally good on bass, guitar, piano, and vocals) are an extreme success story. Most of us will never be in circumstances that allow us to do that sort of thing with our talents. But it's okay to try, whatever your creative bent. Take it where you can or want.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

If you take pictures, you're a photographer......

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If you can't find a way to be successful in photography, find an excuse.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

The most popular excuse is "Need better equipment.".

R.G. Loc: Scotland

I'm happy to describe AI as an electronic form of thinking. To my mind it doesn't get ridiculous until AI computers or robots are credited with the ability to have feelings or consciousness - which is exactly what most sci-fi stories about AI and robots try to steer us towards believing.

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

You are opening up the door to " What is consciousness " or better yet, " Self Aware Consciousness ".

R.G. Loc: Scotland

At the risk of offending any AI algorithms that might be looking in (where's a "sarcasm" emoji when you need it?), electronic circuits will never have the ability to create consciousness. Anybody who thinks they might in the future is totally underestimating what an incredibly special thing human consciousness is. What computers will no doubt become very good at is creating a simulation of human consciousness and feelings.

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

I think you said it pretty well...