But I did read every word of the thread and acknowledged the benefits within the thread, especially your contributions. I said nothing like what you attribute me with in your last line but I will stick by what I intended to be understood and that is... if a person wants to know about how light affects photography, don't come to a place like UHH and ask 80,000+ people, the majority of which cannot answer the questions while many of the others will offer up bad information. As an alternative to that, I suggest a person hone in on respected educational materials, books, videos, etc., pertaining to the narrow subject of light and photography, written and recorded by people who have some organization and methodology for delivering the information, and immerse themselves in a study of the subject until they have a clear understanding of what they're seeing and then use it to their advantage.

Did you intend for us to accept the idea that this thread you began is a comprehensive study of light as it impacts photography and that no further study is necessary or is it your contention that no other educational materials are necessary or desirable? Surely not.

No. As a matter of fact I intended it as a starting point for experimentation. After seeing so many prosaic pretty photos which were as flat as wallpaper, I wanted to suggest that some people here might spend some moments experimenting with light - that it might open up a new interest for them - explore a dimension that they had not really considered very much. One of the first things I was (wrongly) told when I had my first camera as a child (a brownie I think) was to always get the light at your back. I think most people do that, unconsciously perhaps. And I disagree that books or videos are going to teach the eye. Yes you can read about how to light a subject and have someone demonstrate it, but until you DO it, your eye will not "get" it. You have to experiment and experience. And as Burke said seeing examples and understanding them and then "working backwards" to achieve the observed result is essential to understanding.

Maybe I'm alone on this, but I enjoy both the photo gallery and technical posts here. I could never have assembled my DSLR gear without the many reviews and technical threads. Gallery posts, including many of Cat's spectacular photos, give me ideas and inspiration.

You can't learn "art" or vision from a book or a website - that only comes from a combination of seeing great art, analyzing what about it is great, and trying out techniques and ideas on your own.

I don't really see any disagreement on those points here...

Andy

This forum, like so many others seems focused on gear and on sharpness, but I have seen very little about light. Photography is all about light. Most photos I have seen here are well focused, with good color, well exposed even well composed, but lacking "the light". They are mostly flat. Seems to me that "seeing the light" is the one most important ingredient of a good photo. Even the most ordinary things become objects of beauty in the right light. It would be great to have a discussion of LIGHT with examples.

Maybe I'm alone on this, but I enjoy both the photo gallery and technical posts here. I could never have assembled my DSLR gear without the many reviews and technical threads. Gallery posts, including many of Cat's spectacular photos, give me ideas and inspiration.

You can't learn "art" or vision from a book or a website - that only comes from a combination of seeing great art, analyzing what about it is great, and trying out techniques and ideas on your own.

I don't really see any disagreement on those points here...

Andy

I don't think you're alone here at all and like you, I don't see much disagreement here either but I do come at this whole thing from the position that I am more a tinkerer than photographer and am simply making pictures - by no means creating art. If someone else sees art in what I do that's fine with me but my enjoyment comes from experimenting, getting out in nature, and staying a step ahead of "the reaper." At 81 I'm well beyond the physical capability of being a competitive photographer and have no delusions about that but enjoy the mental aspects of it that keeps me churning upstairs. Some ol' geezers work crossword puzzles, some watch Judge Judy and Jerry Springer, while I fiddle with cameras and take a picture or two now and then and don't sweat the small stuff.

Yep, well, different people have different learning methods and I'd say that whatever works for you is fine with me. On balance, I'd much rather refer to other materials than what is available in UHH. Many of the members here are limited by their own unique experience and not even aware of other possibilities as they share their limited version of many situations because they are incapable of taking into account varying conditions that others may be experiencing. To me, this is just another place to read both good and bad information about photography. I don't come here looking for help - occasional amusement at some of the characters maybe but I rarely leave at the end of the day without picking up some potentially useful tip.