so what does it mean to have a bunch of new members!

"What on earth is happening with all these people coming in by the dozen overnight?"

No, I have not sold the forum to The Very Reverend Jeremiah Wright, or to Famous Rev Moon nor anyone else. We are not doing mass conversions by a river and then getting people to register! This place is still the same. No one is moving, changing and there is no chance of the house being sold! No way!

This mass comes from a unique request! Sean Reid the photographer and publisher of Reid reviews wants a great place for photographers who follow his reviews to discuss subjects that come up in RR articles. He also likes the tone of courtesy in OPF, something that we nurture. The new guys are new but OPFrs like everyone else, trying to make the best picture and to share ideas on the way. We'll need to look for opportunities to get to welcome and learn about our new friends. It may seem disorientating to discover so many people grabbing your morning paper! However, I'm sure that many new friendships will be quickly made. Remember the Still Photography Forum is an entrance point to OPF but also part of our community and we should cross migrate and get to know each other. I commend you to look at Tim Ashley's B&W picture. It's remarkable. It does help to have a spare mansion to photograph!

I want to assure everyone that there is no change in the direction or ownership of OPF! We'll have the same lively discussion, picture challenges, critique of photographs and excitement of new cameras and lenses. We in return are happy to welcome experienced or beginner photographers who want to share "photography". The new members will bring with them the same range of capabilities from naive to enthusiast and accomplished photographer. However, in addition, a number of the photographers arriving are particularly talented and should help by example and by sharing stimulate others to do well too. We are looking forward to the new members participating fully in all the fora here. I know you will make them feel at home and that they in return be fun to have around.

I can see that the new photographers include those using Canon 1Ds MarkIII and Leica M8 to simple digicams. So this new mix will balance our MF and LF photographers who recently joined. We can truly claim to cover all, or almost all photography formats.

Please make a special effort to look out for orphan threads. This encourages responses to your own posts is to give feedback to others. Don't hold back because the picture is too simple or too good. Spend a minute checking for orphan threads that get buried by new ones!

I am hopeful that our new members will add to OPF and contribute to all the other parts of OPF. If you have any concerns, your support and feedback would we so welcome. It's not easy to have a sudden addition of new members. There may be issues. Just let me know. I trust that everyone will work to integrate our new members into this one single community.

Asher

So let's discuss this move! We have lots of hopes and expectations!

What's to discuss? It sounds wonderful!

I've been out of the loop while fighting with my PC about its upgrade... was there an announcement about this (speaking of getting buried).

Many new members will present a challenge to the status quo here, albeit a good one. That doesn't mean it can't or won't be better, but that outcome lays on the other side of the challenge.

So, for me, the question is what can we do to ensure the positive outcome we all want? Simply put, the existing community will need to put in a little extra effort to exercise tolerance (for the changes represented by newcomers) and be expressive (to introduce newcomers to what it means to be an OPFer).

Those are my late-night, PC technical glitches induced fatigue inspired thoughts

Edward Bussa said:

I've been out of the loop while fighting with my PC about its upgrade... was there an announcement about this (speaking of getting buried).

Many new members will present a challenge to the status quo here, albeit a good one. That doesn't mean it can't or won't be better, but that outcome lays on the other side of the challenge.

So, for me, the question is what can we do to ensure the positive outcome we all want? Simply put, the existing community will need to put in a little extra effort to exercise tolerance (for the changes represented by newcomers) and be expressive (to introduce newcomers to what it means to be an OPFer).

Those are my late-night, PC technical glitches induced fatigue inspired thoughts

Click to expand...

Ed,

OPF has developed a unique approach to benefitting from discussions with people we have come to know, like and trust. However, we have never wanted to become a closed group. That's the point of being open. We need to be really open to new ideas and to the stimulation of people that might need help or might be able to show us ways of making photographs in ways we never thought possible.

What we do not want to do is make new rules of behavior. That I think we already have pretty well running in the right way. The idea is we set an example of being welcoming, open and gracious. It's important that while the Reid Reviews subscribers have a place to dally, that we do not Balkanize OPF, Rather, the new forum should act as a unique endroit, a corner where special discussions occur, even if some are fanatic about a lens we could care less about.

The Photograph: That's why we are all here in OPF: Already I have seen fine photography and am encouraged that I made a wise decision. This is not going to be so simple as people tend to be comfortable with those already known to them. So both the new guys and the rest of us better reach out. Perhaps the most important thing right now is that everyone try to comment on at least 1-2 images each time they are here. "Great!" doesn't cut it, "Sucks!" neither.

We are not trying to pose as art critics, rather as colleagues. Also the photographer must never simply take the comments as being some "truth" except in so far as it is true that they were uttered. Always measure criticisms against your intent, hope, purpose and common sense. Ultimately the value of your work is how you react to it. The rest of us matter much less, unless you want an award or to sell it!

We do not give false praise as that does no one any good and is empty. We can say how the picture makes us react, what we think of from its content and how perhaps it might be improved or created differently or what work of art it seems to match in some way.

This is a great experiment!

Asher

Okay, now that I've followed a few links and read this from ReidReviews.com, "Still Photo" the new Reid Reviews discussion forum was launched May 1, 2008." and then realized that all the content on reidreviews.com is available only to subscribers, I am, to be honest, less motivated to expend extra time and energy!

This doesn't change the fact that I prefer to call OPF my photography home, and it doesn't inherently change OPF for the worse. However, I will still try and contribute in the ways that I always have.

Just like the new kids in School

Remember the first day of school after summer vacation? We had a buncha new kids show up. We took our time and got to know them. Sometimes we played nice and sometimes we made new friends to share our milk and cookies. Maybe we will all get along here - of course if you you shoot Nikon (just kidding!) we'll have to discuss it.

Edward Bussa said:

Okay, now that I've followed a few links and read this from ReidReviews.com, "Still Photo" the new Reid Reviews discussion forum was launched May 1, 2008." and then realized that all the content on reidreviews.com is available only to subscribers, I am, to be honest, less motivated to expend extra time and energy!

This doesn't change the fact that I prefer to call OPF my photography home, and it doesn't inherently change OPF for the worse. However, I will still try and contribute in the ways that I always have.

Click to expand...

Yes Ed, that's the truth.

Tell me how many cherries you have tasted that have no pit? I can't say to Sean, go to work and earn money some other way and open your reviews to everyone for free! The fact is that Sean takes photographs, works on them, writes articles and people find it worthwhile, think they do and so subscribe. Or it least for this year. I am a subscriber and have found the reading interesting and informative. Sometimes it's fun too and even surprising when he found that at high ISO color on the Sigma DP1 went anemic in a sad way. So if I was going to make a decision, that would factor in to my decision making. I believe that some people who already read RR, will discuss items here. I have not seen it yet. But since I mentioned it, let's talk about the DP-1 color at ISO 800. Now when one has 20 people who know that writing and others who have purchased the camera, it will be discussed and you will get most of that info and I bet you will follow the discussion perfectly.

Now before you actually spend the money on the DP1 you would check it out and take a picture at that ISO and look at the file yourself

So far, there have been no discussions I have seen related to any article. When it occurs why don't we see what happens.

I have tried to do what I think will help our community in the long run. We want really committed photographers. The fact that 50 people have read an article that 2000 others have not might be an issue, but I doubt it. What is important is that we have one community. If we don't then this will have been a mistake. I'm a pragmatic optimist. Thanks for looking at this from a critical perspective.

Are you seeing more posts then?

Always good to have new members of all abilities, everyone brings something new, which can only be beneficial.....

Kathy Rappaport said:

Remember the first day of school after summer vacation? We had a buncha new kids show up. We took our time and got to know them. Sometimes we played nice and sometimes we made new friends to share our milk and cookies. Maybe we will all get along here - of course if you you shoot Nikon (just kidding!) we'll have to discuss it.

Click to expand...

Hi Kathy,

That is an interesting analogy, but therin lies the danger. I also remember certain schools from my own youth where newcomers were bullied into submission by the older generations. I am 100% certain that this will not be the case here at OPF, but we must steer clear of any possible pitfalls. The best way of doing this is discussing it early on with others if anything bothers you.

Asher Kelman said:

Yes Ed, that's the truth.
Now when one has 20 people who know that writing and others who have purchased the camera, it will be discussed and you will get most of that info and I bet you will follow the discussion perfectly.

Click to expand...

Yes! I hadn't thought of it, but as read your post, I knew thats where you were headed. I think thats true. Does it motivate a little more? Yes, probably.

Also, It might be nice if Sean chose to post a few meta-content articles for us here as well, to enhance and give back to this non-paid community... which I'm almost positive must've come up in your discussions... ?

Edward Bussa said:

Yes! I hadn't thought of it, but as read your post, I knew thats where you were headed. I think thats true. Does it motivate a little more? Yes, probably.

Also, It might be nice if Sean chose to post a few meta-content articles for us here as well, to enhance and give back to this non-paid community... which I'm almost positive must've come up in your discussions... ?

Click to expand...

Thanks so much, Ed, for being so open!

I knew it!

Now the good news. When we discussed this, and it happened fast, I arranged for Dean to wrtoe especially for OPF and introductory article on rangefinders. So when you read this, a whole new world will open up and the mindset of RR will be no barrier at all. We are interested in possibilites fro getting from A to B. The "A" is you hope, need and wishes for the image and the "B" is the delivered photograph you are proud of. The in between, is the work, skill and approach to making the picture. For that we need diversity. RR will add another spoke of dimension, not a new wheel.

Asher

I thought that I'd make a short comment as I subscribe to Sean's site and entirely independently recently registred on OPF. Based on my (admittedly limited) knowledge of both there is a common framework of seriousness and respect that underlines both places. We should be able to get on and everyone benefit.

Mike

Excellent Mike! I'm sure you're right and I wasn't really addressing whether it would work. I was just being open about my reaction as my understanding of what's new has unfolded...

To change to the topic slightly, could you express why you subscribed and what it means to you? Perhaps I will subscribe!?

Mike,

You have hit the nail on the head. one thing we can see is that both groups are committed to their passion, photography and are so loyal to the respective origins, Sean and I are both dedicated to doing whatever is needed to protect the special value of each. We have always cross promoted and supported each other's work.

So your presence here is a great thing for us and you are so welcome.

Similarly I'm sure a bunch of OPFers will now join up with RR!

That's how we help each other.

Asher

I am not a subsriber of RR, but I am a new member here and I "wandered in off the street," so to speak, and am happy that I found this community. I've been a member of many online communities for various topics and have been pleasantly surprised at how supportive this community is of its members and how friendly people are to new faces (well, names at least). Thank you.

i wandered in off the street also. i had a horrible experience on another forum. i'm glad that i chose to look into another community instead of shutting the idea down altogether.

everybody here has been extremely open to my ideas of photography. through that open philosophy, i'm learning where i'm going wrong with my attempts. thanks everybody!