The Evolution of OPF

Greetings OPFrs,

Recently "Obaldy" commented in RetouchPro.com

"As a side note your pages at openphotographyforums are very informative and have a polite, conducive atmosphere for learning with extensive photographic forum coverage like Digital Camera Discussion, Digital Darkroom (including Retouching), Color Management Discussion, Photography Discussions, and everything else photographically related!Excellent site, Kudos!"

Well guys, the kudos belongs to everyone here. We have grown, we have good numbers but need to be strengthen our support of each other's work. Everything in OPF is about promoting expression, that of each and every photographer amongst us. It's time, therefore, that I should take a few steps back. OPF needs to develop and evolve it's own character and take advantage of each of you to shape how we'll grow. The same sense of things will continue. I will spend no less time. I will be simply be devoting more effort on the quality of the photography, comments in Photography as Art, News and improving the site, rather than trying to make sure great posts don't go unanswered. That, now, must be a community job. So each of us should look out for each other!

This, then, opens a new stage of development and you are center stage!

What do you think?


Asher

Asher Kelman said:

rather than trying to make sure great posts don't go unanswered. That, now, must be a community job. So each of us should look out for each other! This, then, opens a new stage of development and you are center stage! What do you think?

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Sounds good to me Asher, I value OPF as a source of inspiration, encouragement & information, I find feedback to be very helpful, sometimes suggesting changes or other things to try or simply saying that it's good, sometimes I find it very difficult to evaluate my own work..... For me OPF has helped me to formulate a 'style' I have been working very hard on my photography over the last year, and have high hopes for the coming year.

Have you got any further with the idea of having a scoring system for images? It could be helpful to those who may not like to give feedback, perhaps feeling akward about making negative comments. I would find it helpful to get a general feel of how an image is received by more people, perhaps we would get more responses if there could be either a thumbs up or down, or marks out of 10 or whatever system was decided upon.

I know this has been mentioned before, but thought now might be a good time to raise it again....

Godspeed!

It takes a great deal of courage and confidence to do what Asher just has done. It is not much different than letting one's children fly off the nest, really. I guess this turning point is inevitable in the evolution of OPF and has been in the making for some while.

I, for one, appreciate the quality of communications and information shared in this forum so much so that I'll do anything within my possibilities to keep it going. The question is; will you, too? I sincerely hope so.

Cheers,

Cem

Hi, Asher,

Asher Kelman said:

It's time, therefore, that I should take a few steps back. OPF needs to develop and evolve it's own character and take advantage of each of you to shape how we'll grow.

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I haver been very gratified by the multifaceted role you have taken as the "godfather" of OPF. In addition to your task as "moderator in chief", you have often jumped into a new thread just to make sure it was really "off dead center". (Carla and I often call this, in various contexts, "giving the prayer wheel just one more turn before leaving").

At times, you have opened the day by positing some (thought) provoking topic, often "out of left field". We've been waiting for the day that starts, "Some guys think Kerr is crazy. What do you think?"

Overall, much of your role is perhaps that of the host of a grand salon (and will you please ask Georgette to bring me another scone).

What you have done is to help (encourage, provoke, facilitate, foster) the extraordinary cadre we have here, with an amazing diversity of interest, skill, knowledge, accomplishment, and outlook) to collaborate in often unexpected ways to increase the knowledge and insight of each other (in an entertaining way, in most cases).

I applaud your plan to carefully draw father from the prayer wheel. We know that if the engine stumbles, you will be nearby with a little ether (push). And don't forget to titrate in a little nitrous oxide from time to time.

Thank you, my friend, for helping all this to play out. It is an extraordinary accomplishment, and of course your task is not done - just advancing to the next phase, as any real (god)father knows must happen.

I am guilty not to have posted my thoughts on colleagues pictures enough. I shall be excused from that for now as I am in the middle to launch my business and this in deed is quite some time consuming undertaking. However, as soon as I have jumped over the main hurdles, I will certainly spend more time in contributing here.

Not only is this, for me personally, the very best forum on photography, news in the scene, arts, politics and social issues that I have come across, it is the people here who make it so special in deed.

I just want to explain something to you Asher of which you might not be aware, but I would not be astonished if others here would have experienced similiar.

Before OPF I was in a great variety of Fora concerning photography, and frankly, most of them suck. People with 12.500 posts in 18 months were nothing unusual, seriously, and most of them jabbering their mantra day in day out, pixelpeeping, technology obsessed preachers, profile neurotics who feel an urge to let others know that they are better experts than the manufacturers themselves, from many I have never seen a single picture btw.

Often they dominated the fora, hence provided a general atmosphere which I personally perceived as sick as Hell. Then there are their deciphles who often were tolerated in their brand bashing attitudes, as long as they continue to support their Guru and did not cross his ways.

This form of group dynamics was so obvious, counterproductive and so boring to the bone, that I left most of the fora, time wasters they were for me, nothing else.

As far as OPF is concerned, if I had to list the people from who I learned here in the past year, I am afraid I probably would forget the one or other, it would be a long list in deed. Michael, Bart, Cem, Asher, Klaus, Alain, Kathy, Thierry, Janet, Nicolas, Eric, David.... flippin Heck, don't get me started!

See, it is already the case that the group dynamics here is driven by mutual respect, and a strong positive attitude towards knowledge exchange, and this on a unsurpassed level in deed. OPF stands out from the rest of fora I know about, big times, and I have no doubts it will continue to do so.

If I would face a serious problem in my chosen business, practical or technical, I would not hesitate posting it here, knowing that people will try to help, and that in itself is outstanding!

Now, I shall be excused, I have to go back to my excel sheet, how I hate this ****. LOLLOL

Thank you ALL!

~^..^~
Bear

Well said, Asher.

Georg said it perfectly

Georg could have written exactly what is in my heart. There is a caring brought on by Asher's leadership. There is no one Guru here that must be obeyed. Just mutual respect no matter the level of skill - a very refreshing community. No just another pretty fora!

I am of course happy to make contributions toward keeping OPF's tone and balance as well as to foster continual discussion and education at all levels.

Thanks everyone for the supportive attitude and commitment. You are now the custodians and hosts.

Asher

Hi, Jan,

janet Smith said:

Have you got any further with the idea of having a scoring system for images? It could be helpful to those who may not like to give feedback, perhaps feeling akward about making negative comments. I would find it helpful to get a general feel of how an image is received by more people, perhaps we would get more responses if there could be either a thumbs up or down, or marks out of 10 or whatever system was decided upon.

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I'm not really optimistic about that. The "score" for an image can comprise so many criteria of different kinds. I could imagine that to some, a grainy, overexposed, badly color-balanced, motion-blur afflicted, ineffectually cropped shot of a rare crocodile being coaxed out of his shell by a young boy in a native village would score higher than anything any of us are likely to produce.

There is of course one single-dimensional score for an image: how much would an image house pay for it!

Doug_Kerr said:

...I'm not really optimistic about that. The "score" for an image can comprise so many criteria of different kinds. I could imagine that to some, a grainy, overexposed, badly color-balanced, motion-blur afflicted, ineffectually cropped shot of a rare crocodile being coaxed out of his shell by a young boy in a native village would score higher than anything any of us are likely to produce.
...

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LOL, how true! No matter how hard we try, we cannot win in the end....

Doug_Kerr said:

..There is of course one single-dimensional score for an image: how much would an image house pay for it!

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Doug, your choice of words is spot on! Single-dimensional, indeed it is....

Cheers,

Cem

I am afraid I do not speak (or write) as eloquently as many here in this wonderful forum but rest assured I share the same sentiments. I have enjoyed this site immensely from the first time I visited and plan on doing so for a long time to come. I learn so much from just reading the threads and seeing how the experts, and the not so experts, do the things they do.

Asher's ability to voice his true intentions for the forum, as well as his ability to draw more out of someone than just their posting of an image, making them think and dig deep into what it is that they are really trying to show, the hows and the whys, is what brings me back here day after day. OPF is for sure one of my favorite places to go when I need to get away from life's problem side and just spend some time nurturing myself and learning something new and wonderful in this obsession that we all seem to share. Thank you Asher and thank everyone else who is a part of what makes it so great.
James Newman

As a relative newby poster I had noticed while lurking how much time Asher put into the forum and in answering posts in a thoughtful way.

I think definitely that we can pay something back by doing the same for each other.

Regards,

Peter

I have been a reluctant commenter because I am in awe of the professional feedback given by the moderators and others. Many fora offer no substantial feedback, just, "A nice shot." That's great for socializing but not for real improvement in our photography and I don't want that. OPF has already provided a tremendous amount of feedback that I can see the improvement in my images. I do not consider myself an 'artist', just a 'realist.' I will do my best to offer commentary equal to other posters, but to say the least I am a bit intimidated.

Steve Robinson said:

I will do my best to offer commentary equal to other posters, but to say the least I am a bit intimidated.

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Don't be.... we all started somewhere.

Darn! I was just getting comfortable, thinking, "Ahh, Asher will get that!"

Seriously however, I must admit that I could do a better job watching out for those Zero Replies. I think I've just become accustomed to dead end first posts as a fact of life.

It seems that if the forum moves too fast, some posts just get swept away. If there aren't enough people actively contributing, some posts just languish. There must be a balance, no?!

Doug Kerry wrote to me yesterday, "I'm glad to see you back from your self-imposed withdrawal into ascetic contemplation, and again holding forth daily in "salon"."

Hmm, I better be more careful!

After all, it's only you guys who make our forum hospitable, nurturing of impressive pictures and help others have a little extra fun here. It's the experience of real photographers in situations where bread and dreams of expression are at stake that make our small community truly relevant.

Nicolas will be away till next thursday so we wish him a great trip to St Tropez and Turkey!

Asher

James, I think you are indeed very eloquent.

I am likely the least skilled and wettest behind the ears photographer here. Nonetheless, I've grown immensely since I first began posting here. I read, but don't always comment. I've learned a great deal. Soon, I'll begin giving feedback as well.

Hi, Asher,

Asher Kelman said:

Doug Kerry wrote to me yesterday . . .

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Kerr. You must have my Irish cousin in mind.

Best regards,

Doug

Le crayon rouge ne dort jamais.

Asher Kelman said:

Thanks everyone for the supportive attitude and commitment. You are now the custodians and hosts.

Asher

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Asher, I would like to express here that having joined OPF, actually through a coincidence, the level of discussion I encountered here has changed my life (no kiddin).... the way critique and photographs connect is unique in my view as far as photo forums on the internet go....I feel that the provocative thoughts being "seeded" here have the effect of creating a dense mycelium (if I remember the name correctly, the underground network of fine strands that connects the visible mushrooms in a forest) of thoughts of all the participants. All that reflection grows into the posts and replies that we see appearing on the OPF fora.

Without your methodical provocative groundwork, OPF would not be what it has grown into today.

Kudos

Rene-Frank

Hi, Rene-Frank,

Rene F Granaada said:

Without your methodical provocative groundwork, OPF would not be what it has grown into today.

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Very well said.

Best regards,

Doug

Very well said. This forum is the top aomng the four I visit regularly. Everything in that comment is true and it is why I keep coming back. I definitely haven't participated as much as I'd like but it is something I will keep in mind, the student life is my first priority.