civilized ku # 2099 ~ relevance
Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 10:47AM ;)
Utilities / Whiteface Mt. parking lot ~ Wilmington, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenI have what I consider to be a bad habit. A habit that I can't seem to break. One that is not exactly deleterious in its effect, but one that I wish I could nevertheless get under control. But, like many bad habits, it's hard to give up.
That said, it might surprise you to know the bad habit I am referring to is the fact that, everyday, I visit The Online Photographer despite the fact that, more often than not, I consider it to be a waste of my time.
I mean, if I wanted to read about roasting coffee beans, home theater speakers, cars, a whole lot of gear related stuff, and many other assorted other "off-topic", aka: non-picture, things, I'd go to blogs/sites devoted those things. It's not that I am not interested in such topics, it's just that, when I visit a blog/site ostensibly about the medium of photography, I expect (foolishly?) to read about, duh, the medium of photography. Or, at the very least, a topic related to it.
Now don't get me wrong, TOP's editor/author, Mike Johnston (along with a few contributing writers), does some Herculean lifting in keeping the enterprise rolling. Kudos to him for that piece of work along with the rewards of having a big audience. Filling up space on a blog on a near daily basis ain't the easiest endeavor on the planet. Take it from me, I know of what I speak - I can venture a bit off-topic from time to time. It happens, even to the best of us ...
... well, except, maybe not.
2 blogs/sites which I also visit on a near daily basis - Joerg Colberg's Conscientious and Aline Smithson's Lenscratch - seem to never stray from the medium of photography straight and narrow. Nearly every day, these 2 intrepid blog-o-sphere practitioners put forth a delightful smorgasbord of picture delights. And, much to my delight, those offerings (augmented by picture maker interviews and thought provoking opinion/critique pieces) tend, for the most part, to feature little known - at least to most of us - contemporary picture makers.
Unlike TOP, wherein the picture / picture maker emphasis is primarily upon the tried and true / the venerable known pictures and picture makers (despite an occasional Random Excellence entry), Colberg and Smithson focus is on what's-happening-now and they are kind and hard working enough to let us in on it. I am much more interested in what's new in the medium as opposed to rehashing the known - a subject that, admittedly, I know much about (while others may not).
And that's my other reason for considering my daily visits to TOP a bad habit. I learn very little which is new (to me) about the medium of photography. Whereas, both Colberg and Smithson offer up something new (to me) almost every day, something that happens on TOP only on rare occasions.
Let me clear about one thing - this entry should NOT be considered as a put-down/slam (it's a critique as opposed to a criticism) of TOP and its editor/author, Mike Johnston. While TOP may not be the sugar which sweetens my picture / picture making cup of tea, it is, nevertheless, a tremendous and successful endeavor which has a large following. Unquestionably, it is well received and appreciated by many.
And, truth be told, I'll probably never break the bad (for me) habit.
gravitas et nugalis
Featured Comment: In a critique of The Landscapist blog on civilized ku # 2099 (wherein I critiqued TOP), Paul Bradforth (no link provided) wrote: "... I continue to follow your blog, because you take some spiffing pictures that speak to me, but I do wish you could sometimes talk more like a human than an Artist.
my response: Paul, thanks for the critique. I critiqued MJ and his TOP and you critiqued me and my The Landscapist. That's fair. What's good for goose is good for the gander.
BTW, did you read my Featured Comment (published last Friday, the day after my critique of TOP) - proof positive that I can't break the bad habit (although, in my defense, my comment was on an entry about the medium of photography).
Reader Comments (9)
Conscientious is fantastic, perhaps my top photography blog. And thanks for the pointed to Lenscratch. I crave photograph-oriented sites because they are harder to find than gear sites.
I think Mike's challenge is the simple fact that he does have a large audience, and to feed them he has to have something to say often enough. I enjoy TOP as well, but these days Mike seems to be behind the curve. I find most of the OT topics interesting because they dovetail with my own, but I enjoy the photography-oriented posts best.
Your mileage may vary of course, but I like these sites too,
http://www.petapixel.com/
http://www.lensculture.com/webloglc/
http://weburbanist.com/
http://flakphoto.com/
The posts that get the most views and comments are about gear (I know this overwhelmingly from my own site stats). He knows that and that's what keeps the site rolling along with so many views. I do not doubt that conscientious, et. al. have much smaller viewership, even though (I agree) they are more interesting to photographers (as opposed to camera enthusiasts).
Back to rehab.
And what's with the total PITA spelling test.
Dennis - what PITA spelling test?
When I post from my iPad, haven't tried a desktop, I have to do the type in the obscured words in the box antispam test that all. I realize this is coming from your blogging host, and my comment was meant to be some more or less good natured grousing that's all...btw, it used to one word now it's two...grumble,grumble.
I follow both your blog and Mike’s blog, and I have to say I find your comment on TOP a little disingenuous. Mike’s blog is warm, friendly and interesting, precisely because it’s not all about photography. It seems to me to be a great meeting-place for folks possessing both an interest in photography and a life. Your site is interesting in its own way, and you take some lovely still life shots in your kitchen which I admire. I can’t quite ‘get’ the point of portraying things obsessively ‘accurately’ if that means making an ‘accurate’ picture of a very dull day, which to my mind accounts for quite a few of the pictures I see on your blog. Beautifully processed, for sure, but in the end, for me, ‘accurate’ shots of dull days. Your blog is super-serious about photography, and you tend to spell art with a capital ‘A’, which is something I’d never expect, or want, to find on the TOP blog or anywhere else. Forgive me for that, I should explain—I have an acquaintance who is quite a successful artist here in Wales, and whenever we meet, the only topic of conversation from his side is… art. He knows nothing else to talk about, and on your blog, as in meetings with him, I quickly tire of it. I continue to follow your blog, because you take some spiffing pictures that speak to me, but I do wish you could sometimes talk more like a human than an Artist.
TOP is what it is. I follow TOP and your blog (and a few others).
I was going to say "Reading TOP for Art is like going to McDonalds for a gourmet meal" ... it's not what they are about. However, I checked the "blurb" for TOP and read this:
"Our focus is more on art and accomplishment and less on technique and equipment than many of the largest sites..."
Oops. But perhaps Mike can justify this perspective?
One of the few times TOP tackled Art head-on is during a series of posts starting on the 5th Feb 2010. It started as a "Random Excellence" on a guy who photographed 60's era cars and streetscapes.
There are other considerations as well. Mike is running his blog as a business and probably doing ok (over $50K pa, but I'm only guessing). Does anyone make that sort of income from an Art blog?