Here is a little known masterpiece from Cartier-Bresson's 1952 book The Decisive Moment called 'Tehran 1950'.
http://blogsearchtest.tumblr.com/image/110263740956Here are a few comments from a discussion on it...
"Looks pretty marginal to me. Do you want me to bow down to him?"
"I found it more obnoxious than anything else."
"What makes it so great? The crooked horizon? The poor composition? The distracting background? The blown out chandelier? The blown out black-blob of a curtain? The distracting bright triangle from the area beyond the curtain? The poor use of bokeh to make it hard to tell the wall is a mosaic of mirrors? The pushed-too-far contrast to remove any details."
Let's look at these 'perfection' critics a little closer.
Here is a little background from the "Looks pretty marginal to me." critic.
http://freezingtime1.tumblr.com/image/114526874247And something from the "What makes it so great?" critic. This guy must be a master photographer with his devastating critique of Bresson...right.
http://freezingtime1.tumblr.com/image/114526979642 When I tried to discuss this on that forum they banned me. It seems to be a common phenomena that online critics think they can always do it better than someone else. All my critics know more than me. The 2 critics above know better than Bresson. This is how the ego can distort reality.
Photogs can be a jealous bunch. Lots of hatred within many of them. Our work defines us and is an extension of ourselves. But deep down inside many know their work will never amount to anything. Photogs as well as artists are stressed out trying to get attention for their work. All the while the market is polluted with so many images no one person could possibly look through them even part of them in a lifetime.
All this stress can put the photog / artist in a bad mood. When people are in a bad mood they may not think straight. When people do not think straight they can't be depended upon for right thinking. That is why online feedback can cause more harm than good.
Bottom line...“Never give up! Don’t listen to the haters. Don’t try to be an artist unless you can work and live in isolation, without any thanks....bleak, but needed until you get to the much lauded place."
Scape Martinez