seberri, with referfence to your post of Sep. 08 2005,06:21, the quotes you attribute to me are simply not correct, quite misleading, and wisrepresent my comments. I did not make any comment that someone "must" crop a certain way, or "must" respect the rule of thirds.
seberri, I have read may comments in other forums regarding images. I find all the "wows", "inspiring," and "greats" less than helpful to me in trying to understand what makes an image "wow."
The issue of posting images has come up here before with respect to my participation. Posting an image is not the entrance ticket. Posting is optional. "Put up or shut up" is not the way here. I choose not to post for purely personal reasons. My prints have been reviewed in hundreds of critiques, most with favorable comments, some ravaged. I no longer seek that photographic process. Crits were a powerful learning tool for me, and still would be. But like other learning situations, like school, I have moved on. I am certainly not saying schools could be of no value to me, I have plenty more to learn that they could teach me. But I am not a school student anymore.
What you or anyone else might think of my work should not have any influence on you and what you do with one of my comments. I might be considered very good or very bad or maybe not even own a camera. It simply doesn't matter.
Jonathan, perhaps having the photographer participate in his own critique is usual and customary on LL, but it was not allowed in any critiques I have attended. The reasons given were it limited the photogrpaher's defense of his pwn work, and the photographer is most often not present when his work is in the public eye (sales, magazine articles/covers, etc.) The critique was more like a final exam for the print and the photogrpaher wasn't permitted to help grade it. Before the critique, if the photographer wanted help from others, he was of course encouraged to seek it out. But that was not a critique. The movie producer isn't on Siskel and Ebert to explain why his movie should get 2 thumbs up or provide him with editing ideas before the movie goes public. Nor were Siskel and Ebert required to screen one their movies to prove they could make a movie.