Tabblo critique at Tabblo

Back from a long vacation created by Rahul.sharma on Mar 1, 2009:

Rahul.sharma said at 8:34 p.m. on Mar 1, 2009:
Hello Everyone,

Hope y'all doing well. I see a lot of new folks have joined this group and lot of new and great tabblos. I was away on a long vacation and took a trip to India to meet my folks. This trip came after 4 yrs, and was worth it. Of course, I took of lots of pictures and will be posting them soon.

Stay tuned.

Cheers!!

The missing piece.... created by Rdneg10 on Apr 12, 2008:

Rdneg10 said at 6:10 p.m. on Apr 12, 2008:
Hey fellow Tabbloists....
This is supposed to be a "CRITIQUE" group and maybe I am missing something but where is the "CRITIQUE" piece? I want to comment on others stuff and even get my worked objectively looked over that maybe we can all gain something from it - what Paul had in mind I believe, but I don't see any of that here.
Are we really too worried what others will say? Did I not get the memo? :-)
There are sites out there that photographers are PAYING to get their worked looked at with a serious eye...
Let me know if I am just seriously off here. Kelly

Rahul.sharma said at 8:51 p.m. on Apr 12, 2008:
I guess thats what Paul had in mind and me too when I joined the group. We did discuss this topic earlier too. Scroll down 2/3rd of this page and see my post on July 06 2007.

"Commenting in every tabblo with a "good job, nice, great shot" does not do justice to the role of a critique (that does not necessarily mean that we have to be critical)."

AliDar said at 1:22 p.m. on Jun 17, 2008:
It seems that this group has just become just another place to put your tabblos for more exposure. I miss the honest critiques as well. Maybe those of us who really appreciated this group for how Paul intended it, could put our constructive input back into this group. I actually liked folks being critical of what I did, as long as they meant what they said constructively.

Canon Cameras - without Quality Control? created by Rahul.sharma on Mar 31, 2008:

Rahul.sharma said at 6:48 p.m. on Mar 31, 2008:
I am disappointed... very disappointed with Canon. I had purchased a Canon DSLR (Rebel XTi) approximately 10 months ago, and so far it had been sent to the Canon Service center 4 times already. Every time, I am ready to take the camera out on that special shoot that I had been preparing for, it goes down for one reason or another. Now the latest is - Camera is dead as a nail in the wall... and that too in a middle of a shoot. I checked the battery - fully charged. But the Camera won't power up.

I do not like speaking badly of any company because of one or two bad experiences but this kind of crappy product with no quality control needs to be mentioned to those considering getting a Canon Camera. Especially, in this community where we have so many photographers, both budding as well as professionals.

I had spent over $800 when I upgraded from point & shoot camera (well, I had another SLR, not digital though), and I never thought in my worst dreams that I would be put through this unnecessary hassle. I can understand infrequent imperfections in any product, in any company but this is beyond my belief. Every time, I send the camera, it takes over 2 weeks, when I cannot use the camera, not to mention the time period when it is down and I am waiting to get the Tech support confirmation to send the Service form to me. When I was sending it 2nd time, I had to wait almost 4 weeks and they did not send anything to me because of some goof up on their end. And after that I had to send it again because the issue was not completely resolved and that took off another 3 weeks. This supposedly new camera has been more on the shelf and in UPS truck than in it's intended use. Even though every time I call, they apologize, but it had been a headache. Whenever there was a special occasion that I wanted to use the camera, I could not. On top of that, when I called Tech Support, they claim innocence that they did not hear any such issues, but a simple google search will result in a forum where 8 Rebel XTi owners have reported same issue. Some were unfortunate as it popped up 2 months after the warranty was over. Now, I am concerned, actually very concerned as I have left only 6 more weeks of warranty left and looking at the frequent issues with this camera, I cannot say with confidence that I would be able to rely on it. It is a lemon.

Well, this is one reason that I have not created any tabblo in past few months. And thanks for reading my rant. I do understand that many of you may not have to deal with any issue, and some may have had good experience with Canon. Mine was too - the first time, but not 4 times if you have to deal with it in a span of 8 months.

I expected Canon to do better than this. Shame on you Canon!!!

Rahul.

Rdneg10 said at 9:34 p.m. on Mar 31, 2008:
Rahul,
Ask Canon for a new camera and not the same model. Ask for comperable newer model and if the answer is no, then move to letters in various national photographic magazines. Finally, I would send a very clear message to the Board of Directors and Director of Customer Relations about your frustration and again, ask as a loyal Canon customer for a new model replacement.

Hope this helps...

By the way, I am a Nikon guy (D2X) so if non of this works, GET A NIKON! ;-0 Kelly

Rahul.sharma said at 5:55 p.m. on Apr 1, 2008:
Thank you for your suggestion, Kelly. At this time, I am pushing for a complete refund and already looking at Nikon D200/300 series. But it is a lot of heart-burn, because in past 1 year, I have gradually bought lots of Canon stuff, (earlier I already had 2 canon Cameras) and now two additional lens, flash, wired RC, wireless RC, lens filters, etc. I have to spend time again to research between my "wants" and "needs". But it all depends how it goes with Canon. I will post back the outcome of this issue.

Rahul.sharma said at 9:01 p.m. on Apr 14, 2008:
Here is an update...

I had sent the camera to Service center and they found that the main board had gone bad. It was replaced under warranty. It took them 2 weeks to understand and fix the issue. But they are not willing to share their findings with me as I had called them multiple times to understand what is causing it. Even though Canon tech support claims that they send emails to update the customer when:

1. they receive the unit for repairs,
2. their findings with the issue and what did they fix,
3. when it is ready to be shipped.

Well, none of the above has happened with me.

Last Friday, they sent the camera back to me. But I am refusing to accept this unit. Reason - This particular camera unit had been sent to Service center 4 times for various reasons. I have told this to Tech Support in my numerous calls to them, even talked to couple of Supervisors, who were very rude and totally uncooperative. My current stand is that I will only settle for a new unit with extended warranty.

It was a challenge to put the point across to the customer support guys. Though, many of them sympathize but the lower rung of representatives say that they cannot do anything. Now my case has been forwarded to Customer relations. Will post back what happens next.

Rahul.sharma said at 12:21 a.m. on May 2, 2008:
Early last week, finally a Canon Rep from Customer Relations called me and offered me to replace my dead unit (which they have already repaired with a new main board) with a refurbished unit. I refused and insisted on the new camera unit only. After a refusal for couple of times, they finally accepted and sent me a new camera.

I sincerely hope that it works as a Canon Camera is supposed to. Well, that means more Tabblos for you. :-)

Question to everyone created by Yug on Oct 29, 2007:

Yug said at 2:21 p.m. on Oct 29, 2007:
Hi
I joined to this group and in the same evening I added new tabblo "Kangaroo and birds..", I was not completely satisfied about it and I was waiting for real critique how to change images, may be change back color etc. If anyone who looks at my photos have any idea how to do them better (except to buy better camera) - please write it in comments or as message to me.

R1User said at 4:55 p.m. on Oct 29, 2007:
Hi Yug,
For me the balance of the Tabblo is a bit off, causing the eye to get distracted and not see the images individually. I think the black page works well though.
Just my opinion, hope this helps.

Rdneg10 said at 9:31 a.m. on Mar 5, 2008:
Yug,

I beleive an easy way to take your photos to new hights in both technical accuracy and visable appearace is in how you frame your photos. Your second picture has a "roo" facing to the left but is cut off at the half way point in his body... that makes the eys and mind try to imagine what is there. Beyond even lighting, focus, and color, if the frame if off, the other things just does not matter. Take an exrtra 5-10 seconds if needed to look all around the frame and "SEE" what the photo would look like... then move the frame to only keep the necessary sujects in the picture... and last thing, keep whats inside the frame to a minimum...dont bombard the eye with too much! Kelly

OscarDaniel said at 9:26 p.m. on Mar 31, 2008:
Yug :
I comment some of your pics, about the tabblo layout, I prefer the black background, ever.. Oscar

Yug said at 2:43 a.m. on Apr 1, 2008:
I read them. Thank you very much.

newbie created by Lorian.dean on Sep 19, 2007:

Lorian.dean said at 8:09 a.m. on Sep 19, 2007:
hi! i've submitted a tabblo for your consideration. i'm actually really nervous about this... i'm new to digital photography and don't even put my photos through an editing program yet (I'm working on it!) just wanted to know how you guys think i can improve these in any way. thanks so much!

Just for laughs created by Rahul.sharma on Aug 8, 2007:

Rahul.sharma said at 2:34 p.m. on Aug 8, 2007:
I was reading an online article from a photography expert. In the end he has a FAQ posted, where I came across this question and his response. I thought I will share it in this forum. Enjoy!

Q. Is it true that taking a person’s photograph steals their soul?

A. Yes. This is why movie stars, fashion models, politicians and pop singers have such dreadful personality and relationship problems - their souls have been severely depleted by all the photographs which have been taken of them.

PaulBarfoot said at 2:41 p.m. on Aug 8, 2007:
Excellent ! I am already looking for an opportunity to use this one in conversation.

Gretel said at 3:57 p.m. on Aug 8, 2007:
LOL LOL LOL I think I've bean photographed 2 many times 2!

PaulBarfoot said at 4:09 p.m. on Aug 8, 2007:
Nonsense Gretel - you have more soul than anyone i know

Brian_Doyle said at 6:12 p.m. on Aug 8, 2007:
Their Souls may have gone but they stitll have their spirit in them, Gin, Rum, whiskey..........

Just for laughs created by Rahul.sharma on Aug 8, 2007:

Rahul.sharma said at 2:31 p.m. on Aug 8, 2007:
I was reading an online article from a photography expert. In the end he has a FAQ posted, where I came across this question and his response. I thought I will share it in this forum. Enjoy!

Q. Is it true that taking a person’s photograph steals their soul?

A. Yes. This is why movie stars, fashion models, politicians and pop singers have such dreadful personality and relationship problems - their souls have been severely depleted by all the photographs which have been taken of them.

At the Palace of Flourishing Gladness Mistake created by Klfillar on Aug 3, 2007:

Klfillar said at 11:49 a.m. on Aug 3, 2007:
For those of you who are interested, I just realized I had the wrong name for this tabblo. The name isn't Changgyeonggung, the Palace of Flourishing Gladness. It is really Gyeonbbokgung, the Palace of Shining Happiness. I apologize for the mistake. If you are interested in learning more about it, I have added another comment to it.

A MOST CREATIVE GROUP! created by PaulBarfoot on Jul 30, 2007:

PaulBarfoot said at 1:58 p.m. on Jul 30, 2007:
I am back from vacation and looking at what has been happening with the group. I am overawed at the imagination and creativity,and by the wonderful and helpful comments. I thought you all might like to know that the 74 members of this group (as of July 30) have created more than 4100 tabblos!

Rheap said at 9:44 a.m. on Aug 1, 2007:
Good to have you back Paul, I think we have all missed your comments and photo's, and good that you got the ststistics together, that is pretty awsome, 4100 tabblos, and yes, you are right, there is a lot of imagination and creativity and great comments in this group, its great to be a part of it.

Greetings and Question created by Klfillar on Jul 30, 2007:

Klfillar said at 1:30 p.m. on Jul 30, 2007:
Hello Everyone,

I am new to the group and I just wanted to thank everyone for the helpful comments I have been receiving. I learned how to use my dad's old SLR when I was about ten or eleven, but I am relatively new to digital photography. I am looking for book recommendations on digital photography and any other good resources on the topic. I am also interested in learning more about photoshop, but I don't know a lot about computers, so any help in this regard would also be helpful.

Thank you,

Kimberly

Rahul.sharma said at 2:07 p.m. on Jul 30, 2007:
Welcome!

Check Canon website for the tips and techniques on digital photography. It covers a broad spectrum of topics for DSLR (Digital SLR) users. In past, I have downloaded some free books (digital editions) on photography. I will search and see if I can find the links, then I will post them here. If I can't find, I will send the soft copy through email. Those who would be interested, PM me.

For Photoshop, there are again good references available online. Check adorama.com, they have a few resources on their site. Perhaps do a search on Diane Miller. She is a great photographer and artist. Her work is great and I am big fan of her work. She is not only good with the camera but uses Photoshop CS to give them this distinctive touch. Check her web site - http://www.dianedmiller.com.

Also, one of the group member - Rheap uses one of these software to give special effects to his digital pictures. Search his screen name and go through his tabblo's to get some ideas. I am sure, he will be here shortly to give all of us some pointers. :-)

See you around.

Rahul.

Engelgrafik said at 2:17 p.m. on Jul 30, 2007:
Klfillar, I would recommend picking up some old-school books on photography. There is nothing better than Horenstein's "Black & White Photography". It is important to remember the basics of photography. There are so many glossy and shiny little books and "manuals" on digital photography which skip over the crucial and most important factors of aperture, ISO, shutter speed, the effects of different flash and lighting, etc. This stuff is so important. White balance is pretty much the only digital-only concept you have to learn. Everything else is just basic photography.

Engelgrafik said at 2:19 p.m. on Jul 30, 2007:
Also, don't let Photoshop being a default tool in your photography. Learn how to make good exposures and compositions with your camera and you'll spend less time on the camera. I've been using Photoshop since 1990 and as much as I love it, I hate it at the same time. Don't spend your life fixing photos in Photoshop, spend your time TAKING PICTURES! :)

Engelgrafik said at 2:20 p.m. on Jul 30, 2007:
Sorry, i made a mistake in the above paragraph... I meant "learn good composition and exposure, and spend less time in Photoshop".

Rheap said at 10:19 p.m. on Aug 3, 2007:
Thank you Rahul, Yes, it is Photoshop that I use, all the time, for almost every photograph that I take, and not just for special effects but for most other pictures also, in an ideal world, none of us would need to do anything but just take the picture and then present it, but, it does'nt quite work out that way.. " Many years ago (when it was just film and not digital)) I used to be a member of a camera club, I had a darkroom to develop my film and an enlarger and devloping equipment to make the finished photographs, which sounds simple, but we used to have competitions and exhibitions, so the final product had to be almost perfect or as near as you could get, otherwise you got really slated for it by the judges, so to get the pictures to an acceptable level, every single one of them needed to be doctored in one way or another, not just mine, but all the members used to have to doctor their photographs, sometimes one area of a photo needed to be burnt in, and sometimes areas of the photo needeed to be dodged, and then after that, there were a few times when a photograph might need to have something taken out with a small scalpel and then painted over with a small artiists brush ". Now this is where the digital darkroom comes in, (photoshop, paintshop pro, etc) they have got just the same tools as in the old days, ( burn, dodge, spot removal, superimpose, etc ) but with much less hassle, it is much easier to do things and manipulate things now, they are programs that no digital photographer should be without, I fully understand what" Engelgrafik" is saying, " learn good composition and exposure, and spend less time in Photoshop" and I strongly advise exactly the same, they are very good rules to follow, but sometimes we can think that we have captured the perfect photograph, but even then it can be improved with one of these programs if used properly, I dont know where I would be without photoshop, but like I said earlier, in an ideal world?

Ray.

Engelgrafik said at 11:52 p.m. on Aug 3, 2007:
I know what you mean, Rheap. I've been using Photoshop since 1989 and I've been in darkrooms since 1993. Over the years I've come to realize that I really love taking photos, but I HATE editing them. That's why it takes me so long to get stuff up on Tabblo. And it's why I'm about 6 months behind on editing through my photos. I do pull photos into Photoshop but the only thing I usually do these days is a little burning, dodging, but only if I can't get what I need from curves by setting black and white points (and gray). I might do some quickmasking, but that's the only thing I get into that's not something I could easily do in a darkroom. That's usually how I treat my photos... I try not to do something I couldn't do in a darkroom. Fortunately, Photoshop takes much less time than the darkroom. But still... I'm impatient and I'm already thinking about the next photos I'm going to take...

Rahul.sharma said at 12:37 a.m. on Aug 4, 2007:
Well, as Kimberly has stated, she already knows photography and only need pointers in manipulating the digital ones. I forgot to recommend in my previous post (to Kimberly) that I generally take pictures in raw mode. I find this one aspect of digital photography a big step compared to film photos. It becomes so easy to modify them later on. Raw format in digital photography is what considered as digital negative.

If you wish, search online for "Digital Photography - Top 100 Simplified Tips". It is a free book available in digital format and provides lots of (actually 100) techniques. Let me know if you can't find it, I had downloaded a copy long ago that I can send to you. One more freely available is by Kevin L. Moss by Wiley publishing.

Have fun shots taking!!

Rahul.

Rheap said at 3:43 p.m. on Aug 4, 2007:
Just a few more words for Kimberly, Rahul and Jeff about Photoshop, I just love photoshop, I use it all the time, a lot of my pics are ok raw but I cant help but try to get the best out of them, if they can be improved, then I will try my best to do so, if you look at some of the worlds greatest photographers pictures you will see that they have been manipulated in one way or another, lets just take a look at one the most famous photographers, "Ansel Adams" for instance, and you will see that almost every one of his photo's have been manipulated in the darkroom, I would love to have seen them before anything was done to them, maybe they would have been just ordinary pics , just like ours, as much as I love taking pictures, I love even more to be able to play around with them afterwards, I know that some people just cant be bothered to play around with their pictures on the computer, they just want to be snapping away all of the time, but to me, that is only half of the job, like I said, just take a look at all the most famous photographers pictures and you will see what I mean..

Ray.

Old but not forgotten created by DVP on Jul 26, 2007:

DVP said at 5:44 p.m. on Jul 26, 2007:
I hope nobody minds that I'm digging up some of my old tabblos for more critiquing. You can blame Anders, since he started that Top 10 list. Hope you enjoy the older stuff too!

Thanks! created by Applegirllayla on Jul 12, 2007:

Applegirllayla said at 8:32 p.m. on Jul 12, 2007:
I love this group. It's really neat to see what my tabblos and pics look like through the eyes of others. I learn things about my pieces that I didn't catch before in quite the same way. I love how the critques are helpful but still positive... it's a great boost to my day to check out what everyone has posted and what you all have to say about my tabblos... and other peoples', too! Thanks for making my day!
Layla

Decoy said at 3:43 p.m. on Jul 21, 2007:
Hi, My name is Anna, and I just joined your group.. and you'll have to "blame" Floridamolle a little, and AliDar even more, for that! Thank you for the inivitaion btw :)
I don't know what I have to offer, but I'll give you my best. I want you to know though that I don't speak english that very well (I'm swedish), and if you find me saying something rude, I didn't say it! - or at least didn't mean to say it :) What I mean is: I don't speak the language fluently, and I guess that constructiv critique can sound "mean" if it ain't said with the "right" nuances. I have no ambition or desire to sound nothing but encouraing. I love photography, and I really enjoy watching peoples work, irrespective of it is a pro, beginner etc.
As you can understand it also takes a lot of time to write my comments, and therefore I won't be able to comment everyones tabblo. So if I visited a tabblo, without leaving a comment, does not mean I found it unworthy to make comments about - I was probably only in lack of words.
I'm looking forward to participate in this group!
Anna

Rahul.sharma said at 6:23 p.m. on Jul 26, 2007:
Welcome!!

I like Swedish. :-)

Decoy said at 6:53 p.m. on Jul 26, 2007:
Good! So I can make my comments in swedish to you Rahul? ;)

Rahul.sharma said at 6:49 a.m. on Jul 27, 2007:
Sure. I will perhaps use the online translator to translate it into English.

And Swedish rhymes with "Sweet dish" (dessert)... just say it fast enough... And I like sweet dish.

Engelgrafik said at 2:24 p.m. on Jul 30, 2007:
I like critiques but I feel most of the time people only say nice things. Positive criticism is good but so is negative criticism. It's the only way to become a better photographer and artist! Let's get *critical*... let's talk about what's good AND bad... that's why it's called critique! :) <"let's get critical... critical.. I wanna get critical, let's get into critical.... let me hear your camera talk, your camera talk, let me hear your camera talk... ". :)

AliDar said at 12:34 a.m. on Jul 31, 2007:
Hey Anna I'm very happy you joined the group. I invited you because I do feel you have a lot to offer. Your comments have been very constructive, and never have they seemed at all rude. Welcome to the group, sorry I was so late in responding to this
Dar

AliDar said at 1:16 a.m. on Jul 31, 2007:
Jeff, I'd very much welcome your critical analysis of my tabblos and photos, both the good and the bad. I agree with you about what exactly a critique is, and I always make the assumption that if someone posts a tabblo to this group they are asking for an honest evaluation. But there is such a wide range of abilities in this group that I feel it would be counter-productive, for instance to write a detailed discussion about aperture settings, shutter speed, exposure, and depth of field, to a beginner who's just learning how to compose a good pic, or take the time to focus well. Not only would they not know what in blazes you are talking about, (heck, I hardly remember myself, being so long since I held a single lens reflex camera in my hands) but it wouldn't help them improve in the least. I think it's more productive to temper your comments, both about the negative and about the technical, towards something that they can understand, and therefore, improve because of it. ... And that I think, as you do, is the purpose of a critique.

Featured Tabblo created by PaulBarfoot on Jul 8, 2007:

PaulBarfoot said at 10:19 a.m. on Jul 8, 2007:
We now have 44 tabblos posted to the group. When we have 50, let's vote on which one of the 50 should be selected for the "Featured Tabblos" section. I'll tabulate the votes for one week following the posting of the 50th tabblo. Post your vote to the Group Discussion under the Featured Tabblo thread (in other words by replying to this message). If one of the tabblos already posted strikes you as being so good that you don't want to wait for the next 6, go ahead and vote now.

Applegirllayla said at 1:23 a.m. on Jul 9, 2007:
How shall we vote - by forum or by "secret ballot" (personal message)?

PaulBarfoot said at 6:06 a.m. on Jul 9, 2007:
"Architectural Lines" is the 50th tabblo. Let the voting begin! Vote either in the forum or by personal message to me - whichever you feel most comfortable with. I will keep track of the votes and announce the tally on Monday July 16 at 6 am my time (Eastern Time). Shall I announce all the votes or just the winner? By the way - if you truly feel that one of your own tabblos is the best of the first 50, don't be shy - it's ok to vote for your own.

PaulBarfoot said at 9:02 a.m. on Jul 11, 2007:
Okay - so I guess voting on a tabblo to be featured was a bad idea. Nobody has voted and that seems to be a vote against the idea. I have no bad feelings about this. I like to toss ideas out there from time to time to kind of stir things up. :-)

JoanW said at 10:33 a.m. on Jul 11, 2007:
Hi Paul,
I don't think you idea of voting was a bad one, but I think that a lot of people don't read this forum. Many look at the tabblos in the Group, but not necessarily read the posts. I know I looked at your post seveal days ago before we had 50 tabblos, and meant to look back again, but totally forgot about it, and I think this happened to others too. I think this forum format is a bit confusing, because all the messages are entered undere the the topic thread rather than in chronological order, so if a person just opens up this page to browse the message he/she doesn't know where to start to read the latest posts. Maybe that it one of the reasons for the poor response. Just a guess....

PaulBarfoot said at 2:35 p.m. on Jul 11, 2007:
You're probably right. Maybe I'll construct a tabblo that invites votes - but not this week or next. I'm flying out to Oregon early Tuesday morning for a week.

AliDar said at 12:47 a.m. on Jul 13, 2007:
Myself, I just didn't feel comfortable with voting for which tabblo was to be featured; It sort of felt like I was to chose which was the best, and I felt like that was somewhat contrary to what this group is about. I know this was an attempt to be democratic and not authoritative in your role as manager, Paul, so I do appreciate your motives. Maybe you can devise some sort of random system for choosing a featured tabblo.

Tishfish said at 9:52 a.m. on Jul 27, 2007:
Paul you idea of a featured tabblo is good, but you should decide which one to feature, because you started the group. I generally just start from the first one to come onboard and continue back, but of course, if you like one better, you be the judge. I am quite sure no one will hold it against you.

Fewer is better and other stuff... created by Hollyridger on Jul 6, 2007:

Hollyridger said at 1:39 a.m. on Jul 6, 2007:
I am a brand new self-invited member of this Tabblo Critique Group and already I am very pleased that I joined. For some time now I have been concerned about the size of some of the tabblos being posted. One of the first critiques I read addressed this very subject (AliDar's wasp's nest tabblo). I am going to make a conscious effort to post fewer shots and only the best shots. I am also going to try to reduce the size of my collection on my PC by applying the principles that will hopefully evolve with this group as time goes by.

I would be interested to hear how other members of this group manage their collections. Sometimes I think mine is hopelessly out of control but what I am trying to do now is rate my shots on a scale of 1 to 5.. My theory is that anything that falls short of a 4 or 5 I should delete right away. Believe me, as you all know, this is easier said than done.

Looking forward to being part of this group and hopefully sharing some of my experience in a sensitive manner as well as learning from other people's thoughts on my work. Thank you, Paul, for initiating this group whereby hopefully we can all grow.

Cruising said at 7:57 a.m. on Jul 6, 2007:
I agree with your note. Here is what I "strive" but don't always accomplish to do in a Tabblo. "Tell a story". If the pictures aren't related in telling a story - if they don't compliment the story (not necessarily each other), you may be adding noise to your Tabblo.

There are always exceptions. But that is a big part of my interest in one Tabblo over another.

As far as "sorting and rating my photos"..

I typically go through my photos twice. After downloading to my PC, if there are some that are just terrible (unrecoverable - heads cut off or totally out of focus), those get deleted.

I then go through and rate them. I will keep even the "2"s. You never know when you need a picture of a "horses @ss", for a collage or joke. So what looks like trash today could be valuable in the future. I spend effort on "keyword tagging" the photos for this reason.

After doing the above and then post-processing my 4's and 5's, I create a DVD backup of all originals and the Post Processed pictures. I also copy them off my notebook to a backup harddrive.

Hollyridger said at 10:45 a.m. on Jul 6, 2007:
Hi Bob, I appreciate your response. You sort of hit a nerve because I do not really have a very good backup system in place. There is no excuse - I have all the hardware! I must add this to my "to-do" list! When the photos are special such as an importnant event or a special vacation it is no problem but the everyday stuff often gets ignored. I will take your tip about spending more time on keyword tagging.

You are right about the exceptions but I like what you say about the story-telling aspect of tabblo-ing. It is amazing how sometimesa number of not so wonderful photos can be assembled to create an interesting and attractive tabblo.

Again, thanks for your response, Bob.

Standing002 said at 2:17 p.m. on Jul 6, 2007:
Excellent suggestions,thank-you. Can't wait to hear more.

AliDar said at 2:40 p.m. on Jul 6, 2007:
Hey Noreen; great to see you on Tabblo critique; I'm looking forward to hearing your critiques on my work. I love your tabblos and I can only imagine that your comments will be of great benefit to me!

I like that you said, "... in a sensitive manner ..." I think it's very important for us all to remind ourselves that when we give a critique that we are speaking about something that another could very well have put their heart and soul into, and thus, it can be very devastating to hear nothing but negative comments. There is such a diverse range of ability here, from the beginner to the professional, and I think to treat everything in the same manner without considering where it is coming from would do more harm than good.

Also, in a group this size there are bound to be many differences of opinion, and folks can be pretty adamant about what they feel and think. I believe that the ‘we should agree to disagree’ adage should apply in such cases. Unless we feel we’ve been misunderstood, and think we can clarify our meaning, I don’t see any point in dirtying up someone’s tabblo with rebuttals. … Not that I’ve seen anything of that here yet; I think this group is the best, and I hope we can keep it that way by keeping ‘sensitive’ in our way of thinking.

Giving a detailed evaluation of someones work takes alot of time! created by AliDar on Jul 3, 2007:

AliDar said at 3:41 p.m. on Jul 3, 2007:
... so it might be a good idea to be patient when waiting to hear from other group members, especially when there are a lot of new postings. I've been at this all morning, and I haven't even gotten though half of them! I'm having a good time though, ...reminds me of the critiques back in my college days! :)

Jsm said at 5:26 p.m. on Jul 3, 2007:
. . . perhaps we don't have to comment on each tabblo, but only on those that move us to comment. Yet, there is an implication in our behavior here that we're somewhat like aspiring poets: we long to put the work into our own product and perhaps are less longing to comment in depth on the work of others. I have noticed that when someone is about to launch a new tabblo, he or she is more likely to make a few comments, perhaps in recognition of the community duty. Whatever the case, I'd suggest that we feel free to abstain from commenting on tabblos that draw nothing from us.

Anastasia said at 8:03 a.m. on Jul 5, 2007:
just fyi- i am one that often comments when i am putting up a tabblo, but that's because it's when i'm online with time!

Jsm said at 10:11 a.m. on Jul 5, 2007:
I think Anastasia's point is more intuitively obvious and true than mine. People are certainly likely to comment when they're puttiung up tabblos because they are online at that moment.

My point had been something about people putting up a tabblo feeling a community responsibility to do the other half of the communication. Anastasia's way makes much more sense.

Rheap said at 7:21 p.m. on Jul 5, 2007:
Jsm said at 5:26 p.m. on Jul 3, 2007:
. . . perhaps we don't have to comment on each tabblo, but only on those that move us to comment.
I entirely agree with you Jsm..

Anastasia said at 7:25 p.m. on Jul 5, 2007:
as do I!

AliDar said at 1:46 p.m. on Jul 6, 2007:
And as do I, but my trouble is there is so much here that moves me to comment; and where in regular day to day tabblo browsing I can feel free to say a few words without backing it up with an explanation, I did feel that since someone posting a tabblo to the group braved the critical examination by others that I should at least give those I felt inspired to write something about a detailed evaluation. Now, as the number of members of the group increase, I can see that even doing that would be a full time job! :P

Anastasia said at 4:33 p.m. on Jul 6, 2007:
you do an amazing job. obviously you have to limit yourself or you will start dreaming in Tabblo. that said, however, don't stop with mine! :) I need your critiques :)

Rahul.sharma said at 5:20 p.m. on Jul 6, 2007:
Indeed giving an evaluation takes time. So, to provide an honest quality comment, one may have go through 2 or 3 tabblos at a time. I, myself can't do more than 2. Commenting in every tabblo with a "good job, nice, great shot" does not do justice to the role of a critique (that does not necessarily mean that we have to be critical).

Rheap said at 8:40 a.m. on Jul 7, 2007:
Well said Rahul.sharma, I agree entirely.

Welcome ! created by PaulBarfoot on Jul 2, 2007:

PaulBarfoot said at 7:59 p.m. on Jul 2, 2007:
So glad to see all the new members. Thanks Vinca for inviting everyone.
Now lets see some comments on each other's tabblos.

Flinkfar said at 2:10 a.m. on Jul 4, 2007:
thanx for the invite - - - this will be great.

Rheap said at 7:23 p.m. on Jul 5, 2007:
I agree with you Flinkfar, this really should be great..

Just the thing i wanted created by Vinca on Jun 29, 2007:

Vinca said at 3:41 p.m. on Jun 29, 2007:
Thank you for the invitation to this group. It's just what i used to wish for. Some critical analysis of my tabblos, so that i could learn and improve. Everybody is very kind and encouraging on Tabblo and refrain from saying anything negative about our tabblos much as they may want to LOL. This is a fantastic outlet for their true feelings about the tabblos. Thank you for starting this fine group. I look forward to the honest reviews :o)

PaulBarfoot said at 4:24 p.m. on Jun 29, 2007:
Please invite others you think might be interested. I started by inviting everyone in my circle.

Perhaps it would be a good idea as we critique each other's tabblos to mark the comments "Tabblo Critique Group" Because others who are not in the group will see the comments, it will help to make them aware that there is such a group and that the comments are in the spirit of that group.

DEE-Trow said at 4:54 p.m. on Jul 2, 2007:
I have a similar group called Help Needed from the Professionals that I started a few months ago. It has been very helpful and I'm sure this one will be too. There are so many people in Tabblo that know so much. It is great that we have so many resources right at our fingertips. I'm sure this group will be very useful to many of us. Good thinking Paul!

Standing002 said at 5:09 p.m. on Jul 2, 2007:
Thank you Vinca for the invitation. I'm excited to get started.

Piscean33 said at 6:35 p.m. on Jul 2, 2007:
Thanks Vinca for the invitation. Look forward to the critique by the team. Great idea!

Floridamolle said at 6:40 p.m. on Jul 2, 2007:
Think this is great, always wanted a little more constructive criticism. It's an art to give and take criticism, but I think it's needed for to get better. Love it, and hope that members dare to write what they think..

Ejmccartin said at 6:59 p.m. on Jul 2, 2007:
I think this is a great idea! always nice to hear "Great Tabblo!" but sometimes it may be better to hear "if you did ___, it may be more ___." I do hope people will write what they are really thinking.

Arich said at 1:49 p.m. on Jul 3, 2007:
Thank you for the invite - I can definately use this. I'm very new to this and have only posted a couple, but I love looking at everyone's work.

Rheap said at 4:17 p.m. on Jul 6, 2007:
Hear hear Vinca.....

created by PaulBarfoot on Jun 29, 2007:

PaulBarfoot said at 1:31 p.m. on Jun 29, 2007:
Do you think we need to set up any guidelines for critiquing? My idea was that colour suggestions, changes in placement of images, tricks we have learned, etc. would be the kind of thing. What do you all think? What would you find helpful?

Vinca said at 3:46 p.m. on Jun 29, 2007:
Yes, colour suggestions would be a great start. I also think, honest opinions would help a lot. :o)

Tishfish said at 8:15 a.m. on Jul 11, 2007:
Near-By is a test tabblo. Trying to get the settings and focus right. Dared to go a bit closer to this flower and wondering how I did at it. Would love some input on this tabblo.