Lensbaby

I find myself getting a bit confused as I wander around on this wonderful forum.

To me this page seems to be for general discussion but others are obviously using it for posting photos for viewing and critique.

For quite a while I didn't realise that - so I checked the other three pages to see the images people were sharing and missed the ones posted here. I'm not quite understanding why we need three different pages for showing our images!

I've been confused about this too! I thought that if you wanted to just show your images, you posted in show and tell? There are things I would like to discuss and ask about in general, but kind of feel that the topic would get lost amongst all the photoposts.

I can understand your confusion. Hopefully I can help.

There was a time when the LB forum only had one page and I think it comes down to teaching old dogs new tricks. If you look at the descriptions on the "Home" page of the forums it says "All legacy posts reside here also"....and so do legacy posters. It also says "anything you want". Perhaps the folks at Lensbaby should not have left us that loophole...or perhaps they foresaw the "old dog" problem. But anyway, I think many of us are still just stuck in the one-forum mindset and some others have just followed suit.

Also (at least for me) there is a time/commitment issue. My time here is often very limited and I try not to "post-and-run" and I try to be fair and encouraging when I can. If I don't have time to comment on all the threads in a forum that interest me, I will often not comment at all rather than appear to "play favorites".

Here's how I view the different forums. It's just my own two cents worth and I'm sure others have different perspectives but maybe this will help:

Show and Tell: I think of this as more of a place for "my vacation"--pictures or " I went to the _______ and took my Lensbaby with me"--pictures. Larger sets that may be of interest to other forum members.

Critique My Work: If I want a Real critique of an image I will post it here. In other words, if I'm ready to hear negative as well as positive criticism, if I am feeling thick-skinned or want specific input on how to improve a particular image of technique, I will post here.

How Do You Do That?: This is for the technical stuff. Problems and questions with cameras, lenses, flash etc. Also a place to discuss Lensbaby techniques and discoveries that others would find interesting or of benefit.

General Discussion: Just what it says "Anything you want, we are listening." People are usually pretty good about adressing any questions/problems, but keep in mind that Lensbaby doesn't usually have a staff member on the forums regularly so it's up to us LB Users to field such things. We try to address any of these types of posts when we can.

Also, if I have an image or images that I have worked on a lot, that is/are part of an ongoing series or project, is more "Fine Art Photography" or that I am particularly proud of I will post it here. You may notice that people rarely post more that three images in a thread and often only one or two. Also any "critiquing" tends to be more along positive/supportive lines. This is also where most of the "old dogs", Lensbaby Gurus and Demi-Gurus hang out.

Keep in mind that there are no hard and fast rules around here. This has never been a group that needs much policing.

I hope this helps.

(Yes, I am often this long-winded....but hopefully not always...).

If you have any further concerns or questions, feel free to send me a private message--

Johnny Crabcakes

"Failure is the key to success;
Each mistake teaches us something."
--Morihei Ueshiba



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2012 01:13AM by Crabcakes.

Johnny is right on spot I think. I have been posting here since 2006, and in the beginning there was only one forum. When the forum split up, I usually posted in "show and tell", but I realized that the "old dogs" continued in the "general" category, so I switched back to that, and have stayed there since then. Once in a while I post in the "show and tell", but I don't know too many people there. It's a shame actually.

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My website: [www.fotoaalborg.dk]
Blog (English): [www.retrofoto.dk]
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Well written Crabby. I just wish I had a secretary to type stuff up for me, also. :)tony
HEHEHE!!

Quote
Crabcakes
Also (at least for me) there is a time/commitment issue. My time here is often very limited and I try not to "post-and-run" and I try to be fair and encouraging when I can. If I don't have time to comment on all the threads in a forum that interest me, I will often not comment at all rather than appear to "play favorites".

What he said.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. (Thomas A. Edison)

I appreciate getting some explanation about this. At least I now understand what is going on. For me though the situation remains as it was - it is too confusing to look for images in three different places on one forum. As a newish member I just read the titles of each page.

I think that Show and Tell means all general interest photos. Critique is for when you want thoughtful comments above and beyond a basic remark like 'I love it'.

I suspect that in practise I will pop in here less and less as time goes on. Thanks for telling me how it hangs together though!

Personally, I think Show and Tell should be about looking at nice photos, and reading tales of how they came about. Critique My Work is where you go to get opinions and advice. How Do You..? is where you ask technical questions. General should be about any aspect of photography and Lensbaby use that isn't covered by the other three forums. Just my $0.02.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2012 09:19PM by Joe Nation.