Interesting opinions about RFF

[FrankS]

Hands-down, absolutely no doubt! I agree with Tom on this.

 

[quizzard87]

hehe, i was expecting a development of the threads like this.

its the same on dA. some people always feel offended by his harsh writing style.
but the one's who actually think before they smack him for his polarizing thoughts are definitely better off.

read it. think. and keep in mind whatever interested you. thats how it works.

i dont think his thoughts are meant to insult people. its just his opinion.
there are enough people out there appreciating landscape shots...so why not accept the one's who dont?

why would he ask Max/darkkavenger to write for his article? he doesnt use leica. because he is a damn good photographer. with a kiev. so chris asked him to contribute to his article.

btw, i didnt upload any photos to my rff gallery yet because of the size restrictions. so you can judge my photography on dA at http://quizzard87.deviantart.com/

 

[wtl]

q: how many sorry ass do we need to defend beniliam?

a: one, just himself but he is not available.

q: how many sorry ass do we need to tear down this guy with opinions and photos?

a: the entire rff, plus some more...

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

The tendency toward "feel-goodism" means that we cannot even begin to agree to disagree, we must only agree to agree.

No! We must agree to not disagree!

Oh... nevermind 🙄

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Not at you. Weeks writes some nasty stuff about Beni in his blog. It's his right, but he is wrong.

Yes he is. Well, he is right in his view, but I know (as you know) that he is wrong.

I know it for another reason: whereas arguments in the English-speaking culture are 99% meant as discord, they are 99.999% taken as personal insults. What I know most non-Spanish and non-French speakers fail to understand is that the subtleties that exist in Spanish or French are hard for those nonnative English speakers who have less than stellar command of the English language. We have a different concept of "arguing", "disagreeing" and "attacking", which on Web forums are pretty much blended together, unfortunately, and taken as one.

I know. I've been there countless times.

If I read Beniliam's comments, he unfortunately didn't have the eloquence in English to say how he disagreed with the previous poster, first of all, and then very politely tried to give his two cents. The reader took this as being condescending (I know this too; I've been told by close friends to consciously stop being so "nice" because it comes across as patronizing or being unsure of yourself, which at least in the U.S. culture the thing to do is to "always assert yourself, always" )

So there you have it. We'll read from chapters 2 and 3 for next week....

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

q: how many sorry ass do we need to defend beniliam?

You can count me as a sorry ass, unsorry smart.

Yes, I think the use of "sorry ass" counts as aggressive. In my book, at least. Should I go and check out another one?

 

[FrankS]

hehe, i was expecting a development of the threads like this.

its the same on dA. some people always feel offended by his harsh writing style.
but the one's who actually think before they smack him for his polarizing thoughts are definitely better off.

read it. think. and keep in mind whatever interested you. thats how it works.

i dont think his thoughts are meant to insult people. its just his opinion.
there are enough people out there appreciating landscape shots...so why not accept the one's who dont?

why would he ask Max/darkkavenger to write for his article? he doesnt use leica. because he is a damn good photographer. with a kiev. so chris asked him to contribute to his article.

btw, i didnt upload any photos to my rff gallery yet because of the size restrictions. so you can judge my photography on dA at http://quizzard87.deviantart.com/

So is Chris like the top dog or baddest dude over at dA?

 

[quizzard87]

well, you cant deny a certain level of popularity 😉

but he didnt achieve this level through spamming other peoples mailboxes like some do on dA. he's just a good photographer whose actions speak louder than his words! thats where the many pageviews come from.

i know him as a pretty nice guy, who actually cares about the community and answers to nearly all of the comments he receives. many popular artists on dA wont do that.

 

[FrankS]

He probably is a good guy as you know him, just very thin-skinned.

edit added: and a bit over-reactive to any criticism.

 

[Chris Lynch]

i thought his comments were quite hilarious actually, and if you're offended by them you should just chill out. there are many reasons, but my biggest is that i've always believed photography to be an art, and everything is rather subjective..

Bob Smith says, "hey, check out my new pic- it's awesome. I love it."
Joe Greene: "uhhh, that's garbage."
Bob Smith: "whatever dude, that's just your opinion. I"m not going to let it ruin my day."

Chris' comments were a nice perk at the end of my boring week.

 

[quizzard87]

i wouldnt say he's thin skinned...a thin-skinned person would hide from critique, but he rather writes in this critique provoking style.

well, sarcasm has to be over-reactive 😉

 

[quizzard87]

i thought his comments were quite hilarious actually, and if you're offended by them you should just chill out. there are many reasons, but my biggest is that i've always believed photography to be an art, and everything is rather subjective..

Bob Smith says, "hey, check out my new pic- it's awesome. I love it."
Joe Greene: "uhhh, that's garbage."
Bob Smith: "whatever dude, that's just your opinion. I"m not going to let it ruin my day."

Chris' comments were a nice perk at the end of my boring week.

thats the right attitude and exactly my opinion about this topic!

 

[FrankS]

i thought his comments were quite hilarious actually, and if you're offended by them you should just chill out. there are many reasons, but my biggest is that i've always believed photography to be an art, and everything is rather subjective..
Bob Smith says, "hey, check out my new pic- it's awesome. I love it."
Joe Greene: "uhhh, that's garbage."
Bob Smith: "whatever dude, that's just your opinion. I"m not going to let it ruin my day."
Chris' comments were a nice perk at the end of my boring week.

R3Mchris, in your dialogue example, Chris was playing the part of Bob Smith, but he got indignant on his blog instead of saying "whatever"

 

[dadsm3]

Sarcastic? How about rude, obnoxious, and petty? I don't care if he's HCB reincarnate (he certainly thinks he is).
Just the kind of stuff the younger generation finds appealing.....
Defend it all you want, just don't call him a class act. Because he isn't.....MATE.

 

[telenous]

Yes he is. Well, he is right in his view, but I know (as you know) that he is wrong.

I know it for another reason: whereas arguments in the English-speaking culture are 99% meant as discord, they are 99.999% taken as personal insults. What I know most non-Spanish and non-French speakers fail to understand is that the subtleties that exist in Spanish or French are hard for those nonnative English speakers who have less than stellar command of the English language. We have a different concept of "arguing", "disagreeing" and "attacking", which on Web forums are pretty much blended together, unfortunately, and taken as one.

I know. I've been there countless times.

If I read Beniliam's comments, he unfortunately didn't have the eloquence in English to say how he disagreed with the previous poster, first of all, and then very politely tried to give his two cents. The reader took this as being condescending (I know this too; I've been told by close friends to consciously stop being so "nice" because it comes across as patronizing or being unsure of yourself, which at least in the U.S. culture the thing to do is to "always assert yourself, always" )

So there you have it. We'll read from chapters 2 and 3 for next week....

Gabriel, that's very perceptive, I fully agree (and that's coming from a non-native speaker). Even consummate users of the English language have some trouble communicating the subtle nuances that exist in different idioms (with English being distinctly different from American-English), let alone when the speaker or writer has a lesser command of the language. And you 're quite right about this assertiveness thing in the American-English, which, let me say, is perceived quite differently in the UK and the Continent. But one should know about all that and make allowances for interlocutors who come from a (somewhat) different culture.

I 'd also like to pitch in in David's defence, only he doesn't really need it, for his is the most impressive body of work I 've seen in a long time, and it speaks volumes for itself.

 

[JoeFriday]

most likely, Chris uses his 'sarcasm' as a preemptive strike against criticism.. rather than arguing the point, he turns the debate in a direction he can control.. something many whiny teenagers learn early in life

but the fact that he quotes RFF thread comments on his blog pretty much negates anything useful that he would otherwise have to say, and instead just points out his pettiness.. which apparently goes over really well on his blog and whatever that other website is that he frequents

it's the equivalent of a 16 year old being an ass in a store, and having someone's grandpa tell him to knock it off.. then having some great comeback like "yo, dad.. take a chill pill".. sure, it scores points with his peers, but he's still an embarrassment to his parents

likewise, being a decent photographer (altho I admit I didn't bother to check his photos) doesn't override being an ass

 

[FrankS]

Here's an example of what you can find at dA, and it realtes to Brett's observation about the style of some folks. I'm very glad we don't have this here. Can you imagine say Brian Sweeney posting something like the following if he chooses to return to RFF?

Back Cruel dA, You suck!!
Journal Entry: Thu Aug 24, 2006, 6:33 AM
Well, it's been about a year (give or take) since my last post and I figured I have made you all suffer way too much. I know how hard it's been for you without me. Sorry (well not really but more on that later) that I put you through so much. I heard all your tears and screams of want. It made my ego swell while at the same time not giving 2 ****s about your feelings.

In the time I was gone many things have happened. I died 5 times from various illnesses and everytime came back from the grave. I heard that recently happened here also to some guy name Neal. Hey bud go get your own rap you jagoff. Blowmebitemelickme. I did it because I'm a luney, you did it because you're a pathetic loooooooser. Rot in hell.

I see some guy named Coxi has picked up where I left off. Jesus, I never knew someone could be better at it than me. Granted he had a great teacher but good lord oh mighty, he says **** I would never say. I might agree with a lot of it but calling everyone '****ed up no talents'? Busting the sites balls at all costs. Making fun of the very fabric of dA? Damn that takes huge hairy nuts to do. I'm impressed.

And the best part of it all. Many of the site's "higher ups" are portraying his webcam shot in their journals or on their pages. Talk about the ultimate in absurdity. Coxi, my hat is off to you. Banned a billion times, bust the sites balls galore and the mangement of this place idolizes you. Considering your webcam shot is a 'busting of the dA balls' and you still got them to fall for it. You have missed your calling. Get into Marketing. You are a genius.

Well enough about the little Austrian prick and more about me. So tell me what you've been up to in the last year. Don't get me wrong, I really don't give a **** but I figure it will be good for pageviews.

Oh before I forget....

Sher - Shut up and Bite me
Marie - Bite me twice.
Gonz - Continue biting me till your teeth fall out.

Oh yeah, a very special "bite me" to bionic 7. Why you ask? I don't even know the kid but just browsed his gallery. Some great stuff, some real crap, some amazing stuff. Real emo. Gotta love it. He can bite me behind my right knee...

Oh hell, let me make this easy. Everyone ****ing bite me.


Hmmm, other 'things' I've done in the last year (give or take).

1) Died 5 times (as mentioned)
2) Turned gay and back to Hetro
3) Slept with 3 dA admins (2 bad, 1 amazing)
4) Got a 5 year jail term and only had to serve 32 months.
5) Took a ton of pictures but won't show them because none of you could understand
6) Climbed Everest and took a Shat on the summit
7) Visited a Monk in China and beat him to a pulp. Shao Lin my ass. As a side note: Chinese prisons are not fun.


But most of all what I did in the past year (give or take) was miss dA. I missed all your happy smiley faces. All the silly use of emoticons and all the drama you provide. I missed the joy of knowing that all your lives are infinitely more ****ed up than mine and that I am , without a doubt, superior. I fully understand your longing for me. I make your lives better!!! I am a source of inspiration and joy. So after your husbands or wives come home and kick the **** out of you (emotionally and physically) or you parents come home and bust your nuts you have me to turn too and make it all right.

How dare I subject you to the loss of me. Never want it to happen again???? Pageview me bitches!!!

Think of how great you all will feel when I reach a million!!! Your lives will be fullfilled. Also at that point I won't give a **** what you do, so the stress of knowing I'm watching will be over. Get hit by a truck and I promise you I won't care. A hangnail could have more effect on my life at that point. But at this point, I do care. Well, not so much, but I can fake it real good.

Ahh it's great to be back. All of you can bite me know.

Dave "I'm back now kiss my feet" Nitsche

 

[Marc-A.]

I dont think his thoughts are meant to insult people. its just his opinion.

You must be kidding ... I quote him speaking of David (Beniliam) "you sanctimonious little tosser" ... hum not meant to insult.

I read the article on Street Photography, and I learned a lot. I think it is valuable, and as "amateur" photographers (I’m in photography for only one year! I started with the birth of my daughter), we should thank him. I remember that we had endless discussions about what is Street photography at the moment of the HCB contest; finally, someone, a serious photographer, makes a substantial paper on the question: first of all, thank you!
I have also a lot of respect for Chris Weeks' work and I admire it. BTW, there is no room for comparison between RFF and Deviantart as there are several fine pictures by Chrisweeks in RFF! I can remember the “Swinger” (outstanding one), or “Alone in conversation” among others ... so RFF has the finest photographers 🙂
I didn’t think Chris deserved the critics some RFF members wrote on his article, especially when it comes to the value of his pictures, but I didn't want to mix in the dispute, for once. After all, everybody has a moral right to express their opinions and it is a precious good that we don't agree on everything ... even on HCB or Eliott or Arbus!
Moreover, I don’t have the “moral” reluctance to shoot from the hip and the funny thing is that I tried to shoot from the hip after having read Chris’ article … but the result is a real shame. You can laugh at it/me … (see attached picture)

Anyway, I understand the reasons why David is reluctant to do so but I don’t understand why Chris has to be that harsh with a good person who just expressed his opinion about this particular photographic technique and who didn’t say a word against the worth of Chris’ work, let alone insult him! “little tosser”?? Come on, it’s unworthy of a great photographer. I can understand why Chris has been irritated by some statements but I can’t understand those words.
Best,
Marc

PS:

Beniliam (David) is a very thoughtful, talented and considerate photographer and young man. I suspect I will one day be buying a book of his work in the future.
But I know whose photos I'd rather have a print of 🙂 [hint: little girl running toward big bird, or couple through the window ...

I couldn’t agree more … furthermore, I cannot say which one I have on the wall of my office 🙂

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

I couldn’t agree more … furthermore, I cannot say which one I have on the wall of my office 🙂

Marc,

hehe ... is it one of the 2 that I mentioned ??? I'm envious 🙂

 

[SteveM(PA)]

Pageview me bitches!!!

My 10-year old is ALWAYS saying that to his mother and I
😀