OP, don't know if it is hated. But most of it is nothing to speak of. Kind of a "Hey...I just shot some strangers on the street." type of thing.
Personally I'd rather look at bad street work than bad family portraits, sunsets and flowers.
Street work is also the easiest to get into. Just walk outside your door. In any case if you like shooting street do it, no photo police to stop you. I love street work, just wish I was in a big city to shoot it. I'm in a town of 10K, so not much hap here.
I'd forget worrying about positive comments. Just please yourself.
Here is a little known masterpiece from Cartier-Bresson's 1952 book The Decisive Moment called 'Tehran 1950'. (I would have loved to have shot it.)
http://blogsearchtest.tumblr.com/image/110263740956
Here 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."
When I looked at the work of these critics it was nothing, absolutely nothing. This guy..."Looks pretty marginal to me. Do you want me to bow down to him?" was a really ****ty photog. Lump all 3 of these photogs together and they could not shoot their way out of a paper bag even if their camera had razor blades glued to it. Yet, they ALL know how bad Cartier-Bresson is. On another forum Bresson's pix had 300+ page views...not one comment. I guess they could not figure out how to tear it down.
It is a common phenomena on online photos forums for the critics to offer comments as if they can shoot 'it' better than everyone else.
Many critics can only talk great photography...but they can't produce great photography.
I've learned to not get my self-worth for my photography from online reviews. When it comes to street and doc work if you come home with 70% of what you were after you can still have a great success.
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.
Bottom line...all this stress can put the photog / artist in a bad mood. But if freezing time or art is in your blood, you must produce and keep producing...whether there have an outlet for one's art or not. Personally, I've learned to forget looking for approval online. Lots of cowards behind the keyboard that will try to tear you down. It can cause more harm than good.
In the few years I have been online I have received, and this is no exaggeration, about 7 positive comments that are fit for someone of my background and my photography. On the other hand I have received tons of negative and hateful comments about me and my work. If it is possible I turn off any comments option on the blogs where I post my pix.
“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
