[Leica] I wish the LUG was a harsher place. (Long Ramble)

[neilbeddoe at googlemail.com (Neil Beddoe)]

I bought an M9 recently and a few lenses,  revived my dormant  
photography habit and started posting to the LUG again.  In that short  
time I think my photography has improved and its all down to people  
being honest with me.

The most important thing I've learned since getting the M9 is what  
kind of photographer I want to be.  I don't do beautiful landscapes  
because I haven't got the patience or inclination to get up at 4 in  
the morning for the right light or spend hours in photoshop honing a  
print and I also know that I'd still be pretty bad at it because  
frankly I find most landscape photography boring. I'd rather just go  
there on my bike and look at the scenery.  I'll never be a  
photojournalist because I think to do it justice you need to immerse  
yourself in your subject and make sure that your pictures tell the  
whole story you wanted to tell.  I have a young family and a full time  
job and this means that my pictures are limited to my children (and I  
don't post those anywhere) and the things I see in London in my 30-40  
minute walks two or three times a week and on my cycle ride to the  
railway station.  The pictures I try to take now show what I see in  
such short time periods.

This group is a great place to force you into some self-reflection.  
For example some pictures I took of a climate camp in Trafalgar Square  
were failures because I didn't have the time to spend building the  
story and the subject demanded nothing less.   This was pointed out to  
me pretty quickly.  A few years ago Ted laid into a picture I took of  
a street singer in New York because it said nothing and he was  
absolutely right, it was a duff picture.  The upshot of all this is  
that I'm pretty certain now when I take a picture about what I'm  
trying to say or show and am much more severe with myself when I'm  
editing if the picture doesn't match the idea.  This makes it much  
easier to explain what I saw in a picture if I think its a keeper.

I've learned a lot from the negative criticism my pictures receive and  
almost nothing from the praise (although I've got an ego like everyone  
else and all praise is welcome).  I think the LUG can be a bit too  
gentle on posters some times, perhaps with the idea that any  
photographic effort should be encouraged.  I'd love to see much more  
questioning of posters about why they think their picture works and  
much more honesty if stuff is just no good.  I've noticed that bad  
photographs tend to get ignored rather than actively criticised while  
good ones get loads of responses. This is a shame, really good  
pictures aren't the ones that need criticism although I can understand  
that this is quite a friendly place and we want to be nice to each  
other.

Anyway, thanks to anyone who's said they liked my pictures and many  
many thanks to people who said they didn't.

Neil