Comments on: Top 5 current Flickr inspirations (and a bit of Flickr criticism)

By: Miss Aniela

Miss Aniela — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:40:55 +0000

@ Helen
Which comment?

By: Ilina S.

Ilina S. — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:38:05 +0000

Hi Natalie, thanks so much for the mention… considering that your photostream is like my #1 destination on Flickr… it is only natural that I am extremely flattered and honored to learn that my stream is in your top 5 inspirations!
By the way, I am extremely excited about your growing successes… Keep it up!! xx

By: Helen

Helen — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:47:12 +0000

Hi Miss Aniela.

I was just wondering what you meant concerning depression. I don’t want to interpret this comment in the wrong way.

By: luis domenech

luis domenech — Mon, 05 May 2008 02:48:08 +0000

Montevideo, 4 de Mayo de 2008.-
Me gusta que tenga inquietudes, positiva hacia la vida, como yo, dibujo y pinto para darle gracias a la vida, que no todos lo hacen.-
Veo que es muy bella, y muy joven.-
Pero utilizar esas virtudes para hacer arte, me incomoda.-
Todas las chicas bellas y jovenes harian lo mismo, usarian su bella imagen como exposicion.-
Como el que vomita, y hace arte con sus excrementos estomacales, no se si recordaran al celebre Ripley, aunque Ud. no lo crea.-
Pero no quiero ser tan extremista y morboso.-
Me gustaria que tuviera un arte expositivo, mas normal,para ella: paisajes coloridos,fotos o dibujos,flores de hermosos colores, temas dulces y romanticos, retratos con claroscuro y esfumado.-
De todas maneras, le deseo, mucha suerte,eso si me gustaria que la gente o los chicos que van a verla no la miren con plaser,¨SINO CON ARTE¨.-
Es muy bella,y joven, todavia.-
Mis saludos, artisticos.-

By: Harald Benz

Harald Benz — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:20:16 +0000

Indeed, on Flickr superlatives are like currency. The more one throws around with them, the more they lose in value

Don’t forget, though, he over use, particular in a non deserving case, does always reflect on the giver’s taste, too. But then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it.

By: Miss Aniela

Miss Aniela — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:24:06 +0000

I completely agree with you. I have always thought “who am I (and anybody else for that matter) to know how this person reacts to my or any other’s comments?” I was quite shocked when I heard a Flickr person once complain of getting comments like ‘beautiful’, because I felt the same reasoning as you - “when a photo inspires me to say something I use words like ‘beautiful’ instead of a full blown analysis. If somebody wants more from me, he or she has to ask me for it”. My comments on people’s work are sometimes very brief and in note-form.

What stirred me to write this post is not a criticism of everyone who uses the single word ‘beautiful’ in their comments. Not at all. What I felt is a boredom at certain people’s use of that word which I see flung round the whole of Flickr - I can think of one commenter in particular who does this, and it is given to a range of high and low quality photography. Maybe this is a good thing. I just got nauseated at it and it made me question what that word means.

By: Harald Benz

Harald Benz — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 01:24:04 +0000

Look at it from this way.
Yes, those ‘beautiful’ comments are the easy way out for most people, most of the time who comment on Flickr.
I use them, too. Guilty as charged but only when I truly mean it. (my philosophy is simple, if I don’t have anything good to say, I rather don’t say anything)

On the other hand, I find it’s a very imposing thing to do to give honest critique to somebody I don’t even know in person.
Quite frankly, who am I (and anybody else for that matter) to know how this person reacts to my or any other’s comments?
Too much praise can be as disastrous as one bad critique can be. (You won’t believe how quickly people can get too full of themselves. Which is mostly the beginning of the end.)

For that very reason, when a photo inspires me to say something I use words like ‘beautiful’ instead of a full blown analysis. If somebody wants more from me, he or she has to ask me for it (ask Quizz ;).

Last but not, i agree with you on the copying thing. It is truly annoying.
Again, look at it from this way. When it comes to art, design or photography getting copied is the nicest form of flattery. Somebody must have thought your work is truly beautiful.

By: Miss Aniela

Miss Aniela — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:30:33 +0000

I didn’t find your comment offensive at all. I thought it said interesting things, and not in an arrogant or forceful way that you seemed to want to apologise for.

As for the ‘beautiful’ comments, I don’t mind someone looking at my work and really feeling that response. But what happens on Flickr is that people seem to continually give these words and it seems like they don’t even mean what they say, they just repeat it from pic to pic, stream to stream, and when they might invite the pic into an irrelevant group which suggests they haven’t even looked at the pic properly. Even worse, on pics that aren’t very good technically, but just depict a beautiful object, some people feel a need to remark on the general beauty of that object as it stands in the world, e.g. a badly composed sunset. There is a lack of critique on photography as an art, which may just be too high an expection of Flickr… so, i suppose my comment in that respect was triggered by a response to general Flickr usage, not just about viewers on my stream.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:17:14 +0000

I’m might upset you with what I have to say, because it’s not going to be pleasant.
I think you might be a bit too attached to your work. The true artwork, in my humble opinion, is just a side effect of expression of someone’s talent. What matters to you the most, those pictures you post on Flickr, or the energy, the inspiration, the process of creation? Nobody can plagiarize you talent. Why be concerned with people copying your work and getting praised for it? Be grateful that you have an ability to make someone want to create something beautiful, even if it is just to make an exact copy. You inspired someone to do something, and hopefully they will outgrow it and find a path of their own.

What do comments like “so beautiful !” mean? Well, they could mean a person is not an artist, or an art critic, not an experienced photographer with a head full of trade terms is looking at your work and thinks “This is so beautiful”. And they want to share that feeling with you. And even if they are just looking at your naked body and admire “ass and tits”, that too is a form of appreciation. Majority of people on Flickr might fall into this category.
Everyone can only see in art a reflection of what they already have inside, and who are you to tell what it is that someone has inside?

I guess that’s all I had to say, I’m sorry if I offended you in any way.

By: Arty Smokes

Arty Smokes — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:34:15 +0000

Daniel might like to read the comments in Miss Aniela’s “Debates” set on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndybisz/sets/72157600463820342/
I had feelings somewhat similar to his when I first saw some of Natalie’s portraits and it was only through dialogue with the artist that I learned to understand her viewpoint regarding the assertion/submission issue and the vexing problem that “sex sells”. We certainly didn’t agree on everything, but I think Natalie has more than adequately posted her opinions in various places, to the point where I think it would be tiresome to do so again.