# Surprise reactions to posts



## otherprof (Aug 22, 2016)

I'm wondering how many others have been perplexed by the reaction or lack of reaction to photos posted here. Sometimes I post an image I'm really pleased with, and it gets no reaction at all, nada, zip, zilch. Not negative response; no response.  Sometimes something I wanted to share because I thought it was a little interesting will draw strong reactions - positive and/or negative. I've noticed that some posts by others that draw lots of likes seem quite ordinary to me, and some that get no attention seem to me to deserve some praise. Of course there are differences in taste, but sometimes I'm just baffled. When it comes to the consistent and deserved praise of some posters - a portrait by Tirediron, and bird shot by Zombisniper, e.g.  I'm in there praising and "liking" too. It's easy for me to see how great they are.  That's why I am so surprised by how surprised I can be by the reaction  or lack of reaction to other shots posted. Just wondering if anyone else feels the same way. It's a good thing I'm not putting together a portfolio looking for work!


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## Braineack (Aug 22, 2016)

Because what's there to say?


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## astroNikon (Aug 22, 2016)

umm ...



seriously, sometimes I look at some photos and don't really have a comment.  lol


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## limr (Aug 22, 2016)

I can't speak for anyone else, but personally, I know my tendency to comment on photos waxes and wanes depending on time of day, day of the week, stuff going on in my life at the moment or in the general time frame. I try to comment when I have things to say, but if I don't have a purposeful comment, then I would rather remain silent. If a thread has been up for a while and no one is commenting, I'll try to sit with the image for a little while to find out what my reaction is and make some kind of comment, but I can't do that too many times in one sitting because I burn out on it.

One thing that I know is more likely to make me comment is if there is something more specific the OP may be asking about. Even if it's just a "What is your knee-jerk reaction to this shot?" is more likely to elicit comments rather than just views, I feel.

Of course there's the usual time of day it's posted, forum traffic patterns, yadda yadda.


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## KenC (Aug 22, 2016)

I've posted a lot of images which got no comments or reaction at all.  On the other hand, I don't find the time to comment on a lot of what I see on here.  In some cases, I don't feel comfortable with it because the image is in a category I don't know much about, e.g., portraits, event photography, cars, etc.  I've seen others saying that they don't have enough experience to offer comments at all, which may not make sense, but some feel that way just the same.  Then there are some who never comment on anything and also people who are not on here for a couple of days at a time and don't have a chance to go back and catch up (like me).  For any particular image, the group of potential commenters is really pretty small.


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## tirediron (Aug 22, 2016)

This is a topic that comes up once or twice a year, and as many times as it's been discussed there's never been a definite answer.  My observation is that the images that get the most comments are those which are either absolutely outstanding and generally of mundane subjects such as people, birds, etc, or those that need a lot of work.  Mediocre and good often doesn't get a lot of comment because people don't have a lot to say about it.  There is also the case of images such as your recent "Chair/Stair from Fran's House'.  I've looked at this a number of times since you've posted it, and I haven't commented.  Why?  Because from the technical side it's fine; good exposure, composition, etc, but from the artistic, well...  I don't know what to say.  The image itself doesn't "grab" me so to speak, and I don't have any comments or suggestions on ways to change it. 

There are a number of people here who post images which usually non-mainstream.  Often it's clear that their images are the result of a lot of work, but get few, if any comments.


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## Rick50 (Aug 22, 2016)

Board is slow right now. Hey, it's August and people are out at the beach. I for one dislike this time of year because the weather really hampers good photography. The other aspect is that all those people from Arizona come out here to escape the heat and play in the ocean so I just stay home. In September when the kids go back to school we get out town back as the Zonies leave.
So fun times are just around the corner, temps will drop and I can get my camera back out. Yahoo!!!!!


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## KmH (Aug 22, 2016)

Yep, TPF slows down noticeably in the summer months and peaks in the winter months.

When I lived in Coronado, photographing the 'Zonies' in the summer helped pay the bridge tolls, the mortgage, and keep food on the table.


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## table1349 (Aug 22, 2016)

Everybody and their mother is a photographer these days.  I have neither the time nor the inclination to look at a million shots one at a time.  It is estimated that 1.8 billon photos are taken daily.  Seriously who had the time or really cares???


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## jcdeboever (Aug 22, 2016)

I try to like or comment on a lot of your photo's because you are uniquely different in style from most on here. I post things that never get comments and I just chalk it up to they suck but if I like them, that's all that really matters. Usually, it's the ones I am hesitant on posting. I'm sure I miss some but that has more to do with my travel (tapatalk limitations).  

Keep in mind, there are a lot of experienced photographers and artists that frequent here. *IMO* as an example to frequent posters; traveler comments on a lot of street and travel photography, tirediron comments on just about all things but is concise on portraits and great sense of humor, Gary A comments on a wide variety from technical view (lots of B & W) but hangs out in the coffee shop and very witty, limr comments on a lot of film posts and hangs in the coffee shop and extremely creative, bulldurum comment on people he truly wants to help or see's potential in, robbins is just a funny ass apeboy (gryphonslair is his clone clown), zombie family always take the time for a quick comment on nature stuff, and astro comments on wide variety but concise on astrology and flying machines. 

So you see the pattern here? Nothing personal, just that people are into what their into. Most of yours are unique, which IMO is a good thing.


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## astroNikon (Aug 22, 2016)

jcdeboever said:


> ...  and astro comments on wide variety but concise on astrology and flying machines.


Astrology ... yeah I do Tarot Card readings and Horoscopes !!
let me read the death lines on your palm ...
LMAO


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## jcdeboever (Aug 22, 2016)

astroNikon said:


> jcdeboever said:
> 
> 
> > ...  and astro comments on wide variety but concise on astrology and flying machines.
> ...


Oops astronomy


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## astroNikon (Aug 22, 2016)

jcdeboever said:


> astroNikon said:
> 
> 
> > jcdeboever said:
> ...


Crash and Burn ...


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## vintagesnaps (Aug 22, 2016)

JC is doomed, stay away from him!

I agree with Leo it depends on any given day what's going on. I tend to look at Active Topics where posts can drop way down fairly quickly. I've seen a topic there from earlier that I never saw first time around. I haven't seen the photo of yours John was talking about - now I gotta go find that! lol And sometimes I intend to come back and comment and then don't get back to it or later can't find what I'd been reading earlier.

I guess you can keep bumping yourself.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 22, 2016)

vintagesnaps said:


> JC is doomed, stay away from him!
> 
> I agree with Leo it depends on any given day what's going on. I tend to look at Active Topics where posts can drop way down fairly quickly. I've seen a topic there from earlier that I never saw first time around. I haven't seen the photo of yours John was talking about - now I gotta go find that! lol And sometimes I intend to come back and comment and then don't get back to it or later can't find what I'd been reading earlier.
> 
> I guess you can keep bumping yourself.



Doomed? ....


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## vintagesnaps (Aug 22, 2016)

I thought AstroNikon put a hex on you, or something... nm lol It's been that kind of a Monday.


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## astroNikon (Aug 22, 2016)

vintagesnaps said:


> I thought AstroNikon put a hex on you, or something... nm lol It's been that kind of a Monday.


lol
no .... he knows where I live and he's bigger than me.  Though I'm sure I could out run him and shoot rockets at him   lol


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## table1349 (Aug 22, 2016)

jcdeboever said:


> vintagesnaps said:
> 
> 
> > JC is doomed, stay away from him!
> ...


Yep them astrologers can give you the evil eye you know.


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## otherprof (Aug 22, 2016)

astroNikon said:


> vintagesnaps said:
> 
> 
> > I thought AstroNikon put a hex on you, or something... nm lol It's been that kind of a Monday.
> ...


Thanks to everyone who responded, so many of whom were trying to soothe what they saw as a bruised ego. That wasn't the case, but it showed what a nice bunch of people hang out here.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 22, 2016)

otherprof said:


> astroNikon said:
> 
> 
> > vintagesnaps said:
> ...


Lol, you never had a two pager until now... 

Seriously, a good question.  I wondered that when I first got on here, then I got to know the most motley of the crew and now I'm doomed...


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## astroNikon (Aug 22, 2016)

I respond to some ppl via PM too.
Since I'm not a Pro sometimes my perspective is skewed a bit and I tend to favor what the general population likes vs true "photographers".


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## vintagesnaps (Aug 22, 2016)

Seemed like a sincere question to me. But you gotta wonder sometimes. I still haven't found the photo that was mentioned, the ferret distracted me.


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## SquarePeg (Aug 22, 2016)

I usually look through Active Topics then move over to the specific Galleries.  If someone asks for c&c or asks for feedback on something specific and I have an opinion or something relevant to offer, I'll comment.  If the OP doesn't ask for c&c I will usually only comment if I have something positive to say or have a question.   When I do comment, being an amateur, I can only comment on what I like or don't like about a shot.  I don't really feel qualified to offer the kind of in depth comments that some people can about studio lighting, composition rules, posing, post processing etc.

I do agree with you OP that I am sometimes surprised at the praise for certain shots and am left to wonder whether it's the poster who attracts the positive response and not so much the content of the post itself...not that there's anything wrong with that!  If someone is a steady contributor to the site offering feedback to others and helpful advice, then their threads deserves attention, IMO.  It's a trade off.  If someone pops in once in a while and posts something for feedback but never makes any contributions to other's threads then they'll probably get fewer responses.   

In most cases, when something that I find ho-hum is getting a lot of praise, I chalk it up to beauty being in the eye of the beholder and my lack of time and experience with this hobby. 

I also agree with those who commented on the time of day making a difference.  I tend to post photos later in the evening and on weekends so sometimes they just drop to the bottom of the Active Topics page with no comments by the next day, especially in certain galleries.  Then someone will come along and comment and suddenly there are multiple responses.  Maybe bump your thread if you feel like it didn't get enough views.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 22, 2016)

SquarePeg said:


> I usually look through Active Topics then move over to the specific Galleries.  If someone asks for c&c or asks for feedback on something specific and I have an opinion or something relevant to offer, I'll comment.  If the OP doesn't ask for c&c I will usually only comment if I have something positive to say or have a question.   When I do comment, being an amateur, I can only comment on what I like or don't like about a shot.  I don't really feel qualified to offer the kind of in depth comments that some people can about studio lighting, composition rules, posing, post processing etc.
> 
> I do agree with you OP that I am sometimes surprised at the praise for certain shots and am left to wonder whether it's the poster who attracts the positive response and not so much the content of the post itself...not that there's anything wrong with that!  If someone is a steady contributor to the site offering feedback to others and helpful advice, then their threads deserves attention, IMO.  It's a trade off.  If someone pops in once in a while and posts something for feedback but never makes any contributions to other's threads then they'll probably get fewer responses.
> 
> ...


Interesting thought, % of comments to views statistic...


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## zombiesniper (Aug 22, 2016)

As has been stated before. I usually look at active topics and sometimes depending on when a thread was posted vs how active people are can determine how fast that thread goes to page two. I've had threads that made it to page two within 10 minutes. Once this happens I rarely expect to see a comment on or many views.

Sometimes the title of a post is all it takes to get people to look and then sometimes it's who posted that will get my attentions. There are many variables that may or may not get a thread views/comments.

If a thread gets my attention and I view it I almost always post something. Either a compliment/question or maybe (if my limited knowledge can help) a suggestion to improve.

P.S.


otherprof said:


> When it comes to the consistent and deserved praise of some posters - a portrait by Tirediron, and bird shot by Zombisniper, e.g.



Wow. Thank you.


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## SquarePeg (Aug 22, 2016)

jcdeboever said:


> Interesting thought, % of comments to views statistic...



Well you are the "Top Poster of the Month", lol.  Do you feel like your threads get adequate attention?


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## The_Traveler (Aug 22, 2016)

If you look at posts that get good response all the time, they are inevitably posts that have a _question embedded. _
Too often, I look at photos and they are just sort of middle of the road and nothing really interesting or useful occurs to me to say.
Ask a question about the photo, give people a way into the discussion.


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## otherprof (Aug 22, 2016)

otherprof said:


> I'm wondering how many others have been perplexed by the reaction or lack of reaction to photos posted here. Sometimes I post an image I'm really pleased with, and it gets no reaction at all, nada, zip, zilch. Not negative response; no response.  Sometimes something I wanted to share because I thought it was a little interesting will draw strong reactions - positive and/or negative. I've noticed that some posts by others that draw lots of likes seem quite ordinary to me, and some that get no attention seem to me to deserve some praise. Of course there are differences in taste, but sometimes I'm just baffled. When it comes to the consistent and deserved praise of some posters - a portrait by Tirediron, and bird shot by Zombisniper, e.g.  I'm in there praising and "liking" too. It's easy for me to see how great they are.  That's why I am so surprised by how surprised I can be by the reaction  or lack of reaction to other shots posted. Just wondering if anyone else feels the same way. It's a good thing I'm not putting together a portfolio looking for work!


Thanks to everyone who took the time and thought to comment on the Chair/Stair photo. I got some valuable advice and perceptive comments about my style or technique. I frequently do treat subjects as if I were doing street photography even when it is not street photography., e.g. But almost no one responded to my question, above, which was not a request for anyone to look at one of my photos. Maybe almost no one else has been puzzled by the interest shown in some particular shots - not mine - and the lack of interest in others. If there were a "psychology of photography" section, I would have posted it there. 
And so to bed . . . for me and the thread I think.


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## limr (Aug 23, 2016)

otherprof said:


> otherprof said:
> 
> 
> > I'm wondering how many others have been perplexed by the reaction or lack of reaction to photos posted here. Sometimes I post an image I'm really pleased with, and it gets no reaction at all, nada, zip, zilch. Not negative response; no response.  Sometimes something I wanted to share because I thought it was a little interesting will draw strong reactions - positive and/or negative. I've noticed that some posts by others that draw lots of likes seem quite ordinary to me, and some that get no attention seem to me to deserve some praise. Of course there are differences in taste, but sometimes I'm just baffled. When it comes to the consistent and deserved praise of some posters - a portrait by Tirediron, and bird shot by Zombisniper, e.g.  I'm in there praising and "liking" too. It's easy for me to see how great they are.  That's why I am so surprised by how surprised I can be by the reaction  or lack of reaction to other shots posted. Just wondering if anyone else feels the same way. It's a good thing I'm not putting together a portfolio looking for work!
> ...



Okay, there is some confusion here. I see a number of posters, including me, who responded to this thread and then went over to your photo thread to comment. But you say almost no one responded to the question in *this *thread.

What question are you talking about? The question about whether or not anyone is confused by the reactions or lack of reactions? I suppose in a technical sense, it's true that almost no one said, "Yes, it confuses me," or "No, it doesn't perplex me." But there are 2 pages of responses giving more detailed explanation of why this might be happening. Is this still not answering your question in spirit if not letter? What kinds of responses are you looking for?

Yes, I have noticed that some threads get a lot of attention and others don't. It doesn't confuse or surprise me at all. It's simply the nature of group interaction, especially in a virtual environment.


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## The_Traveler (Aug 23, 2016)

otherprof said:


> I'm wondering how many others have been perplexed by the reaction or lack of reaction to photos posted here. Sometimes I post an image I'm really pleased with, and it gets no reaction at all, nada, zip, zilch. Not negative response; no response.  Sometimes something I wanted to share because I thought it was a little interesting will draw strong reactions - positive and/or negative.





otherprof said:


> I got some valuable advice and perceptive comments about my style or technique. I frequently do treat subjects as if I were doing street photography even when it is not street photography., e.g. But almost no one responded to my question, above, which was not a request for anyone to look at one of my photos. Maybe almost no one else has been puzzled by the interest shown in some particular shots - not mine - and the lack of interest in others. If there were a "psychology of photography" section, I would have posted it there.
> And so to bed . . . for me and the thread I think.



Because your screen name sounded familiar I went back and looked at your last dozen or so shots.

A lot of your pictures seem as if you don't have any really clear idea of what is the real center of interest, you just click away and that's it.  

It seems that as long as you get the thing you're interested in in the frame, that'e enough. That's usually not enough.

Big Bus
Another Rainy Night in New York
You Call Those Rats? Why in New York . . .
You Call That Pizza? Why in New York . . .
Only the Stong Survive/99 Cent Store
Almost Hear it Purring/ Maserati Engine
Tulip/Abstract
Art and Craft

In general you post very small shots - and that makes it almost impossible to actually see detail. In situations where there isn't really much to say about the content, having a small picture means that technical comments aren't possible either.

Often what helps pictures succeed is some attention to detail and some willingness to correct 'mistakes' or aberrations. 
You seem never to respond to any comment with a willingness to go further and perfect the image.  Several times people have said that images are too small to make any real comment on and that message goes without response. 
It  seems like most of the time, just clicking and throwing a picture up is as far as you're willing to go.

For my sake, if it seems you feel like that, there's no reason for me to comment because it has no effect.


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## otherprof (Aug 23, 2016)

The_Traveler said:


> otherprof said:
> 
> 
> > I'm wondering how many others have been perplexed by the reaction or lack of reaction to photos posted here. Sometimes I post an image I'm really pleased with, and it gets no reaction at all, nada, zip, zilch. Not negative response; no response.  Sometimes something I wanted to share because I thought it was a little interesting will draw strong reactions - positive and/or negative.
> ...


After getting a few comments about the files being too small, I started posting larger ones, which I thought was the appropriate response.  I'm sorry you didn't notice the change. My intention was never to annoy you by posting files too small for your examination. A few times in the past I received the message that the file was too large to post. That's why I switched to small files. I guess I chose too small a size, but I wanted to be sure they would post.
When you commented that a street shot was tilted to no purpose, I thought about it, tried it the way you suggested, posted it that way and acknowledged in the post you were right. I don't see that as being unwilling to go further or improve an image. For me, the Maserati engine photo was about the exquisite complication of the whole. You didn't see it that way. 
You Call Those Rats just showed an odd aspect of New York. I thought keeping the rat as just another feature of the street scene added humor.  You Call That Pizza . . . was, I thought, a funny response  to another poster's humorous response to the first rat post. I don't think the center of interest is hard to find.
I'm pretty sure there is no need for a thread devoted to "Otherprof" and I certainly never wanted to start one.  If you have any thoughts about the general question I asked, I'd be interested in reading them. Otherwise let's go back posting photos and looking at them, commenting on them or ignoring them, and keeping the photographs, not the photographers, the point of interest.


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## The_Traveler (Aug 23, 2016)

There are two possible reasons you got a message that the picture was too large. The actual dimension in pixels was so large that the file size was in megapixels *or*
the dimensions in pixels was down around 1200 x 800 but the 'quality' was so high that the fielsize in bytes was too great.

If you keep the aspect ratio to max 1100 x 900 and the compression to 50% then the eventual filesize is realitvely small.
There is no need for a quality (1/compression) more than 50%, it just isn't visible on screens.

70 KB




 

394 kb


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## The_Traveler (Aug 23, 2016)

otherprof said:


> You Call Those Rats just showed an odd aspect of New York. I thought keeping the rat as just another feature of the street scene added humor.  You Call That Pizza . . . was, I thought, a funny response  to another poster's humorous response to the first rat post.* I don't think the center of interest is hard to find.*



If you are expecting people to look for a center of interest, your pictures will fall flat because not every picture will have a big inflatable rat to attract people's eyes.  The entire idea of street photography is for you to see something of interest and present in such a way that people aren't wandering around. Frame, expose and edit around the center of interest.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 23, 2016)

The_Traveler said:


> otherprof said:
> 
> 
> > You Call Those Rats just showed an odd aspect of New York. I thought keeping the rat as just another feature of the street scene added humor.  You Call That Pizza . . . was, I thought, a funny response  to another poster's humorous response to the first rat post.* I don't think the center of interest is hard to find.*
> ...


Horse is dead Lew...


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## pixmedic (Aug 23, 2016)




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## otherprof (Aug 23, 2016)

The_Traveler said:


> There are two possible reasons you got a message that the picture was too large. The actual dimension in pixels was so large that the file size was in megapixels *or*
> the dimensions in pixels was down around 1200 x 800 but the 'quality' was so high that the fielsize in bytes was too great.
> 
> If you keep the aspect ratio to max 1100 x 900 and the compression to 50% then the eventual filesize is realitvely small.
> ...


Thanks for the info.


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## TheLibrarian (Aug 27, 2016)

It's easier to tell people whats wrong than to say that's an ok acceptable photo with no mistakes and maybe nothing unique either. It may even be nice but its a tree and a sunset. What is there to say about it.


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## Dean_Gretsch (Aug 31, 2016)

I just chalk the silence up to people being nice and *not* saying anything bad. I try and look at different topics but my main interest is wildlife and outdoor shots. Unless the photos are really inspiring in the topics I am not as interested in, I usually don't comment because I just don't feel I am qualified to give advice or praise.


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