Quality

I feel that I am about to stir things up a bit.

I first came to this site to research places to visit . I found that often I came across somewhere of interest but there were only one or two shots of interest disappointingly.  I see nothing wrong with posting a variety of shots of a place or area provided they of a reasonable quality. Quality over quantity? What is wrong with a quantity of quality?

I agree that there are some pretty poor images on the site but it  occurred to me that part of the problem is down to commenting. We are very good it seems at making comments on good shots and giving 5 stars away like sweets. More constructive comments may well improve things. If it is out of focus, wrongly exposed, poorly composed then we should make a comment. It doesn't have to be unpleasant but should be constructive. If you like one of my shots I am pleased; if you think something is wrong I am happy to know and would take any criticism on board.

As regards the cap on non Premier members:  It does not appear to be functioning and I did make Poe aware of this. I am all for this cap but for  a different reason to others in this forum. I know there is a problem with funding of the site and offering an inducement to make a donation will certainly help in maintaining the site. I see no reason to cap solely to reduce the number of submissions.

Rod you will be pleased that at least I've read your Posting.

Some very good points made Paul, and yes, it’s good to see some response, as I do think that more views and comments exchanged are a sign that some interest exists. Lively debate is healthy.

There are some who almost dump their pictures here, a little akin to just showing all the pictures taken at a location, rather than giving the potential viewer some respect, and leaving out pictures that are not exposed correctly or in focus. I truly find it incredible that anyone cannot see if a picture is out of focus, or taken at an unintended angle. I've seen some pictures here that seem to defy gravity! Maybe we should post polite comments pointing out blurred or very poorly composed shots. It might make the photographer take a second look at the offending images. 

Perhaps I am too critical, both of my own efforts and of others. Nowadays there seem to be very few interesting images on PoE. There is really no point in uploading 10 or 20 dreary flat-looking pictures of the same location. Technical accuracy is a good start, but it takes more than this to inspire.

The point about making comments which are intended as constructive criticism brings me back to my original point on a related thread Relevance of Picture Comments . Comments are only likely to be of value to the owner of the image if the comment is posted in a contemporary time frame. Making comments on images which were posted 5 or 10 years ago are unlikely to be seen by the image owner, who has either moved on  or is deceased.

I think the most useful rule of composition is the 'Rule of Thirds'. This was well known to the old Masters and using it as a basis for composition generally guarantees a pleasing image. Like any rule, it can be broken but if in doubt, it is a safe option to use. 

Rule of Thirds (Wikipedia)