Should we just take 'pretty' pics of England ?

Seeing some of the pics uploaded to PoE, I think we (and I am including myself here) have sometimes lost sight of PoE's banner headline, 'Exploring the most Picturesque & Historic parts of England'  .

I interpret 'Picturesque' as meaning pretty and pleasant in a picture post-card way. I guess this is the idealistic view of the UK we would like to present to visitors.  

I interpret 'Historic' as wider ranging, and might legitimately include industrial shots of buildings and machinery as well as ancient buildings. These are the shots which might not be conventionally 'pretty', but are still of interest.

Perhaps a more rigourous adherence to the banner headline of PoE would clarify the selection criteria.  

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As far as I know that is still the intention Dave.

And Edward you may or may not be right in your assessment of POE but please also remember it is the wide choice of pictures submitted by the members, that has made POE so successful. I can assure you we haven't lost sight of the banner headline, more a case of trying to be fair to everybody, giving the amateur a place of recognition without fear of being blasted by the professionals, who clearly do think themselves above their station on some sites.

The only thing that POE needs is a  good dose of........money! Yes, more member donations would get the work done more quickly, and we wouldn't be having this conversation. That said, it has been an interesting thread, it has made people want to contribute with their opinions and that in itself is adding to the popularity of POE in the search engines.

Keep up the good work members, and thank you!

Ron, I'm sorry if my post might have seemed critical of your difficult task as arbiter of what gets put on the site. I was not thinking so much of the photographer's abilities, but rather the choice of subject matter. As has been discussed at length in this thread, there are many diverse views of what is suitable. That was the point of my posting the thread in the first place.

I have plenty of pics of the less attractive parts of Reading, for example, which might be of interest to a graffiti artist or student of Soviet-style architecture, but I don't think they would present an attractive scene to a potential visitor to the town. Generally I try to avoid submitting this type of pic. Surely the point of PoE is to attract visitors ? 

to Ken, I can understand your reluctance to take photos of some parts of Reading. It is not a totally pretty town, but does have some good views if you look for them. This is probably true of most towns. I take all sorts of pics for my own interest, not just the conventionally 'pretty' ones. You never know when that view might be of interest in the future. I regret not taking more 'unpretty' pics in the past, when the old buildings have gone and been replaced by something newer.      

No problem Edward. I didn't see your post as being critical of what we do, not that it would matter if you were because at the end of the day you are entitled to your own opinion and provided it wasn't personal or abusive then thats what keeps the forum going. I say keep it coming and thank you for your input.

It definitely comes down each individual photographers eye and how they perceive a particular scene. Seems that Edward and Ken have both walked through the same part of Reading and come to different conclusions on what they wish to capture. Either Edward or Ken, even both, could come Hull (can't imagine why though) and walk round the city with me and likewise we would have different opinions. Having not had a picture rejected,YET!!!!!, i don't know what happens when a rejection is seemed fitting. From earlier in this excellent thread i seem to recall Ron saying he mails back to the submitter explaining why the image has been rejected. This again leads me to another train of thought, push the boundaries. Submit 'stronger', for want of a better word, images and if a rejection ensues step back a peg or two. 

As to your graffiti images Edward I take you back to me post earlier where i explained how i found this site.....by googling AMBLESIDE in an attempt to gather inspiration. So it follows that people might submit GRAFFITI to a google search. There is attractive and there is distasteful graffiti so in the first place it up to you to decide which you want to capture and submit then to our amazing Ron to accept or let you know ' no thanks'

 But once again Edward this has really been a stunning thread with plenty of constructive posts. We could do with more like it

Thanks Dave, for your kind comments about this thread....I didn't expect it to be so productive.

Your latest post is interesting and highlights two issues.....

1/ What do we like to photograph in general...? and

2/  What sort of pictures should we submit to PoE.... ?

I photograph many more types of picture than I submit to PoE. We all have different takes on photography, and what is interesting to me, might not interest others. So I'm sure you, Ken and myself would take different images if we had a walk round Hull together. Not necessarily better shots than the others, just different in content, style, composition, field of view etc. That is what makes the hobby of photography interesting and personal.

As for posting to PoE, I try to restrict myself to posting what I would regard as 'picturesque' or 'historically interesting' shots. Of course, my judgement of what constitutes a shot of this nature must be subjective.

I am rarely satisfied with my results. After all, one of the nice things about photography is that we can always do it better, and there are many fine photographers on PoE to learn from.

I am tempted by your suggestion of probing Ron's limits, but I think he has a hard enough job already, keeping everyone happy 

While it is lovely to see pretty landsacpes and seascapes. Industrial Britain is a big part of our history and heritage. Some industrial pictures that are photgraphed with some form of artisitic element would look great. A landscape from the North with the giant chimneys etc are spectacular sight. But then everyones taste are a little different.