Your thoughts and ideas.

[shaggy1969]

Hello photographers.

Would like to know your honest thoughts about our photo community.

What I would like to see is more people joining our forum.....and staying.

I would also like to see some ladies joining the group,for a long time this has been a male orientated group....why is that?

Your thoughts.......Is the forum working, yes or no.If not then what can we do to improve it?

Post your thoughts here or PM me.

Am away from the weekend visiting a sick mate in Poland,hopefully there will be some replies on my return.

Regards

Shaggy

[Robby nz]

OK Shaggy Ill have a go.

Depends what you mean by working, I suppose the definition of that is as diverse as the interests of those of us who post photos on here.

For myself it is great to be able to share some of the photos I take with some who may appreciate them, don't know about the rest of you but I'm in a fairly secluded, in a photographic sense, situation with those around me mostly interested in selfies (take my picture, take our picture) so they can put them on facebook and the like to show the world what they have done and where they have been.

While I'm not after achieving artistic perfection with my photos it does make me want to post reasonable quality and be critical of what I keep or dump.

There is also the sharing of knowledge thing that has helped me.

And of course a refreshing change from the perverse negativity and downright idiocy of many who post on other places on this site.

[sunshine51]

Shaggy...I hope your sick mate in Poland makes a full recovery.

About the Photog threads....

Perhaps most of us stick to the genre's listed on the first 2 pages as these

pretty much encompass most interests. There's more stuff to grab pix of

and for ideas members can easily search through the plethora of pages.

Granted there's repetition if one does so but maybe a spark will be struck?

And there's lots of pages to peruse before the archives start. Just a thought.

Getting some female talent on the pages....I'm all for that. How can it be

accomplished though? There was one lady a couple years ago I remember

but she's no longer around for whatever reasons. I believe she was a local

lass also...with a good eye...loved to shoot food if my memory serves me

properly...and explained the food she took pix of.

New members come when they do and are very welcome to be a part of

"the scene". However...the scene seems to be becoming kinda "dry". The

pizazz has escaped us...or has it? Familiarity breeds boredom. A competition

of sorts will not solve this as all members may not be able to compete. Example;

can't quite shoot a neat beach scene in Chiang Rai. And folks who don't live

in Chiang Rai can't quite shoot neat Chiang Rai scenes in BKK or wherever

they live can they?

Perhaps something like a "day in the life of"...your city/town/village? It can be

a continuing theme. Heaps of subjects even if one lives on a farm Shaggy!

What's it like on a day on a farm in LOS? Some days must be boring while

others may be rather interesting...say when birthing time happens? Just an

idea and one that everybody can participate in. Doesn't need to be a farm;

can be the corner store, vegie seller, market..anywhere. Which is kinda like

what we already have in the threads eh?

Lemme think some more & maybe I'll add another sip satang FWIW later.

[Goshawk]

Example;

can't quite shoot a neat beach scene in Chiang Rai.

totally doable! . . . aint been there for quite a while & have no pics, but there is a 'Chiang Rai Beach' (ok, it's on the river, but that's the name it goes by and lt is like an errrrm . . big sandy beach!)

VF?

[samuijimmy]

I more or less agree with what the others have said, I'm not sure the forum has lost it's "pizzas" as SS puts it.... perhaps a few topics... but the generally it's still got a lot to offer... I think it opens up new challenges for all of us (well perhaps some of us) to up our game!

The one thing, I wish more members, old and new, would put locations of where images where taken.... not so important on some threads, like say "bikes or cars etc" but would be nice to know in the scenery shots....Temples, Street scenes.... etc etc!...

I do and know from PM's I receive recently that some members are not so happy about a lot more just "chit chat and comments" ... Generally I do try to add an image, so it is not just scrolling down a thread to find a comment... I find that very tedious..

I think Kan Win, has tried to suggest separate threads for comments a few times now.... but it still continues.... I think a lot more now, than previously in the time I have been around here. ... three years now I think?

I agree with Goshawk, above, I don't think threads need to be tight and rigid .... a "beach" on a river or lake, is OK too!

I'll sleep on this to see if other comments come to mind !

[MJP]

Let's face it. It's time to break the taboo. It's time we came out proud and shooting.

We need a ladyboy thread.

[sunshine51]

Example;

can't quite shoot a neat beach scene in Chiang Rai.

totally doable! . . . aint been there for quite a while & have no pics, but there is a 'Chiang Rai Beach' (ok, it's on the river, but that's the name it goes by and lt is like an errrrm . . big sandy beach!)

VF?

OK...to prevent others from bringing this up again...when I mean "beach" I mean beach against the ocean!

Sand spits on a riverbank or "beaches" next to a lake are also OK!!! But "jungles" do not exist in Europe

or North America...they're called forests back in those places. Actually they're called forests out here too

however the definitve word...rain...precedes forest....aka...rainforest. There are two types also...primary

and secondary. Most folks have a walk in a secondary rainforest as the primary rainforest may be too

"thick" for easy strolls. Hey...there's an idea...how about a rainforest thread? Then again there are temperate

rainforests and tropical rainforests....but lets not confuse the issue more than I already have.

NB....GH...been on many a riverine "beach" myself too...pretty close to the real deal!

[sunshine51]

Let's face it. It's time to break the taboo. It's time we came out proud and shooting.

We need a ladyboy thread.

There was a resemblance of one ages ago....have a look through the "archives"!

[MJP]

I might have to get my wig on and my moobs out.

[Goshawk]

There are two types also...primary

and secondary. Most folks have a walk in a secondary rainforest as the primary rainforest may be too

"thick" for easy strolls.

and if you venture to the summit of Doi Inthanon (& just a handful of other peaks in the North) you'll see folks strolling around another - Cloud forest . .

(a high % of which, will be twitcher's ladened with bin's, cam's, tripods & scopes ...)

[MJP]

At some point, when we're all in the same hemisphere, we need a get together.

I haven't been posting much because I've run out of Thailand related pics. Not been in LOS now since Jan 2014 and the trouble is there ain't many ladyboys round these 'ere parts in Devon. I suppose I could put old Farmer Peatree in a wig and brazier but it's just not quite the same thing.

[MJP]

The Thailand specific thing. It needs to be expanded to cover the whole of SE Asia and perhaps beyond to give the forum some breathing room and make it a bit more inclusive. Plenty travel away from LOS at times and find inspiration that they'd love to share here. I'm not talking about my digger and dumper photos so don't worry.

I beg for a Rest of the World sub-forum too.

[Dancealot]

Yeh MJP. You have a gloomy style. I always enjoy and sometimes learn from looking at your photo's, even from Europe.

Couple of ideas...^^

-A ladyboy photographer who will post here will cover shaggy's demands..

And then I read Sunshine's speech:

OK...to prevent others from bringing this up again...when I mean "beach" I mean beach against the ocean!

Sand spits on a riverbank or "beaches" next to a lake are also OK!!! But "jungles" do not exist in Europe

or North America...they're called forests back in those places. Actually they're called forests out here too

however the definitve word...rain...precedes forest....aka...rainforest. There are two types also...primary

and secondary. Most folks have a walk in a secondary rainforest as the primary rainforest may be too

"thick" for easy strolls. Hey...there's an idea...how about a rainforest thread? Then again there are temperate

rainforests and tropical rainforests....but lets not confuse the issue more than I already have.

NB....GH...been on many a riverine "beach" myself too...pretty close to the real deal!

//[edit]//endquote

King Arthur said about the same a loong time ago...

-One of the most important things I learnt is..//aaaah, Sunshine wrote the same but in different words... The REAL story involves African swallows migrating from tropical rainforests to temperate rainforests. You see, everybody knows it stops raining twice a year in the temperate rainforest(home of the African swallow). So they fly to the tropical rainforest where there's rain enough all year around.

I let the swallow explain the details: Listen very good, he's about to migrate to the tropical rainforest. : In short it's about getting the best of both worlds.

OK...to prevent others from bringing this up again...when I mean "beach" I mean beach against the ocean!

Sand spits on a riverbank or "beaches" next to a lake are also OK!!! But "jungles" do not exist in Europe

or North America...they're called forests back in those places. Actually they're called forests out here too

however the definitve word...rain...precedes forest....aka...rainforest. There are two types also...primary

and secondary. Most folks have a walk in a secondary rainforest as the primary rainforest may be too

"thick" for easy strolls. Hey...there's an idea...how about a rainforest thread? Then again there are temperate

rainforests and tropical rainforests....but lets not confuse the issue more than I already have.

NB....GH...been on many a riverine "beach" myself too...pretty close to the real deal!

[MJP]

^^It's not gloomy, it's just the UK rarely has sunshine. The UK is hopeless for open top cars, motorbikes and photographers. The place is perma grey. Perhaps B&W is the only option.

[Goshawk]

You have a gloomy style.

i know where you got that word from . . .

edit - don't deny it . .

[Dancealot]

i know where you got that word from . . .

edit - don't deny it . .

Friendly denyial, Ok?:^^

I said it first, tweety! In fact yesterday when I compiled my gloomy pictures together. It even felt good when you called it Gloomy today after I inquired. Which meant to me my photo brought the message I intended to capture.

Fantastic. Thank you, again.

[Goshawk]

^^

if you say so . .

[Dancealot]

^^

if you say so . .

I still like you .

[Goshawk]

^ post that "Res' Evil" screenshot on one of the threads somewhere . . . cos we need more gloom! on the TVF ...

[Robby nz]

I might have to get my wig on and my moobs out.

Please spare us the photo, the thoughts bad enough.

[sunshine51]

@ GH..."Cloud Forests" can be as low as less than 200 meters ASL...depending on time of year

and location. I know this as I have operated in them in another lifetime in a neighbouring country.

It's awfully strange to see clouds form in 360 degrees around you whislt patroling in primary

rainforest...in fact...it's down right mind boggling. Better than dream time but so much more

frightening...and deathly silent.

[sunshine51]

^^It's not gloomy, it's just the UK rarely has sunshine. The UK is hopeless for open top cars, motorbikes and photographers. The place is perma grey. Perhaps B&W is the only option.

M....Gee...I know I don't get there much nowadays but I always thought y'all could do without me rather well!

I'll see if I can change that....

Note to Mod Shaggy....Not being OT here bro...just like any good brainstorming session, sometimes it's

good to stray from the subject to keep ideas floating & forming......lest we dry out....

[Dancealot]

^ post that "Res' Evil" screenshot on one of the threads somewhere . . . cos we need more gloom! on the TVF ...

Allriight.

The gloom-thread would be cool indeed. But I need some gloom support for that first.

Are there more gloomers out there? Give us a shout. And we could start glooming soon here..

[shaggy1969]

Hi everyone,am back again.Would of been back sooner but I ended up getting stranded in Frankfurt due to bad weather.

Thank you sunshine,my mate suffered a stroke leaving him paralyzed down his left side and lost the ability to talk.Slow progress is being made.

It was heart wrenching seeing a close friend in such a state but heartwarming seeing his reaction when he saw me for the first time Saturday evening.

Anyway,back to the thread.......

First of all,a big thank you to those of you that posted in this thread or sent me PM's,some valid points were made!! Also a big thank you to Robby for

being brave enough to make the first post,without which this thread might of been a bit empty.

@sunshine like your thinking mate,that's what this thread is here for,ideas to bring some life back to the forum.Am not saying it is dead,just a bit same

old,same old.Keep the ideas coming.

@MJP Am not totally sure what happened with the 'Rest of the World' sub forum,I remember it being suggested but nothing came of it.Why?

Here's an idea of mine of the top of my head.What about a 'Members' sub forum? In which every member can have his/her own thread and post in it

things that do not fit into any of the existing threads,would be a good way of sharing things that happen out side of Thailand or for sharing techniques

with other members.Am maybe getting myself into trouble with the powers that be,but none the less I think it could be a good thing....What do you folk think?

@DAL To be perfectly honest mate,you lost me a bit with swallows and King Arthur,but that photo you posted was very clear.....good stuff!!

@SJ yep,agree with the chit chat also mate,unless it is directly involved with the photos that are posted.....sunshine is a good example of that,don't know

how he manages to store so much info,but am happy that he shares it.Info with the posted photo is also welcome,not only location details,could also post

some EXIF data if it was a tricky shot.Many of us could learn from that.

@gloomyladyboys.........completely lost me there,but for gawd sake,If MJP is going to get his Man Boobs out on display,then I pray to the heavens that he

has the decency to give them a good waxing and polishing first

Anther idea of mine,kinda pinched from Kan Win's.Is to get a 'Pinned' thread started for new members,where they could maybe introduce themselves,say what

camera set up they are using and maybe even which genre is there favorite.....again,I will have to take this up with the higher ranking people.Being a Local Mod

I have pretty limited capabilities and need permission from above.

Any more idea's?

[MJP]

Love the idea of our own threads.

I should make it clear now my moobs are pert, not saggy. But hairy. If you're into that sort of thing.

[MJP]

I also think we do all need a get together and go on a mission somewhere. I'm bored out of my face in Blighty and any excuse to jump on a plane is welcome.

[sunshine51]

@ Shaggy....how do I keep the information? I have been keeping a daily

journal since 1970. Everything I do in a day goes into it. Some days there's

lots to write, other days there's very little. I lost the journals from 1970 through

1973 due to a government move, however I have all the rest since. The idea

to write a journal came from my father who kept a daily log beginning when he

flew with Chenaults Flying Tigers pre US involvement in WWII when dad was

in China. His last entry was 25 August 1976, 3 days before he died. I have my

fathers journals & mine (originals) in safe, dehumidified storage here in

Southeast Asia, with digital copies on a pretty good removable drive (WD

brand for all's info) which is indexed for easy reference. I still hand scribe

the dailies into a standard hard bound paperback sized notebook today.

I find it a good habit....

[Phra Ek]

I think the most active parts of the Photography forum are the sections for photos on a specific subject - cars, bikes, faces .... toilets! - and these threads are fun and good to look through as there's some great shots ..... but it's more like a social game than a photography forum. "Hey look at this family on a bike/look I've spotted a Michelin man etc.".

But photo technique or style is not generally discussed in the "fun" threads.

By contrast the more serious "Evaluate" and "Equipment" thread gets few posters.

We asked for a general thread to discuss photography but this didn't happen.

So how about a "technique" thread where we can post photos together with the technical details and say something about what we wanted to achieve?

Or a thread to post your "photo of the week" .... again with details of setting, camera, lens, lighting etc.

We can then all learn from what other's are doing.

[Rob8891]

I am probably going to ruffle more than a few feathers with this post, but it is not aimed at anyone in particular, I am making general observations and expressing my honest opinion. If you are of a nervous disposition, or have an egg-shell ego, you'd better not read any further!!

I left the forum intending to take a short break when I was fed up with some nonsense here....now, I am not so sure it will be a short break. I have to admit, I miss some of the content and various interaction, but to me, the whole forum lost its pazzaz and became very stale. I'll try to elaborate and then try to make some positive contributions. If you intend to read on, 1) remember the health warning above, and 2) get comfy, cos this will probably be a long Rob rant.... You have been warned...

What do I perceive as being wrong with the forum?

• INANE COMMENTS: Some posters continually post seemingly irrelevant and nonsensical comments between photos: often, these comments make no sense whatsoever - (probably not even to the poster him/herself). It is a big turn-off having to wade through that crap. KanWin tried to get people to agree to have a chat thread or sub-forum, but folk just don't seem interested, they continue to put their messages to one another into the photo threads.
• PERSISTENT OFF-TOPIC POSTS: Some folk slap photos into any old thread without any apparent thought for relevance. Why?
• IGNORING POSTING GUIDELINES: Poor formatting destroys screen displays for most of us. It is just bad netiquette (and that's probably bad spelling).
• OFFENSIVE COMMENTS: Before I bailed, I brought this up publicly, and in a PM comments to the offenders and to the mods on using the 'report' button. There is just no need for it in a forum that has been otherwise very positive. This is totally out of order and darkened the forum. To me that was the beginning of the end of the enjoyment for me.
• SAME SAME PHOTOS: Not everyone can create first-rate stuff like some of the posters, but for the love of God, the amount of repetition in some threads is almost mind-numbing. One solution is to avoid even looking at them, (which is what I usually do), and that appears to be the only solution, but it is made almost impossible by the next point......
• FLOOD POSTING: Some posters seem to try to post into every thread every day, and generally without contributing much new, if anything at all. Quality beats quantity any time IMO, but obviously some folk would disagree - that is their right.
• THREADS ARE STALE: How much longer are people going to post the same old stale photos of *****, *****, and *****, for example, into the same old stale threads? These threads need to be locked - killed off - to encourage people to put some thought into their photography. Again Kanwin has tried to start a new thread, but it seems few people were willing to give him much support. I see Sunshine has made some reasonable suggestions in this thread...He's a good guy and deserves to be heard: I hope his suggestions come to fruition... MJP's too (except for the offer of his moobs)... **

OK...now I am sure I'm going to get blasted for some, if not all, of that. If you are offended, I'm sorry, but perhaps I hit on a nerve? That wasn't the intention, but if it generates discussion, that's no bad thing. I have not taken a swipe at anyone: if you feel hurt, maybe you recognise you're guilty!

What do I see as ways forward: (in my opinion, that is!)

• This forum has a huge reserve of talent, skill enthusiasm and experience, but it is shackled (IMO) by stale and technically & artistically limiting threads that don't encourage people to let their talents expand and don't let us learn from each other. Take one example...the Umbrella thread (my thread so I'm safe here!). There is no scope really to get people to be imaginative or to use great skill. It's a filler...a bit of fluff to have my name on the start of a thread....I guess we could substitute any other single-word threads here too....*****, *****, *****, *****, ...the list goes on. Go and look at just page one of the list of threads to see what I mean.
• An "Ignore Thread" button. Can we have such a facility whereby we can hide threads that really have no appeal whatsoever, so that we can enjoy the rest?
• We need some short-life threads where people have to go out and try to get the shots. One example could be "Songkran 2015" (a lousy example but it should illustrate what I am getting at). It can't run for long, won't get stale and then people can move on to another topic without getting bored. It allows for some dynamic situations where human photography - traditional street stuff, if you like - is encouraged.
• Another idea on the short-term thread would be to have a topic of the month, (chosen by a mod )
• Take stupid comments out of the photography threads. Use a chat thread or sub-forum...get a room, whatever! Get inane comments out of the photo threads once and for all and leave then free for photos and relevant photographic questions/comments
• Explore the possibilities of the sub-forums suggestion, then, if someone wants to post inane comments, or floods of certain photos, they are free to do so: those who want to see that can, and those that don't won't. A great solution, MJP, except how many sub-forums can we expect of TVF...and think of the modding implications! (Shaggy writes his resignation in anticipation....)
• Respect for forum posting guidelines....etiquette and formatting. This only really applies to a very few people, but their impact is disproportionately negative.
• Everyone should start thinking of new topics Ideally short-term) to revitalise the forum...topics where technique is used much more: topics that demand us to think and experiment, or at the very least tax our skills so that we improve. There are some incredible photographers amongst us, and personally, I'd like to see more of their best work. DAL for one, Goompa, Shaggy and MJP are just the ones who spring to mind,The first three have really blossomed in this forum - - and MJP, well.... I'm just in awe. We can learn from these guys, inter alia, but we need inspiring material or direction. Apologies to other top-flight folks for not highlighting you too.
• The idea of a TVF Toggers Together meeting has scope and is to be applauded, but I wonder how many folk would be excluded because of being out of country? It is well worth exploring nevertheless...maybe it could lead to an exhibition of members' shots at the time?
• I suggest that we have new sub-forums for each of the countries of SE Asia. This would allow us to show what we have seen elsewhere and to learn about other areas we have yet to see...encouraging travel, or at the least to see certain sights when we get the opportunity to travel. Educate each other!
• That reminds me of Harrry's request a long time ago, which I echoed in posts several times...and which someone mentioned in this thread. Put locations on photos of interesting places (not where you saw a tuktuk, etc, but where landscapes, special townscapes, festivals, etc are).
• Technical info on tricky photos...YES PLEASE! We can really learn from that, and that is the essence of the togging forum, surely.

That's all I can think of to try to make positive suggestions... maybe more will come later.

If I have managed to offend anyone (anonymously!!), feel free PM me.

Finally, good luck with the forum! I hope it goes from strength to strength.

** MJP... Details of my Dropbox to follow in PM....you can drop your undermoob shots there anytime

[Goompa]

WOW !

Kind of sums it up in one word really !

" Improve "

Well that's not really the word but I wish I had written that post , welcome back Rob 8891 , I missed you

Undermoobs are illegal in Thailand now , refer new Government Regulations