To KiltedArab: Barcelona

[jinju]

There is more to barcelona than pretty landmarks.

[KiltedArab]

"The underlying theme of TrekEarth is learning more about the world through photography. Please keep this goal in mind when you post photos. If you can’t articulate how the photo helps others learn about the world, then it probably doesn’t belong on TrekEarth"

[jinju]

Thanx. But Ive been around TE for a while longer than you and I know what TE is all about. Thanks for the lecture though. What I will say is that theres more to learning about a place than just learning about what pretty landmarks a city has to offer.

[david]

hey rafal

be careful of sohrab style arrogance mate!!!

But Ive been around TE for a while longer than you and I know what TE is all about.

it's not knowing what TE is about, it's knowing what TE accepts. it's a standards issue, not a quality issue.

richard's point is a fair one ... TE is a combination of learning AND photography. if you criticise richard's photo for poor photography, then it's fair to expect the same criticism with shots of little educational value.

i'm not criticising the photo ... but perhaps there's a preference on TE for art and less much about information.

feet on a metro platform isn't educational ... although the photographer's note might hold the answers and didacticism that TE stands for.

but as a photo alone, i have to agree with richard ... photos of this style (which i too submit) don't always have much real value.

i don't mean to incite further arguments. but i can honestly see the need for both sides (education and art) to come a little closer together!

[bantonbuju]

good words david, i couldnt agree more,
i think that we should refrain from patronizing (i am not specifying who really was in this discussion but i reckon everyone had his share in it);
what richard pointed is simply TOS of te, we all know that there are rules which we should follow, but there is always room for some creativity, flexibility, "different" view, and it is not us who should judge if the image fits the rules or not (its admin's job, richard);
on the other hand i belive that richard has the right to express his disappointment that he has not learnt enough from daniel's post, but, hey, mate - gi to other daniel's works and you'll find some really good educational material, so let us "allow" him to be creative (and innovative?)
ps. i pesonally dont find this image fitting my bill but i'll talk about it separately :-)
cheers to you all, and have fun, not fight :-))

[jinju]

It wasnt really arrogance. I know what TE is about, been here long enough so I dont need a lecture on that subject. Art I believe can be educational. Theres more to larning about places than just looking at landmarks, theres also the atmosphere of a place, its feel, the subjective things that photos like this can teach us. barcelona specific? No, but it still does teach us.

[vapours]

If they were feet on the sand of a desert, or south pole I'm sure it would not bother you, so I don't see why feet on a trainstation platform should be any different just because its a common scene.

[david]

brendan

good point ... but if i wanted to visit barcelona, this shot wouldn't teach me anything useful.

for that point, neither would a foot in the sahara desert.

i think people are mixing up the symbolic and philosophical ... and calling it educational.

[jinju]

I raised this point in the general forum. What about monks? What do a monk teach us? Monks are not something you find only in one country. There are monks all over Asia, so would monks also be one of those uneducational subjects? You like buddhas. Buddha statues...how are they educational? The guy who posted the critique that started all this has photos like this

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Middle_East/United_Arab_Emirates/photo328677.htm
http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/32496/lightning1.jpg
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/United_Kingdom/photo309582.htm

how are they educational? Pot calling the kettle black?

[oochappan]

I do agree with Richard but one thing

where would we get the inspiration to apply a more explicit artistic approach of a small detail to use it to build it in our shots

OK not really a TE shot but an inspirational, they should go hand in hand to lift up techniques and approaches in shots to go beyond the average.
As long it is a detail of something specifique in the world, the mood of a metro, it is acceptable even it is on the edge of TOS it has an inspirational value, not that this would be seen as a great TE-shot to avoid to see only this kind of shots but as exception, why not ?