TE: art or education???

[david]

on behalf of my friend richard, i'm going to take up this issue amongst the main community.

"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"

there's been some discussion about photos submitted to TE.

if a photo is educational, but has very little creative or artistic value, does it belong on TE?

if a photo is very artistic, but has very little educational value (either in the shot or via the note), does it belong on TE?

i admit there are some very creative and artistic photos on trek earth. some of the ones i like the most have very little LEARNING value to them. and often, the community is most critical of uninspiring or poorly photographed subjects.

so i believe that despite TE's statements about learning through photography, i think TE is more of a photography is art and learning something is a bonus.

if a photo is educational, it's not necessarily "acceptable"

but if a photo is artistic, it'll get 80 points and 7 favourites, despite having no educational merit ... thus making it very "acceptable".

is this really what TE is about?

are the TOS and other guidelines ignored?

ultimately, every shot should be a good combination of both. but since many shots aren't, what is the best solution to this issue?

cheers

david

[Keitht]

I would say that in most cases for a picture to be fully educational / informative it needs to be accompanied by supporting notes. On that premise, all educational / informative images belong on TE. When we add in the "Underlying theme... is learning more... through photography", we start running into problems. I still contend that the artistic and creative value should be secondary, but as you have pointed out that tends not to be the case.
I actually reported one photo which I thought fell outside the TOS of the side and got a response asking why I thought this. I replied that it didn't teach us anything about the world... I was very surprised by the response which was along the lines that this isn't part of the TOS.
Since then I have stopped reporting images as it does seem now that pretty much anything is acceptable. I personally feel that is a pity as it has the potential to undermine the aims of a very good site.
That said, it isn't my site so it really isn't my problem either.
I will continue to post images which I think fit the TOS, just as I will in future ignore those which I think do not fit the TOS.

[KiltedArab]

Hi David

Thanks for bringing this up! I'm not going to say much as I think your post just about says it all/

"but if a photo is artistic, it'll get 80 points and 7 favourites, despite having no educational merit". I think if a photo is posted by certain people it will get 80 points etc whereas if the same image was posted by a newcomer, it would be ignored.

Perhaps an anonymous board would be good!! :-) (then i might not get hate mail...!).

Take care

R

[mlopes]

Sorry for my harsh answer David, not your fault.
But this subject sucks... to be honest i'm quite fed up with it...

Everyone should see TE as they want to see, not imposing "TOS" or "rules" to others... what can be true to you may not be to me... one photo may violate TOS to you and not to be... it all depends on your eager to learn...

90% of the photos in TE does not belong here if we read the TOS in a strickter way... so what's the problem? I've never understood this problem...

If someone don't like a single photo he/she have two options: Move on to the next one or press the magical report violation button!

[david]

your point is well taken mario

but a TOS is important to keep the site squarely focused on what's important.

do you want to see 50 photos of my cat?

there are a lot of photography sites on the internet. and TE has companion sites for people who want to do different kinds of photography.

i think there's a place for everything and the TOS is important.

[Cliffb]

What's important is to understand that what's "educational" to you may not be to me. Conversely, I may find some incredible epiphany in a photo you find most mundane.

90% of the grief in this world comes from someone deciding what's best for the rest of us.

Please let me (& others) define their own world view. (it'll broaden us all in the long run.)
Cliffb
Dallas

[jangliss]

I think that most photos can teach us SOMETHING but, without a photographer's note many don't get that chance.

I would like to see every photo post with (at least) a short explainitary note.

[jinju]

We really learn through the notes. If a note teaches us something and the note relates to what is in the photo, then probbaly most photos have an educational value. Even a photo of a landmark will not teach us anything without a note and the most artistic and even abstract shot can have educational value with a good note.

[david]

yes, i agree that the notes are important.

but there's not much to learn from a set of blurry legs on a subway platform. or a girl standing in front of a davinci code poster.

those shots are good. they are artistic. they're symbolic, philosophical, metaphoric, whatever.

but someone visiting korea isn't going to learn about korea through those photos.

[jinju]

What about monks? Or people praying? Theyare pretty ubiquitous, youve seen one monk yoive seen them all..they just look a bit different in Korea and Thailand. What about Buddha statues? Pretty much the same anywhere.