Hi Kevin,
I add my thanks for a wonderful presentation to those of all the others. I found the conceptual framework that you use to understand your developing styles to be very useful. A particularly important point, in my estimate, is your insistence (as well as David Freund in the essay you handed out, and Terry Barrett in the book you recommended "Criticizing Photographs") that we can't get anywhere beyond "I like that" or " I don't like that" unless and until we develop a critical vocabulary in terms of which we can together describe, interpret and evaluate our images. In this regard I found the Glossary that you distributed an excellent beginning resource. For example, it provided the first clue for me as to what more talented photographers mean by the expression "painterly." The easy part is to recognize the need for a common vocabulary. The hard part is actually developing it among our members. My hunch, correct me if I'm wrong, is that this follows naturally when we habitually start using the vocabulary when discussing images and insisting that others do so as well. A long hard slog.
Thanks also for the pointer to your Flickr postings. Those on k_nelson885's photostream are the ones that interest me. I spend a very pleasant hour browsing them. I appreciate the pointer on the Ringwood Manor. That is a new destination for me now.
Thanks also for agreeing to help out at the May competition. I will be in contact at the time approaches.
Ralph
