I can certainly understand people's frustrations when it comes to uploading photos at Airliners.net. Many of us got our expensive equipment because of our desire to upload there. Having your photos on Airliners.net as opposed to other sites is also good for business and exposure, as right now, it's the most popular site out there.
Two weeks ago, you all saw my own frustration in a rejection of mine on the forums of Anet. I was upset, even though I did see some faults in my own photo. It was one of the first times that I took such rejection personally, because I had so fallen in love with that photo.
I relate to Art's frustrations with his shots of the very special WordLiner. You get the chance to get something special and when your feelings become involved, it's a lot more aggravating when you can't get to share such work with the world. Not to mention that while I generally side with the screeners, I pretty much concur with the argument in this case.
My posts in the "Is This White" thread do show that I feel some recent rejections are a bit much as well. Though venting your feelings on message board forums like this one and AvPhotography on Anet are understandable, I think our anger is going a bit too far. We need to remember why we do what we do. Aviation enthusiasm is about enjoying our passion for commercial aviation, and for most of us, photography.
Remember when you first joined Anet? Or when you first got your photo accepted? Remember the first time you hung out with a group of more than 10 people at Costco? Our hobby was evolving for us into what it is now, and look at our outings lately. We have a lot of new people coming out and joining our scene that are experiencing these same exciting firsts right now, and they are seeing how big and wonderful this hobby is.
Though the frustrations many of us are feeling are understandable, I think some our behavior can have a negative impact on our new friends that are just getting involved in the hobby. I think we've let our feelings get the best of us to where we might not only misrepresent ourselves, but misrepresent the hobby to our new friends and also misrepresent the New York City scene to the world by letting our local site become a sounding board for our anger against fellow aviation sites.
I look at it like an ex-girlfriend. Sure, maybe the relationship turned to crap. But I remember the good times. Airliners.net will always hold a special place in my heart as the place the Clark brought me to that introduced me to the world of aviation enthusiasm. It all started there. It was the community that allowed me to learn 90% of what I know about the hobby and is essentially what created my passion for aviation. If I were to equate it to a girlfriend, Airliners.net took my virginity and taught me how to love.
While my serious relationship with Airliners.net might be over and I am now submitting my photos with other sites, I'm still going to try to get shots on Anet, because what I get there when I do get acceptances is great.
While I want everyone to speak out about their frustrations and treat this site like home, I hope you all take a moment to consider the consequences on our hobby when tempers flare and our frustrations escalate. We owe it to our new buddies, to our city, and most importantly, to ourselves.
Take care guys,
-Phil
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