I had left a nice long comment and then my computer crashed.... :~( Let me first welcome you to the our Forum and Gallery... it's always a pleasure to see a new face here. I'm not going to be able to rewrite it verbatim but will do my best to get my points across as I remember them. I agree with the sentiments that a thoughtful critique can be a good thing. It can be a learning experience for the one critiqueing as well as the one being critiqued although it must be done with a gentle hand. I've been here for about 4 years, 3 of them as a registered member..... There is no written rule that says that critiquing is only allowed in the forum, I certainly don't limit myself in that aspect. But that is just the way it always has been, across all the galleries... shrug That being said there are people here who will leave a thoughtful note for improvement. I've tried my part to do this, albeit on an irregular basis, sometimes it's met positively, sometimes with anger, and sometimes with indifference. Time however, is a constant restraint on being able to do this.... up to 5 pages of new images a day...! Often all I have time for is an "I saw it, and here is what I liked about it"... As you can see from other posts there are those who care not for it. They are here to share and have fun. You may also notice that this site and the Photo Gallery are far more artsy than the usual Photographically dedicated site. Fanciful postwork here is almost the norm rather than the exception. It is probably not fair to the artist to critique artisitic choices as everyone idea of art is different.... Photography for me is very important, it is basically my life at the moment, so I do appreciate the well thought out critique on my work (I also consider the source).... When I have been given suggestions for improvement I will often bring it here to the forum and open a debate on... I think that this fosters learning, and I love boucing suggestions around. But this is just me.... I'm serious about the craft, not everyone is as obsessed with it as I am. Now I do look forward to seeing your work when you have the chance to get some of it uploaded.... And again Welcome!

I am, therefore I create.......
--- michelleamarante.com