My God, what is happening to this forum? A few weeks ago we were all taking pictures, posting pictures, doing competitions and generally having fun - is that the REFLECTION given by this thread? (Sorry for the pun!) Come on, stop the snapping at each others heels! If people don't want to enter the competition - fine! No harm done! If some people are better than others - fine! Enter in the category that suits you!! BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE or EXPERT!!! If the subject doesn't suit you - fine, suggest one, or lets have a monthly thread to vote properly and decide one democratically, or just don't enter that one. I'm one of the people who Alpha refers to as wanting to learn from the competitions - hell, I do my best with what I've got (and heaven knows, I get SO naffed off at not being able to zoom in on things coz I can't afford a digi with zoom or can't afford a studio or don't know what an f-stop is etc etc etc etc) but admit when pictures are better than mine - and not always because of the equipment, coz that's useless without the ideas of how to use it creatively. That's why they win, yeah? Just coz I haven't won doesn't mean I'm packing my camera away!! It may sound trite, but it IS the taking part that matters, not the winning. WHEN I STARTED HERE I LOVED THIS FORUM - IT WAS ABOUT HAVING FUN AND LEARNING TOGETHER. NOW LETS GET BACK TO IT, PLEASE.