...tra - la -la  ! -----and the land of Renderosity was once again all tranquil & beautiful - the hi-jacked thread was rightfully returned to it's original theme of getting Gerhard back  - (  good idea, mind you  ) and the aspect of bickering -  or anything that might be unpleasant in the service of facing some unpleasant truths has been set aside   -- happy trails ! & may god bless. --Douglas

@ bentchick ...........never called them 'all' mundane ....nor did I call them 'all' mediocre ....and I wasn't referring to newbies .. but rather - the many long standing members ( making up the bulk of the photo gallery ) that produce the same middle of the road standard of work - yet garner tons of views / comments / and superlatives from their carefully cultivated flock - even though their work is clearly  nothing to write home about ---so it just becomes an ego serving / social / popularity thing rather than anything about 'improving'  skills ( the bar is set low -  - and remains low )---- a dreamworld -- and  that's just fine - if that's what you want  - a little 'self deception' in a tough world isn't such a bad thing ...... I'm just calling a spade a spade ...... moved over to Deviant Art - where 'similar' games are played - but the bar is set much higher -and it's more challenging on the whole ............as to Renderosity -- (  and it's not 'The Best ' )   was just giving my impression of things when I left -  maybe things have changed for the better -  doubt it .......... I have nothing to gain or lose by stating my opinions - it's just feedback , plain & simple ----- just throwing in my overview of the photo gallery from where I sat (  didn't play the 'I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine game ---don't delude yourself --that's how the game is played -- hypocrisy reigns supreme.) Gerhard and others like girsempa garnered high praise because their work was of such a high standard ----the work spoke ( speaks ) for itself ---no game playing needed.
........... well --- that should make me quite popular around these environs ( -cheers )

...does anybody ever wonder why so many good photographers ( like Gerhard ) - and artists  with an edge - have left Renderosity in droves over the  years ??? ..... obviously there are still good  people putting out very good work here ( like Kort & others ) .....but in my humble opinion - in general - it's just the same old people putting up the same old posts - getting the same old superlative comments for mediocre work ....  a social club for the mundane - who are quite happy stuck in their ruts - as long as they receive validation from their cultivated fan club.
   Been gone from here for quite some time - just thought I'd put my two cents in ....maybe things have improved - I doubt it ....carry  on ! -----> cheers , ex - Renderite

...a fantastic and subtle photographer ... perhaps my favorite on this site ....congrats Nikolais !

...ahhh --- Blow-Up ---haven't seen it since it came out - back then wasn't that interested in photography -or plots ! , it seems ---what I recall is the appearance of The Yardbirds doing 'Stroll On' ---which was a reworked version of their blues classic 'The Train Kept A Rollin'....Antonioni wanted that song but for some reason they couldn't use it - so they wrote new words on the spot but  used the same tune.....................but I digress.

...to MGD -------- yeah - it's possible I'm not unstrung65 - ( food for thought --- saw Invasion of The Body Snatchers one too many times ) ------- interesting observation on applying a digital signature -- never thought of the fact that crime 'evidence'  photos could be faked ....and probably have been --- maybe such photographers and photo journalists would have to legally use this system in the future -- but there would always be work around methods found for those of dubious integrity                      
                                                           --- possibly unstrung

.....thanks for your input - thundering 1 --- to be honest - the raw format is new to me - there's also the new DNG raw format called a digital negative - which allows you to keep the original 'raw' file -- but I'm not that clear on how this system works ----as to proving to the person who doubted my photo was not altered - I could care less what he thinks ----- what I find interesting ,though - would explaining the process by which  a particular image was arrived at to an observor..............I manipulate photos all the time - ( as do we all from the moment we pick up our camera ) ---- there is no such thing as 'straight' photography and never was -- and this digital era just complicates explanations  to the point where the layman hasn't a clue what he's really looking at ! ......

 ....good point MGD ! ....yeah -- I guess when you get down to it - there's no way to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that an image was not manipulated in a certain way--- so - I would suppose it just comes down to the integrity of the photographer in his assertions of how it all came down........and --- ah --- Google is frickin' amazing.

....but a raw file can be manipulated - how could you prove it wasn't adjusted --- but I don't see how you could change an actual film negative - in the trad darkroom , of course -- but doing fine tuned changes on the actual negative ? -  I don't think so .

...hey Kort ! ----- just a quick question on the R1800 in general ( since you've had it for awhile ) ---- I've been considering getting that model for awhile - ( or the new Canon pigment ink printer when it comes out in Fall ).....I have read many reviews on the 1800  ( gloss optimizer / not as great for B&W as the 2400 etc ) ----but , generally , how satisfied have you been with it ???

.........thanks Joe and girsempa ----@ Joe ----well I GUESS two 30' Apple momitors would be just about the ultimate set -up (  rob a bank ? ) --------- thanks for the links.

........@ girsempa - I don't think the Sony LCDS are plasma -- same surface I see on a lot of laptops ---- looks much sharper when compared side by side with a flat surface LCD.

......so ----ahhhhh - I thought Renderosity had imploded under the weight of all it's massive changes ---- is it back ????? -- or am I having a hallucination ??

........after much study of what was available in dslr's -- I purchased a Canon 30D a few months ago - ( my first digital cam ) - and I must say - I was waiting for the next big release to see if I had made the right choice --- decided the Olympus 330 wasn't going to do it for me - and likewise the new Panasonic dslr ( though it was tempting to wait for that one ) ---- so , now this new Sony pops on the scene looking pretty good on paper --- but I must say - I have been extremely happy with the 30D -- and I like to hang on to cameras for a long time - not into the constant upgrade treadmill, thank-you ----but it will be interesting to see how the Alpha pans out.

...thanks Cyn ---- just discovered this Optomizer thing via b2amphot ( Jim ) --- and thanks for the link  to EASY THUMBS...I'm sure that I'm on my way to care free thumb making .....( feeling dumb -- but happy  )

..@ TomDart ----i like the way you think ------ a photograph and reality are just two different things -  much like Magritte's painting of a pipe with his caption " This is not a pipe! " ------------ and  if one actually went to the - say, landscape itself and started painting the grass purple -- or adding and subtracting objects -------- then I could see getting pissed off with 'processing' reality ----but that monitor image ---  or paper print in ones hands -- is just a sketch ,at best ,in trying to convey the subject. matter.