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MariaDeinert

Nature Photographer
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MariaDeinert

Transparency in (Macro) Groups - Please read/share

9 min read


Hey everbody, this is something with really bugs me a lot (haha, pun intended) Grr. 

I started to do macro-stuff about a year ago, a habit that is most usual for a photofreaking biologist like me. And I think I eventually improved a bit. But there are some problems I came across with when it gets to publish your work. Groups on DeviantArt are for sharing and experiencing, to get recognition and mostly feedback to improve oneself, right? Yeah. Improvement.

So what do I do?

Bullet; Green First, I take my ass out and photograph. I take a (in my opinion) worthy shot and I do postproduction  
   with Lightroom, Photoshop, Paint, everything that is useful to improve the quality of my picture.
   I then search for some Groups where my work can possibly be featured 
Bullet; Green Yes, I read those rules of yours, I'm a good and thoughtful member, peace. I love deviantART!

Bullet; Green I submit to the right folders, I enjoy sharing my art with others when it gets accepted

So far so good, right? Everbody does this. But I think, everybody who does at least more than just snapshot photography might have noticed that there are certain kinds of...well, "Elite Groups".
I cannot find another word for this. It's the way their Group Galleries look like. So elite, so fancy (thanks to the extraordinary photographers working there, chapeau!) that you have the feeling "maybe I should not submit there, maybe my work is not good enough"

Well, maybe it isn't. I can live ith that. But here is the thing, and I most recently stumbled across this problem in Macro Photography Groups:


Bullet; Red If you only want some fancy badass photography in your gallery then HAVE THE GUTS TO SAY IT.

Most Macro Photography Groups have this standart: 
"Macro and Close up is every picture that has a magnification 1:2, 1:1; 2:1, X:1." 

Okay, so I have a picture here I took with my EF 100mm Macro Lens: 


This picture is viewable in full resolution, it is 1:1 and it was even cropped for better effects. The focus is not off, the details are quite sharp, so I'd say it is a pretty normal macro shot and nice to look at. But is has not this "fancy flair" around it like for instance:

156 by Bulinko  Photo by: Bulinko (great job btw!)

But since I want critics (and yeah, everbody wants attention) I try to submit in one of those Macro Groups. And now my picture is declined. Hmm, okay. But according to YOUR RULES I didn't do anything wrong, did I? My normal reaction is I ASK WHY. And then? I get an answer in the Style of:

:bulletred: BECAUSE WE SAY SO, PLEASE LOOK IN THE RULES

Okay. I have had read the rules, I could not find anything wrong. I ask again, mentioning that fact and ask the Group-stuff member to point out which rule he/she meant. And then the answer is:

:bulletred: BECAUSE WE SAY SO, NO DISCUSSION, HAVE A NICE DAY.

What discussion? I asked you something, I wanted information. My picture was declined, fine, I accept that but at least I want to know why and an explicit answer.

BECAUSE, when you give everything but an explicit answer which rule I may or may not have broken I have the feeling that you ONLY DECLINED my picture BECAUSE it DOES NOT FIT in your fancy ass gallery.

Fine by me. Totally fine. But you could also mention that in your rules. 

MAKE YOUR GODDAMN GROUP MORE TRANSPARENT! You would save us all a lot of depression, discussion (haha) and anger on both sides.

This is something that is important for other "Elite Groups" too.

And by the way: A Macro Picture which seems to be nice but is only viewable with 400-600px and is spammed with photoshopfilters, sharpener, and actions what does that say about the quality of the real picture? This will lead to submissions cropped to infinity, who are looking good in small but like crap in full resolution. Is this really more professional?


This is anything but professional.

Please, +fav, comment and share this article. It may not help much, but I hope a little.

Best,

Maria
 




Mating Damselflies by MariaDeinert Come closer... by MariaDeinert Pisaura mirabilis close up by BrianBarnhart Jumping Spider (Pseudeuophrys lanigera) by BrianBarnhart

Skin by: NishithV
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MariaDeinert

I got a Premium :D

2 min read
This. Is. AWESOME!

Thx to my :heart: BrianBarnhart I got my first 12month premium membership, fantastic :D Now I can use journal skins and all the other cool stuff, maybe I will feature people in the future :D

Want a feature? Write!

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MariaDeinert

Planning to do Point Commissions

2 min read
:iconpointcommissionsopen::iconpointcommissionsopen::iconpointcommissionsopen::iconpointcommissionsopen::iconpointcommissionsopen::iconpointcommissionsopen::iconpointcommissionsopen::iconpointcommissionsopen::iconpointcommissionsopen::iconpointcommissionsopen::iconpointcommissionsopen::iconpointcommissionsopen:

Hey folks!

Since I got more watchers (thx to Llama Love Sharing :3) I decided that it would be fun to do point commissions. I'm still saving up points for a PM, so I can as well work for them instead of waiting for donations.

So if you want me to do something or know someone who wants something I think I can manage the following:

Sketch: 5~10 :points:
Lineart: 10~20 :points:
Digital: 60 :points:
Watercolour Painting: 30~50 :points:
Acryl Painting: 30~50 :points:
Chalk: 20~30 :points:
Photography: Price varies by request

I'd say I can do every genre EXCEPT: Furry and Anthros XD I'm not good at it.

:iconllama3dplz::iconllama3dplz:


Cya!
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MariaDeinert

Chasing Llamas!

1 min read
Well, working for university (learning haha, nice joke O.o) I found out, that these Give a Llama get a Llama Groups are quite fun. My Llama gains increased by 200% and more :D That's also for my the Pageviews and sometimes someone stands by and then decides to watch me, that's totally awesome!! So one of my new missions is chasing Llamas and spreading Llama love! Why? Because I don't want to learn! XDD

:iconllama3dplz::iconllama3dplz:
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MariaDeinert

Can't wait 'till it's over...

1 min read
I never thought that I would say something like this but: I HATE university examinations! I thought studying meant thinking - not everthing by-heart learning. WTF?

Even in school  I had to think more about my answers than in the exams here. This is dissapointing, even if I catch the message behind the lectures, practical works etc it hasn't any effect on my marks... 'Cause if you havent "learned the stuff by heart" you WILL fail. No question about that fact...Argh.

At least, after examinations are over I've got a lot of time for my art. Thanks to my friends I have money enough for a big canvas projekt and new pencils :D
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Transparency in (Macro) Groups - Please read/share by MariaDeinert, journal

I got a Premium :D by MariaDeinert, journal

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Can't wait 'till it's over... by MariaDeinert, journal