Thanks every one for the great comments - yep, they rocks ;-))

Tracy,
I don't remember your being so perfectionistic before you started hanging out with *that* crowd.

And what exactly do you mean by that King? ;-)

tHanKs to aLL of U 4 the feed-Backs ;-))
My goal was to document something I saw, but did not expect this would be featured, tis is a real surprise !!
@mtmartini : only because I was in a Museum with also my kid too look on at the same time - with my third eye ;-)))
@setaou : I'm afraid you can't buy them, this Museum (MUCEM - Marseille) is about the "magic of usual objects around us", the treasures in everyday life..- but I will ask for you anyway ;-)
Thanks again mates °

wow - absolutely stunning: love the colours, your play on the theme and composition. great!

Tracy,
What do I mean? I just mean that 7 out of your last 10 entries (not counting the current theme) have been FEATURED and that your "association" with a certain notorious W.S. contributor seems to have contributed to your elevating your game, including the perspicacity of your comments.

I meant it as a backhanded compliment. :>)

...and I was teasing you at the same time. :>)

:>) (>:

King, I believe that you also had something to do with me upping my game along with many other WS contributers, so we can't give ALL the credit to one person. he he he. ;-)))

King, Tracy has improved by listening to your banter all the time, just like the rest of us. Had it not been for your constant, sometimes irritating, but always poignant comments, none of us would improve.

And you know better, leave my gal alone!

It's a love fest! A regular mutual admiration society. Thanks for the kind words.

On a serious note, I know that W.S. is not a showcase for professional photographers, but since I first became aware of W.S., I have been consistently impressed with the quality of images posted here.

Commercial (i.e., professional) photographers are often hired for their style, experience or past successes. Then they have to light and photograph some totally uninteresting object with all the skill they can muster. It can be both ironic and pathetic at the same time.

Personal story: I was working on a catalog for some upscale merchant. A mattress pad was assigned to me (this was before I ran my own studio). I insisted that the art director do the "styling" of the mattress pad before I photographed it. She poked here, pulled there, then burst into tears. "I went to ART SCHOOL!" she protested. "I have a DEGREE!"

She was upset and thought it beneath her dignitify to be paid (very well) to style a mattress pad.

Being an amateur (again) is great fun.

King ,did you feel bad for making her do the 'dirty' work?
Very telling story.
Sounds like some kind of artistic integrity issue to me.I would rather my children go hungry than be associated with such base photographs.
Bet she was excited when she first got the job!

King, oh King...

I love being an 'amateur' as it offers me COMPLETE freedom to do as I want, when I want. I laugh when people introduce themselves as 'professional' anything. So it simply means you get paid to do it. Like 'professional' sex workers, lawyers, managers, ball players, racers, blah blah blah.

Amateurs do what they do for the love of it. Does a photograph or painting have more 'value' simply because someone is willing to pay currency for 'it?' Are 'professional' photographers 'better' than amateurs? In my book fine and performing art of the highest caliber can be found everywhere by people who are not well known whose names are not on bylines. There are pros that certainly deserve to make money at their craft and there are others who do not. Just like amateurs, there are good artists and not so good artists.

Vernon says it the best, 'Amateurs worry about equipment, professionals worry about money, artists worry about light. I just take pictures.'

Carl,
I didn't expect her to cry (I'm a sucker for tears), but it was her job. Art directors and stylists of various sorts work with products on the set. Studio photographers light the set, solve technical problems and collaborate with stylists and art directors on presenting the product (and/or people, places, ideas, etc.) as well as possible before the final exposures. It's often a committee effort.

pursang,
I have no argument with your statement above, but I do want to make a few things clear.

As a professional photographer, my peer group in Dallas included some of the best photographers I know, no matter how you categorize them. Most of them were in photography for the love of photography. They were intellectually brilliant and superb craftsmen and artists of high integrity. You can lump them in one bucket: artists of the highest caliber.

The job of the professional is not to take a better photograph than an amateur, but to consistently provide high-quality results no matter what the challenges and no matter what the obstacles. In my (ex) field, professional photographers are problem solvers and managers. Very often, the last thing I did when preparing to take a photograph was to tell my assistant which camera and lens to bring to the set. Everything else was done by then.

The ability to visualize the final image and to solve beforehand most of the problems associated with creating that image is one of the things that I have carried with me back into the amateur ranks.

Amateurs often don't have to worry about things that professionals do: managing budgets, personnel issues, hiring, firing, payroll, location scouting, client relations, deciding on what to ask the caterer to provide for lunch, then cleaning up and taking out the trash...among other things not directly related to taking photos. It's a business that some are suited for and some are not.

My remark about W.S. not being a showcase for professional photographers was made in this context. It may sound like hubris, but if I could persuade 10-20 of my peers to join WeeklyShot two things would soon become evident:
1. Some W.S. members would be astounded at the consistently high quality and creativity of the images posted by the pros (irrespective of the availability and cost of their photographic equipment); and
2. Some W.S. members (my camp)would be equally impressed at how well the best of the amateur W.S. photographers measure up to the pros, theme by theme.

My comment about W.S.'s not being a venue for pros was NOT a put-down of accomplished amateurs nor a blanket endorsement of schlock professionals. I admire the one and disdain the other.

...and another thing. Vernon is wrong about my cohort of "professionals". We didn't worry about money--we made money. We worried about light, design, composition, craft (i.e., quality), art history (yes!) and personal vision. And, when not working on assignment, some of us just took pictures.

ok King ok.

...through yanking my chain, then, my friend?

at least for now...

If you look at the picture, then I think they are great 'amateurs' too ;-)))

Amateur comes from Latin: amare (to love)

That's the way I use the word when I refer to myself as an amateur photographer. I love photography.