An unexpected splash of criticism
This is a little bit of a different post to what I normally make in this community. Recently, I got an email. Someone had completed the contact form on my website. Now, I get a lot of spam through my web form - people offering to sell me "genuine" Instagram followers or the age old classic Internet spam.
Before I continue, I want to share some of my favourite images that I've captured over the years.
Greenie at Anstey Hill - 80cm Softbox, Godox AD200, 24-70lens
Rose in my old Lounge Room Studio - 120cm Softbox, Godox AD200, 24-70 lens
Greenie as the Oracle - 28cm Octobox w/ grid, Godox AD200, 105 lens
Jess as the bride - Natural light, 24-70 lens, hotel room?
Anyway, back to the email. This email was different. It was new. There was evidence that the submitter had read my website. And as I stood in the moshpit between bands, at a concert, I laughed. I also thought "who is this person?" They provided a name, and an email, but the domain resolves to a 404.
At the same time, I had the thought, "I've made it, I finally have a hater!"
The contents of the contact form?
sorry but on your site you say things like never settle for mediocrity and yet the portrait photos look like they are from the 1990s. Girls half dress and dressed and some photos just look like they were taken with an iphone..... i mean really! Have you ever sold one ye? Change your wording until your skill level gets close to professional.
(Also, is there a darkmode for gmail?)
I read that statement with a piece of my photography currently sitting in a gallery, having been paid the week prior for a photographic job, and having received a highly commended award in an Australian photographic competition. I've posted about each of those events on HIVE.
I like to think that I am a good photographer. Now granted, my photographic style is heavily inspired by the pre-raphaelite painters, and the female form was indeed something heavily depicted in their work - and it is something that I capture extensively in my own photographic practice.
Are there a few scantily clad ladies on my website? Sure. Certainly, definitely. This work is always a collaboration. I endeavour to be as tasteful as possible in each and every image that I publish. After all, the only difference between a good and a bad photographer is what they show you.
Or, as Basquait once said, "There is no such thing as good or bad taste, there is just taste" (I may be paraphrasing there)!
I have a page on my site which just dumps every single image I've got in my media library onto a single ... loooong page. https://perdikis.art/all-the-images/ The order is completely randomised... but er, I don't see how the or where the criticism levelled at my work regarding its quality or professional standards by this individual is valid?
I've got a tax return to prepare shortly, and there's much photographic work (and kilometres driven) to include.
So, I will not be changing the wording on my site. I will stand defiantly by the quality and the style of my work.
But I do want to know, if you were me, or you were you - what photos would you remove from my website? If you were to remove them, what could I do to make them better?
I am open to criticism, but I am also capable of separating the criticism of my output with the criticism of me as a human.
If I don't know what I am doing wrong, I can't improve.
I also know that critiques of my work are not critiques of me as a human being. I am too aware, that as a male, depicting females in my work, in controlled environments, it is inseparable from the default "male gaze", which genetics hath cursed me with.
Therefore, please, take me back to my university days, studying New Media Art (resulting in a Masters Degree in Visual Art and Design from the University of South Australia) - and give me some critical feedback!
Now go! (And please comment below!)
Also - another question to you all - how do YOU deal with feedback, and how do you like to receive it?
Or, should I sell all my cameras and refund all my pending clients? I'm told that's the best way to make money in photography - to sell camera gear!
For me the photographs you shared in this post and that you have taken over the years, I have found to be beautiful. I think in every walk of life there will always be naysayers, more so now that they hide behind a keyboard. But if they are criticizing you it's because you are doing something right and somehow they feel jealous. Keep up the good work. Someday I'd like to be as good as you.
Thank you! If you want any tips or feedback, just ask! I can give a more constructive criticism than the email I got!
Just today I published my first post in the community. If you would like to stop by and give me some advice, I would appreciate it.
I'll go take a look now
If you are being paid for your work and winning awards then you can have confidence in what you are doing. Of course people can have opinions, but that doesn't seem too constructive. If you don't know what their experience is then it's hard to tell how qualified they are to judge you. You can take the 'advice' however you want.
My creative endeavours have tended to be for fun and so far nobody has told me to stop. If another musician offers me advice then I am willing to listen. I've found the local music scene to be very supportive. I just started taking in-person drum lessons and the teacher immediately picked up on some things, but that is what I am paying them for.
I have put plenty of music online and have not really suffered from trolls so far. I'm sure there are nasty people out there who just like being negative.
In my professional field people seem pretty happy with what I do and that has kept me in paid work for years. That gives me some satisfaction.
Who Are The Leaders of Hive?
Hive, a blockchain born of rebellion against centralization, now stands at a crossroads. Its ethos—decentralized, community-driven, and free—is shadowed by a corrosive reality: the unchecked power of entities like @themarkymark and @buildawhale, whose coordinated downvotes and acrimonious tactics have driven creators to despair. This is not governance; it is a tyranny of silence.
The Illusion of Leadership
Hive has no crowned sovereign. Its “leaders” are stewards: developers refining code, witnesses securing consensus, and communities shaping culture. Yet power, as history teaches, consolidates in vacuums. When accounts with vast Hive Power (HP) weaponize downvotes to stifle dissent, they erode the very democracy Hive was built to protect. This is not leadership—it is oligarchy masquerading as order.
The Exodus and the Alternative
Creators flee. Talented voices, weary of punitive curation, migrate to platforms like Blurt, where downvotes are absent and dialogue thrives. Blurt’s rise will be no accident; its simplicity—a sanctuary from Hive’s toxicity—highlights a fatal flaw in our ecosystem. A single change here could tip the scales. Imagine Blurt embraced by investors, listed on centralized exchanges, and fortified by liquidity. It needs only a catalyst.
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We cannot wait. Each downvoted post is a fracture in Hive’s foundation. To stem the exodus, we demand:
Bilpcoin’s Pledge
The Bilpcoin team stands with Hive. We will:
The Hour Is Now
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The choice is ours. Let it be written in history that we chose wisely.
Hive leadership crisis, decentralized governance reform, Blurt vs Hive, Bilpcoin transparency, blockchain accountability, downvote ethics.
#HiveTransparency #CommunityOverCensorship
@themarkymark @buildawhale & Co
You wield downvotes like a weapon, striking indiscriminately at whoever displeases you, whenever it suits your whim. And why? Why do you call people names as though their humanity is secondary to your ego? Is this how you justify your behavior—to diminish others so they might seem less worthy of fairness? You claim disdain for AI on Hive, yet your inner circle freely employs it without consequence. No downvotes for them, only for those outside your charmed circle. Tell us, why are you so selective in whom you punish and whom you protect?
https://hive.blog/hive/@themarkymark/re-bpcvoter2-swxxng
@themarkymark & Co.,
We are being completely honest here, and you know it. The transactions don’t lie—you cannot escape this, no matter who you bring in to back you up. It won’t work. You’ve already exposed many of those close to you, so let’s be clear: WE ARE NOT TROLLING YOU. WE ARE SIMPLY SHARING THE TRUTH. And the Bilpcoin team is far from stupid. Calling us names changes nothing—it only fuels our determination to work harder.
IT’S OVER.
SPEAK UP. MAKE NOISE. TAKE A STAND.
Key Issues That Demand Immediate Attention:
The problems are glaring, undeniable, and corrosive to the Hive ecosystem. They must be addressed without delay:
These practices do not just harm individual users—they undermine the very foundation of Hive, eroding trust and poisoning the community. Such actions are not only unethical but outright destructive.
@buildawhale Wallet:
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@ipromote Wallet:
Author Rewards: 2,181.16
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Rewards/Stake Co-efficient (KE): NaN
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Delegated HIVE: 0.000
Estimated Account Value: $6,946.68
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The blockchain data tells the story plainly and clearly. We are not fabricating these claims; we are merely presenting what is already visible for all to see. As we’ve repeatedly urged @themarkymark & Co—the solution is simple: STOP.
SO PLEASE STOP. It’s time to do what’s right for Hive and its community. Why cling to practices that harm others? Power down, step away, and let Hive thrive as it was meant to. You bring nothing positive to this ecosystem.
THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING—THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU.
PLEASE STOP.
@themarkymark, Can You Explain Why the Bilpcoin Team’s Accounts Are on Your Blacklist?
@themarkymark We understand you’re a fan of data—so are we. After all, data is king, and when it comes to blockchain, transactions don’t lie and can’t be changed.
@buildawhale’s daily grift
@themarkymark’s 2.4 Hive Power scam farm
For more insights into blockchain transparency and accountability, visit Bilpcoin’s Publish0x page.
https://peakd.com/hive-133987/@bpcvoter3/isn-t-it-funny-how-themarkymark-and-co-are-suddenly-talking-about-ke-levels-on-hive-well-look-what-we-found-some-of-the-accounts
https://hive.blog/hive-158694/@themarkymark/re-justclickindiva-sysbyt
https://peakd.com/hive-178265/@bpcvoter1/how-can-we-take-someone-seriously-when-they-have-been-exposed-through-clear-evidence-blockchain-transactions-and-data-and-then
https://peakd.com/hive-126152/@bpcvoter2/we-agree-it-s-not-a-joke-themarkymark-and-co-your-mental-health-and-the-well-being-of-those-around-you-are-deeply-concerning-to
https://peakd.com/hive-193212/@jin-out/re-jin-out-sykgtp
https://hive.blog/hive-193212/@jin-out/27th-june-2025-farewell-to-hiveio
https://hive.blog/hive/@test.ureka/the-untrending-report-hive-downvote-analysis-2025-06-27-20250627213824
https://blurt.blog/bpc/@themarkymark/sykcpf
https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@bpcvoter1/https-peakd-com-belikechuck-wallet#@splinterboost/https-peakd-com-belikechuck-wallet
#bilpcoin we must stop the #buildawhalescam #buildawhalefarm #themarkymarkscam #themarkymarkfarm on #hive #thedarksideofhive
Thanks for commenting! I too have gone down the musical path as well - I saw a piano teacher for about a year. I just now enjoy improvising.
I am not too worried about this feedback, to me it doesn't matter - and if my clients keep coming, great. If they don't ... then I guess I'll sell my cameras and throw away my university education.
I have to imagine that doing something creative as a job has challenges as people need to be willing to pay for what you create. I think your photos look great and I would be happy with work of that standard.
I doubt I could make a living from music, but I'm lucky I don't have to.
Oh, my "day job", I am a data analyst... (well, I was before the retrenchment) thank goodness I don't need to put food on the table with my photography or my music!
My bankable skills are in coding. I've been paid for a few gigs, but it barely covers my costs.
We do what we can, so we can do what we want. Currently waiting to hear back on a dream job at the national Bureau of Statistics, but if that falls through, I can go working a call centre again, or go back to being a business analyst / process improvement person.
There's a lot out there at the moment, just haven't been applying myself too strongly as I've been asked for a reference check for the dream job!
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LOL. Tell you this, I had photography as a side gig for about ten years, I quit in 2018 to start a family. I didn't sell any of my photography gear as I use it for my personal needs. I guess I could have made some money selling my Canon 5D Mark 3 and my set of L lenses as well as soft boxes, beauty dish and ring flash, but I like having it for my own needs.
Unless you have a reason like me to quit photography I would ignore the criticism. I do miss my nice stream of revenue from the side gig...
Here is one of my images from around ten years ago:
Softboxes take up so much space...
Nice lighting. Never sell good glass! Cameras are at a point now where other than auto focus working at more and more stops on bodies, in lower and lower light, theres not much more advancement to come.
I mean I think we were there with the 5dm3 and d750, and the original A Sony S.
Sure autofocus and colour depth gets better... but last generation tech still punches well, well above its value on the 2nd hand market!
The lighting was a fill from a beauty dish as I was shooting against the sun and we were on top of my boat house :)
Taking criticism is hard my friend. I have taken classes on how to take criticism, so trust me I know :)
That said I have to agree with the person’s criticism after briefly looking at your portfolio. Times have changed. Now an average person can generate superlative enchantments with Lightroom. Add the AI enhancement and the iPhone photos enhanced will totally outperform your original work.
This is what I am talking about
And this is not particularly recent. This art has moved on my friend. And you have been left behind. If you take photos for yourself it’s cool and you can do whatever you want. But if you do it for the clients, today’s need is different.
Here is the good news. This is easy stuff so if you choose to catch up it’s easy to do.
Hope you don’t mind the way I wrote this. You asked for an opinion and I have given you one.
PS I still own a 5D Mark III and a lot of wide angle L- glass (I was shooting Landscapes mostly, never done portrait). Haven’t used it in ages. It’s too heavy a gear now for me to carry.
I'll follow this tutorial a little later on some of my work and see how it goes. :)
I was never one for high end retouching, I was always appreciated my subjects to look more human than artificial and perfect with flawless frequency separation and complexion.
I've just woken up, and am pretty sure this tutorial is ome aboitndodge and burn at a mixro level. I will check it out later today and will let you know how I go.
I am always looking to improve myself. The way you delivered your feedback was tactful and direct, no need to worry about hurting my feelings. :)
Much appreciated! I have struggled to give feedback in the past. Both here at hive and also in real life :)
Just skimmed through it, its not the process I thought it was - can probably be duplicated locally using SD upscale. Not sure how this will work at print resolutions, but for screen work it would be fine.
I guess this is also a point in history where the path of photography diverges - we either have images captured in camera (I do very little retouching - try to limit myself to what was available when I was learning to shoot film) - or, we have super crisp, super processed images.
I like photography because we capture photons and store them. It's an objective truth of a given segment of time. When it is pushed too far, that truth breaks down.
Given that I am planning an exhibition called "Myth" and have previously dabbled in AI image gen (even training a small model locally on my work) I think it will be interesting to go back and do "some AI" and get it into the same polynomial space that I can get my traditional images.
There is nothing special about that tutorial and as I said, it’s already outdated. It just showed up as first hit on YouTube. My point is AI re-touching is the new trend. Everyone is doing it so many clients expect it.
Photography as an art becomes a lost art when people are expecting to photograph them holding hand with Ed Sheeran at their graduation pictures! What can you say to that?
We live in a deluded society. I hope to be closer to those who are not.
Also, if photons were not bouncing off Eddie's visage (or whoever) and into the lens, it is at that point it ceased to be photography.
I'm not an expert on photography, but after over 10 years in serving food to clients, I've become kind of an expert in receiving critics. Critics of all kind. And I find them all valuable, as they all say something about the speaker, my food, me, and the overall experience.
The critics that you're out-dated might be right, but the question is - do you want to do what everybody does, or do you want to stick to what you think is professional art?
What out of the comment is usable for you? Can you find flaws in your own photography? The commentator probably didn't really find any, but that doesn't mean that his comment can't motivate you to question your work and try to become better.
Receiving only positive feedback is dangerous. I fell into that trap quite a few times, it made me numb and cocky, I thought I was invincible and, well, I wasn't so life smacked me around a little bring me back to earth. I avoid that now by always being critical of my work, always trying to get better.
Even the most stupid feedback can help with that. Being called a "donkey dick" once helped me to adapt my service related online communications to a more neutral choice of words, as mails and messages leave a lot of room for interpretation. And clearly, Mrs. DD did not interpret my words the way I had intended.
I personally like your pictures. They're no AI generated and enhanced generics, but authentic. There is always a market for authenticity, even though that market is not Instagram.
Hope this helps in some way :-)
Oh, thank you for this comment. :) I actually just published a sort of follow up to this post. I have used a bunch of image gen software in the past, and I decided to experiment with it on a self portrait, because, well, I know myself.
I definitely found it entering the realm of the uncanny valley, particularly when it engineered details and features that I don't have, without it being a direct enhancement.
To me, it reinforced my sense of authenticity to reality. What I see, what I see through the lens, and what I capture (by controlling light) are already different things to what an objective reality might be.
Capturing the imperfection is capturing the truth, and truth is what makes us beautiful.
I remember studying at university and going to the library. I was incredibly lucky that my university has the largest collection of art books in the Southern hemisphere, and I remember fondly a section of books about truth and beauty, with variations of titles on these topics spanning several metres of the shelf space in the dewey decimal system.
I understand where you're coming from with regards to only getting positive feedback. I tend to provide myself with my own negative feedback, and will happily point out the flaws in my own work, (be it photography, or something else) - because to me, if someone else is sufficiently advanced in the field, and I'm seeking feedback from them, I want them to skip past the obvious shortcomings, that I know I can work on, and get into the deeper ones, like symbolism, intent and whatever my projected narrative or meaning was to be.
I might steal that phrasing 😅 It's what I tell a lot of people. I made my fortune with authentic, real bread, not perfect bread nor the most beautiful bread. It looks good, yes, but it's nothing compared to what is presented in the ego-media channels. That doesn't mean that I rely on the "handmade" argument whenever it turns out ugly or not so good, not at all. I try to inspire my co-workers to do better, to have pride in their work, to feel every bread that turns out bad like a personal defeat, and every perfect one like a victory.
My universities library was more focused on politics. I read a lot about anarchism those days, when I was young and idealistic. I still find the principles of anarchism as very noble, and try to implement them in my daily life and work. But humans in real life, well, they only want the freedom, not the responsibility.
I actually have that other post opened in a tab to read later. I didn't know it was a follow up, I would've read it before commenting, but didn't have the time (yet) and wanted to start lower on your blog. The "lurking" comment on that Splinterlands post and your conversation with Azircon got me interested in your blog, and it seems like I won't regret checking that out 😊
Thanks for the detailed answer! Much food for thought there 🙃
I like bread. I like words too. My blog is very diverse. I have too many interests. One of them is not sleeping enough.
I don't want to be responsible for someone else, but I want to be responsible. To me that means not directly, intentionally harming others, but conversely not also going out of my way to help starving children. The balance I bring to the universe is inaction. I'm a bit of a nilhist, but for now, my life is happy.
Being responsible for ones own decisions is a path to happiness. I think I did that argument in one of my posts, but quite long ago. I think it was like this:
In the moment of taking responsibility for our actions, we are really free. As long as we don't we need something or someone else to pass the responsibility onto, hence we are dependent on the other to exist, and being dependent is obviously not being free.
Happiness on the other hand is, from my view, tied to being coherent. As long as we are incoherent with our values, there will always be that nasty voice nagging us in the sub-consciousness, telling us we're doing wrong. Which does not make us happy.
Taking responsibility is being coherent, you own your decisions and can defend them - or admit that you were wrong in doing so, leading to more coherency as well.
That in a nutshell. Not sure if the great thinkers agree with my argumentation, but it works for me and my happiness 😅
Inaction, on the other hand, is a very interesting thing. It's really hard to discuss, as it's a controversy between believes. I haven't made up my mind on that one yet, still weighing the arguments, as there are so many for both sides. In the meantime, I'm taking the path of conscious action - doing what is within my power without prejudicing myself and as I see fit, based on my values.
We'll see if in the end I turn out a nihilist, or a buddha.
They're both beautiful things, because there is beauty in all things.
Taking responsibility is such an easy thing to do. I have so much respect for people who fuck up, and own up, than those who try to blame their circumstance or some other element.
Sure, there might be contributing factors, but to not own your actions is to not own yourself.
However, I cannot imagine it going down well in a courtroom: "Yes judge, I did that thing, and I'd do it again."
Which is sad, isn't it? The whole idea of justice is that people do better. The idea of punishment is to not repeat the same mistake. And yet, it does not provide the base for that. Anyway, you inspired me to a post. Just published it, if you care to read, I linked both of your posts in there, I hope it's okay to use them as examples. Have a good day (I think it's morning in Australia?)
It is morning here, I just had a breakfast of left over chicken schnitzel, very healthy start to the day. :D
Lol, I do agree with that. Last days leftovers make a great breakfast. I, on the other side of the world, have to prepare dinner now.