I don't know how many of you regularly participate in other photography forums, but I do and all I can say is that when I log in to NWP, I sigh a sigh of relief.

I don't know how many messages I've seen from guys who say they own a Canon 1Ds MKII and a 70-200 F2.8L lens and when they take a shot of a subject that's 17 miles away and blow it up to 16X20, it seems a bit soft. "Do I have a bad copy of the lens?" Jeesh!!!!!

On NWP, even the newbies ask intelligent questions and the veterans take the time to answer them. Frankly, I get tired of reading ridiculous posts from people with more money than brains. At least here, I know the images and the participants are always first-class.

Enough griping . . .

Call me,

Grumpy Jim

I know what you mean, sites like this are imformative while alot of other forums are just for humorous entertainment. I'm shamefully guilty of times of egging on folks a bit at dpreview.com when they get all brand crazy and such. I even have my own personal stalker over there who get greatly offended everytime I post about the differences I see with the two different brands I shoot. As a photographer I love to hear about other equipment as their all just tools for getting the picture but so many just don't see it that way. Heck I switched from Minolta to Canon so that I would have a better tool to shoot my birds in flight. Never really gave a thought to any specific brand when switching, just picked the best body for the job that I could afford.

Indeed. Lets keep it refreshing too. I was so glad I found this site. I know James wants to increase traffic and participation, but I like the cosiness of the "small" group.

Having said that, I don't spend as much time here as I should. Shame on me.

Thank you for the kind words. It is nice to hear. I agree that the forum is pretty special. Just a FYI, Darren, it is not so much that I want to see traffic increase, we get plenty of it. I would like to see more participation though.

For example, we have a bunch of first time posters who are sharing their work. Some of it is very good, some of the folks need a little help. However, the point is that someone is making the effort to share their work for a reason. I want for people to feel that they will get response if they it the 'post' button. :P

James

I agree with everyone here, this sight is so refreshing to come to. If I post a picture everyone has given constructive input to make the picture better, without making me feel like i've taken the worst picture ever.
Keep up the good work James

Don

James,
you make a good point. I must confess that I haven't been as responsive to the new member posts as I should. Thanks for the gentle rap on the muzzle .

Jim

I have been pretty remiss in posting too. Being out of town as much as I have, has made me a bad poster

It is nice to be able to look at images and the content and not judge on what camera took it.

I would like to agree with jimgarvie about how much I have enjoyed this forum over the past year. As a newbie to Digital photography, I like being able to get honest respectful comments on my meager attempts at photography without people making me feel like an idiot. I also like that the responses are not usually "uhh .. nice shot..." Here, if someone says "nice shot" - they usually mean it and back it up with what makes the shot stand out.

I mostly lurk on other photo sites, but have learned a lot from the people here.

Finally, I want to tell James how much I appreciate that he has taken this on - I am sure there is a fair amount of work and responsibility that goes with being the "forum guy".

Thanks everyone and happy holidays!