Thanks, Duncan. When someone is touting how good they are, I say what Robert Villani used to say to me often in mid 1980s when I started: “Show me the picture.”

You would not believe some of the images that folks send to me just because …

With love, artie

It is better if people come to you asking you to teach them how to make great images like yours – at least then in their own minds they know they are not doing a great job and they will be ready and willing to learn.

If someone comes to you wanting you to tell them how great their sharp images are without saying something like “I can get sharp images but they’re still not as great as yours, what should I do to make them better ?” Then the chances are they just have big ego’s and are wanting affirmation of that.

In the latter case put up a ‘good’ comparison image, not one of yours – and see if there is anything about the ‘good’ image they think is better than their own image. What criteria do they use for deciding when an image is a great image ? Are they even interested in making images others think are great ?

Depending on their answers, as a teacher, you may have something to work with… or not…

Love your work.