A change in the Board - Lack of Creativity

[gbmcleod]

For years, since the board's format changed from the earlier one around 2004 - which had many crazy guys (today we'd call them "seemingly mentally ill") - to today's board,the whole look has changed. Robotic. Automated photos as though a machine churns them out. We call any old photo with feet a "foot" picture. Sorry, Charly, you need to be thrown back into the sea.

In the old days, before say, 2004, guys would take their SLR 35mms and surreptitiously shoot photos of guys themselves; on occasion, friends who let them; sometimes strangers who didn't notice they were being photographed. Nonetheless, it was being done by members themselves, and the photos were cool: some were closeup (one of my favorite was of a guy sitting at a cafe. You only saw his legs, but you saw he had one ankle crossed behind the other showing the toes of one foot and the soles of the other. It was a very arousing photo! You wondered: what does the rest of him look like? Is he as beautiful as his feet?) But it made you ponder as well as lust ABOUT THE PHOTO. It wasn't just a 'snapshot': it was a "photograph." Snapshots are for "here we are at the grand Canyon." Photographs show the majesty of a vast land mass filled with elephants, zebras, gazelles, water buffalo, cranes with Mt. Kilimanjaro rising in the background.
The photos now are cookie cutter shots: most are TOO close up (white space around a subject brings an erotic quality to it),or are paparazzi photos of celebrities from 40 feet away.
I'd like to encourage guys to shoot artistic photos with their smartphones (although the quality is not remotely as good as a 35 mm SLR camera, no matter WHOSE camera it is (not even Apple's) and remember that this is a hobby. Hobbies are made more appealing by the attention devoted to them, as gardeners use compost or moss to achieve a better flower/fruit/vegetable. Somewhere in here, we've gotten into the "cut and paste" syndrome of jet dragging from another site. Creativity factor? 0. This is something we all love. MAKE IT EXCITING. Find camera angles that bring those toes to life, or make those soles mouthwateringly luscious.
Oh, and post larger - not gigantic - but larger, photos: 5 x 7 is a good size, although 4 x 6 is good, too.
We use to do all this ourselves and the board was so sexy. Now, it's just like looking at a reprint on a newspaper page of the Mona Lisa. No real beauty; no sense to texture (is that houndstooth or tweed. Is that rough skin or filigreed smooth skin); no artistry. I realize for some guys just any old foot will do. For those of us who use to take the photos, we know better. This is a case of "the good old days WERE better," and I suggest we return to them. I mean, come on. If the younger among you have finally realized vinyl is better than CD (and streaming), then doesn't it stand to reason that TAKING photos is better than just copying some one dimensional shot by a photographer of any ol' celebrity instead of the sexy guy whose feet make you burn and you want to hold them to your face? CREATE the beautiful image, and leave the easy "copy and paste" technique to your 4 year old brother or sister.
Over and out.

[ftlaudft]

Hey good buddy! I think everyone here will want to thank you for your encouragement to do our best and then even better. I think you do a good job especially in showing people how to do better, for example, when you write about considerations for photo size. Many, like me, don't have the technical know-how to take a digital photo, let alone work with the size.

It's important to remember that this is a free site. For top professional quality I go to a pay site, such as MyFriendsFeet. I pay a sum, really a very modest sum, and in return they provide top quality work consistently.

I'm very grateful for what we get here free. Life has taught me to be humble. If the foot has five digits and an anklebone, I won't compain.

Again, your encouragement to do better should be appreciated. You write so well that it is always a pleasure to read what you have to say.

[flickfire]

Hey good buddy! I think everyone here will want to thank you for your encouragement to do our best and then even better. I think you do a good job especially in showing people how to do better, for example, when you write about considerations for photo size. Many, like me, don't have the technical know-how to take a digital photo, let alone work with the size.

It's important to remember that this is a free site. For top professional quality I go to a pay site, such as MyFriendsFeet. I pay a sum, really a very modest sum, and in return they provide top quality work consistently.

I'm very grateful for what we get here free. Life has taught me to be humble. If the foot has five digits and an anklebone, I won't compain.

Again, your encouragement to do better should be appreciated. You write so well that it is always a pleasure to read what you have to say.

I couldn't agree more. We get a lot of great pics on this site(for free) because dedicated foot lovers spend their time, love and energy doing so, and I, for one, am very greatful for it! We male foot lovers are lucky to have such an accessible site like this one, and it's MUCH better than it was10 years ago. I remember a lot of old, angry, bitter queens spouting so much hatred on here, that the site almost got shut down! Thank God, those days are over, and the angry old trolls have faded away, and this board is so much the better for it, in my opinion.