Quote:


TMI 

db wrote on Jun 9^th, 2016 at 6:17am:


Ha!  If you can put Holly Armstrong in there it would be.

Spartan2 wrote on Jun 13^th, 2016 at 2:59pm:


Thanks, Spartan 2!  I was beginning to feel a little guilty about never having sent any pics in before so I decided to submit a few of the better ones.

Of course, if the truth be known, up to today, the pics credited to me were really taken by Mrs. Jimbo. 

While I appreciate a good pic, I am not much of a photographer.  It is sort of a running joke between me and the publisher of the Boundary Waters Journal.  Almost whenever I submit pics with my stories, he inevitably tells me my pics suck and that I should take somebody along who knows what they're doing next time.

Still, over the years I have actually had a few pics published in the BWJ.  Since I was "in" at least three of those pics, obviously I was clearly not the photographer (either my wife or oldest son should have the credit).  However, as a result of dumb luck, a few years ago I snapped a "giant fish pic" that even Stu Osthoff could not resist.  He's biased towards big fish pics and he ran as a full page pick with my story "Fishing With Charlie."  Heck, the kid's smile alone sold that pic... which goes to show you that even a blind squirrel can find a nut every once in awhile!

I truly admire the more gifted photographers - like yourself - that we have here on QJ.  It takes a trained eye, real artistic flair/intuition, and a knack for placing yourself in the position of most potential to be able to routinely produce high quality pics... none of which I have. 

By my reckoning, one good pic is equivalent to well more than 1000 of my words!

Jimbo   

That a very interesting comment, Jimbo, since Stu told me in no uncertain terms that my photos were junk and not to submit any in the future.

It has always stuck in my craw just a bit.

And perhaps my compliments should have gone to Mrs. Jimbo, but I have enjoyed this series of photos.  Really.   

Spartan2 wrote on Jun 14^th, 2016 at 10:06am:


Thanks, Spartan 2.  I'll share your comments with Mrs. Jimbo.  She has been kidding me a bit over "credit" assigned to my batch of POD’s.

Thus, you may soon see a distinct deterioration of quality (or, certainly, a "change of perspective") with upcoming pics (assuming db runs with them, which is far from certain).  Mrs. Jimbo’s string of pics have about ended.  While I sort of agree with ST that (most of the time) any pic is usually better than no pic, I observe that he hasn’t seen MY stuff yet!
 
Re: Stu, well, yeah, he certainly has strong opinions and he seldom hesitates to voice them.  Long ago his comments would stick in my craw a bit, too.  I didn’t care what he said about my pics; I knew he was more right than wrong there.  Rather, early on, he would occasionally make a strong remark or take strong action regarding my stories. 

The instance that comes to mind is when once he deleted the first and last full pages of my story entitled, “Inukshuks & A Stroll Through the Park.”  I was one very unhappy camper, as I recall.  Thanks to db, however, you can find that story (as with all my others) – in its original entirety – in the QJ “Stories” section and judge for yourself (see: (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) ).  All these years later, I sort of "get it" why he decided to leave those pages out.  Nevertheless, if it had been MY magazine, I would have done otherwise.

I remember one time I called the magazine to order some camping equipment.  As it turned out, I reached one of his staff members and identified myself.  She immediately told me about the small committee meeting the day before in which they evaluated a submission of mine.  She said everybody had "raved about it" but Stu had some second thoughts and wanted to think it over some.  Eventually he killed it.

Ultimately, he's no more right or wrong than either you, me, or his committee members.  He just owns the danged magazine and, therefore, holds the power.

He can be "surgical" with stories and, minus an amputation here & there, what appears/remains is, in truth, "mine" (although one time, in fact, he did "insert" a line of advertisement for one of his products!).   With pics it is a different matter, I guess.  It's either salvation or damnation with nothing much in between.  Very frustrating for photographers, I'm sure.
 
Nevertheless, if ever I started a magazine, I’d like to think I would try to be a bit more supportive of writers & photographers, particularly because most are subscribers, too!  Maybe he thought he was saving time and serving the best interests of his magazine by “cutting to the chase” (ie. HIS ultimate decision) quickly with us and others.  As we know, that approach comes with a cost.
 
He reaps what he sews, right?

I think it’s fair to say he could have managed budding relationships a little better.  I would have made HR 101 “mandatory” for him if he had been in any of MY companies!

The harshness of Stu’s commentaries eased up considerably after the first couple years of working with him.  I’d like to believe that was because: 1) we built up a relationship, and/or 2) he received favorable reviews on my stuff.  Alternatively, I suppose it could be he simply mellowed with age.  I don't know which.

Ultimately, I respect what Stu has done with his magazine. I can even respect his damned strong opinions, even though I don't agree with them about 40% of the time.  I've found him to be a pretty good guy when he’s not being a butt head.

Anyway, you have so many outstanding pics on QJ that you need no one to come to your defense.  I seriously thought you were a professional photographer (and maybe you are).  I am merely relating to some of your feelings.  I DO know about how such stuff/noise can stick in one's craw.

The trick is not to let it distract us.

Later,

Jimbo