The Italian's cup of tea

I have a flickr photostream that is subject to public viewing and commenting. I don't mind this too much since I merely use flickr as a storage vehicle for my web content. I used to post them to groups to generate views but have long since stopped doing so. I honestly don't know who's looking at my pictures and where they come from.

There are a few notables. I think some of you blogger regulars came from flickr. Lately I've noticed there are significantly more Italians that are leaving comments on my photostream. Actually it could be just the same guy leaving comments.

Now I don't read Italian but I do know what it looks like. I can read Spanish, in which there are also many comments, but when I stumble upon Italian, it's off to Google-translate for me. What's interesting is that this one particular Italian commenter is constantly leaving me backhanded compliments. Here are a few examples from EMILIO42:

On this image:
Italian: "ritratto stupendo......Lei super.............ma lo sfondo verde non le dona molto ...anzi...............ciao"
English: "wonderful portrait......She's super.............but the green background does not contribute much …indeed............... bye"

On this image:
Italian: "beautiful, ma non mi piace l'ombra e' troppo pesante..........ciao"
English: "beautiful, but me piace the shadow is not too much heavy..........bye"

On this image:
Italian: "grande ritratto..........ma quel braccio e la mano, sono inutili..........rovinano una gran bella foto------Lucima e' la mia oppinione.................ciao"
English: "great portrait..........but that arm and the hand, are useless..........it ruins a great beautiful photo------Lucima this is my opinion .................bye"

I actually think about the comments. When I first started I used to really heed the opinion/suggestions of others. These days not so much because I don't think most people who make such comments know what they're talking about. Sometimes it's a matter of cost/benefit where the time necessary to fix something isn't worth the return on investment for example frizzy/messy hair. Sometimes it's a matter of taste, I think the arm in the picture frames the head/face. I wouldn't have chosen that picture without the arm. And then there are times that I simply overlooked a flaw that I could have easily removed ;P which is basically carelessness.

I don't feel too much when I read these comments, I just think they're interesting. Whether it be those who pour on the compliments or those who give a compliment only to tell you what's wrong with your image, photography is purely subjective. My work is not everyone's cup of tea. :)