Skip to main content

I Read the Comments


 

I’m guessing this is a man.

Julia Jackson McCready if you can’t handle reading a bit of constructive criticism, maybe the web isn’t the place for you.

It wasn’t criticism of me, by the way. I objected to a bit of arrogant upsmanship on the Howard County Eats page on Facebook.

It all began with this post:

I had the pleasure of taking product photos for Maiwand Kabob (columbia square location specifically) and I’ve been eating here consistently for years. One of the best local spots you can count on! From the kabobs, to the gyros, to the starter plates like the veggie samosa.. all the way to their desserts. Awesome ownership and reliable quality. Check it out!

What followed were a collection of quite appetizing photos. (I’ll add them in here if I can get permission from the photographer.) I love Maiwand to start with, and the photos just plain made me hungry.

However…Take a look at the very first comment:

Food looks good. The photos were shot with too shallow DOF and highlights are blown. Was this your first attempt at photographing food?

Really? The first thing you think of is how to make someone look bad?

My response, after taking a deep breath:

No. Just no. Be kind.

The comeback:

If you can’t handle reading a bit of constructive criticism, maybe the web isn’t the place for you.

I thought a minute about what was at the heart of my objection.

Did the original poster ask for professional advice? Is this a group for professional photography critiques? No.

My point was not well received.

Nor did I ask for your opinion. Hope your evening gets MUCH better!

Oh, well. I’m happy to say my evening did get much better because I walked away from this thread and didn’t look back. *

Until this morning, of course. I replayed the exchange in my head and wondered yet again why there are some people who just love to come along and trash someone else’s creations/enthusiam/ideas. It’s all about the upmanship, isn’t it?

Remember when I wrote about The Ick? This definitely gives me The Ick.

Have a great Monday and, for heaven’s sake, be kind. 



*To his credit, the photographer took this unasked-for critique much better than I did. 






Comments

  1. Julia A. McCreadyMay 18, 2026 at 4:23 AM

    Please do not submit comments here. This function will be disabled shortly. Use the link above instead. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...
Post a Comment
Read more