>There are some that believe the title of artist is >given by others,not by ones self. That's a pretty good explanation. It holds in my mind for just about every aspect of human endeavor where some are eager to claim membership of an "elite". How much more kudos when others place you there? Underlying that, the truth is I take (ergo not make) photographs. However "pretty", challenging or down right ambiguous they are they are all, really, little more than "record shots" of what I saw through the viewfinder (well, 0.1 sec before I pressed the shutter anyway). "Photography" in the sense I practice it envolves "capturing" views that already exist and presenting them in a 2D form. A real artist (painter, sculptor etc) starts with raw materials and creates something from within thier own mind. Sure, it can be "representational" but every "brush stroke" is placed by thier own hand. Bob
