Today especially, I feel proud knowing mccullin4, however weak knowing someone on a social network can seem. I think he has a good eye in the work that he wants to produce and show and has sufficient experience of the non-photo and Flickr world to know which of his photos can work as art, whether on a computer screen o… Read more

Today especially, I feel proud knowing mccullin4, however weak knowing someone on a social network can seem. I think he has a good eye in the work that he wants to produce and show and has sufficient experience of the non-photo and Flickr world to know which of his photos can work as art, whether on a computer screen or further, printed, framed and on a wall. I'll venture slightly sideways here, and that is on photography as art, seeing as mccullin's own Flickr pieces and many of the ones he comments on seem to fall into that category. Through his comments and Flickrmailings, mccullin4 has honesty, humour and an ambitious yet realistic view on art photography as art. I say 'ambitious' because I think he comes from with a strong belief in art as a very valid human creative activity at the personal level and can and does contribute towards an enjoyable human activity... for others to see, whether in a forum or elsewhere online or in the physical world of galleries and museums. And he wants to be active in it. I say 'realistic' because I think he has a well-grounded personality, judging by his often brief and often humorous comments, a healthily low enough level of self-promotion and self-obsessiveness. This is what I sense from his Flickr comments and Flickrmails. In short, and in the best possible way, he is what I call an honest, low maintenance social network contact. In the present 'wall-to-wall reality TV show, get rich quick, be a celebrity overnight, talent and effort are not of the greatest importance' world we live in, he fights the good fight. No overdramatics, no hype, just experience and encouragement. I leave you all with something** I found out today which made me very happy for mccullin4. Small it may seem, but he went and won a 'Hepatitis C Trust' photo competition. The image he submitted to such a specific body's competiion, 'Two Things', an abstract experiment with light-type photo showing 2 cell-like shapes, tells me that he has real world experience. It is a very reasonable submission to a Hep C Trust competition. I'm very thrilled for him. He deserves the recognition, and, without seeing the competing pieces, the win too I expect. I understand it will be printed and hung at a gallery/exhibition soon. **Here's the weblink to the competition-win announcement: www.hepctrust.org... Thanks mccullin4 for showing your work on Flickr, and hope you keep going ever onward and upward in your creative abstract photography. Yours sincerely, jamelikat, 17 April, 2012