In the time this magazine has been around, I’ve had some brilliantly talented submissions come across my desk. I’ve corresponded with some wonderful people.  Unfortunately, not everyone has been so pleasant. Every so often submissions are made that are sub-par, technically ignorant, artistically devoid of merit or just plain uninteresting. I find it hard to send rejection letters – no matter what my feelings about the work, I very much appreciate the time it takes to put a collection together and the courage it takes to share with the world.

This past week I had a particularly interesting experience with a young lady from the great state of Texas. Boastfully mentioning her Nikon D60, her undying commitment to the art and craft of photography, she submitted 5 bland country-themed snapshots and 4 sentences (proudly billed as paragraphs) rife with regional vernacular and questionable grammar. Therein did not lie the problem – Any camera can produce beautiful, evocative photographs with skill, words can be edited, photographs can be re-submitted with improved processing, cropping and coloration. The problem laid in how this young lady responded.

Personally attacking fellow contributors’ works, she spat on my editorial judgment and ignored an entire email of constructive criticism intended to help guide her to a successful re-submission. And then there are the potentially libelous (Wikipedia: Libel) remarks on her MySpace, StumbleUpon accounts. (And likely others, I did not search further.) Mobilizing her “army” of e-friends to slander my name, write me hate-filled letters and generally harass me.

My advertising revenue has tripled and I’ve nearly doubled my daily readers during the period of her ‘assault’, many of the visitors taking the time to read approximately 5 pages and spend more than 10 minutes on my site doing so.

A person’s professionalism should be evident throughout their life, and their interactions. True professionalism recognizes opportunities for growth, making the most of a chance to reexamine and improve. Professionalism is an attitude. Regardless of your position in your career, amateur or professional photographer, behaving and interacting to the highest standards is what truly separates the professional and the non-professional.

I encourage anyone interested in making a submission to do so. This magazine was created to showcase the very best, and if you strive to meet those standards, I am happy to offer you insight and constructive criticism to help you get there.