Confusion reigns

[Kate]

I read about the pictures that have been or need to be returned as sub-standard and feel very much out in left field as far as the 6 to 8 that I have returned.  Were they OK?  Did they need more work?  Did they ever arrive at all?  I took some that were really in bad shape and did the best I could, I really questioned in my own mind whether they were acceptable, but without any feedback at all - for a while I thought that the fact that there were no more pics. in my galleries was just a way of saying that you hoped I would give up and go away.  Perhaps that is the case.  Reading this blog at least tells me that no-one else is getting an opportunity for work, either.  I think some sort of critique system would be helpful for the volunteers as well as helping you out, as most of us are not professionals and need to know how we are doing and whether we are useful to you or not.

[zapphnath]

Hey, Kate.
Actually, you can get that sort of feedback.  Simply post in the appropriate forum.  ("Easy", "Moderate" or "Difficult" under the "OPR Workshops" section).  Host the picture somewhere like Photobucket and make a new thread asking for feedback.
I'm new here, but I've noticed that a lot of members are quite helpful, in this regard.

David

[Kenny]

Hey Kate.

First of all, it's good to see you post here on the forum. I hope it won't be the last, either :P

Like any organization, things have a way of working into a nice routine after a while. I feel like things will only get better in this new year. From my understanding, there will be several new volunteers helping out with distribution and quality control. This will take a huge load off the ones who have been doing the whole thing by themselves. OPR has really grown since I first joined. I still believe in what we're all doing, and growing pains are necessary in order for us to, well...grow.

Anyway, I hope you had a good holiday season and are ready to get to work on the next batch as soon as this round is finished. We're all gonna be busy then. I personally can't wait  ;D


Kenny :)

[glennab]

Hi Kate, David & Kenny,

Kenny, you literally took the words out of my post!  I'd done one of my usual marathon blah-blah sessions to let Kate know she's appreciated and that admin is working on a more streamlined version of the assessment process, when I got booted off.  (My time ran out -- I should know better than to just allow 60 minutes for my ramblings!)

Anyway, ditto, ditto and ditto.

Kate, I can tell you that you're very much appreciated for being an OPR volunteer and accomplishing so many restorations.

If you're in doubt about any of the restorations for which you've received no feedback and you're concerned about their quality, post some of them for other volunteers to check out for you.  You have a world-spanning talented and honest group from which to glean tips, tricks and suggestions.  They're my rock.  I depend on their comments to get me through my challenges and they always come through for me.

In addition, if my assessment of some of the latest posts are any indication, many volunteers are getting restless with the dearth of available restorations.  For crying out loud, give them something to analyze before riots break out!  (Kidding!)

I'm glad you're part of the OPR community!

Hugz and Happy New Year!

GG

[Ausimax]

Hi Kate,

Its good to see you have found the forum. I like you wonder if my efforts have been acceptable, haven't had any bounce back yet, fingers crossed.

Post your work in the appropriate forum for other members to give you feedback, I know I am always amazed at the things they see that I have completely missed, sometimes we are too close to what we are working on, and need those fresh eyes to review our work. Besides when you have satisfied all their issues, you can feel fairly confident to send it home.

I feel that the new system where our photo has to pass inspection before we can receive another will be an improvement, then at least you wont have a backlog of work you are unsure about. The down side may be a slow turn around of images with a lot of waiting, time will tell.

Max

[Dave]

Kate,

I'm at work right now and the only photo editor on today, so I can't provide a lengthy reply. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is no news is good news as far as restorations go. We hope to offer a better critique system in the future, but for now posting your work in this forum as other volunteers have suggested is a great way to get feedback.

Dave

[Mike M]

I'm going to second what Dave said in the 'no news' vein.  I still have a bunch to go through but so far it has seemed like a lot of what needed to be tweaked is easily done on my end and it seemed unnecessary to bother people with the little stuff. There are a few redo's on the way but they are very few and far between.

[beckysell]

I'll also top that off with, while I always say the forum is the best way to get critiques/advice (the amount of talent of volunteers is by far exceeding any advice I can offer), if you'd like a more formal critique from me, just pop me an e-mail.  Most often, what you'll get from me is a note letting you know I received it and whether it is high quality. 

But, by far and above anything else, know that the work you are doing is making an incredible difference to not just the OPR organization, but the lives that the work is truly reaching in the owners of the photographs.