There was a most welcome respite from GWC threads but a couple have come up, so it won’t be me breaking the silence.

I was thinking of an analogy to photography and modeling.  There is often a lot of disdain coming from some “professional" photographers and some models (the quotation marks to indicate that the very definition is a subject of debate) directed toward amateurs and hobbyists.  And much lamenting of the pointlessness of TFP, indeed the evil of the practice because it undercuts people trying to make their living at photography. 

It seems clear that the problems come about because the minimum technical skill to take a photograph is zero.  It is fun and millions of people do it for entertainment, and for free, the same basic activity (perhaps at a lower skill level) that also supports some professionals.  In other words, it is just like gardening.  Anyone who owns a plot of soil will become a gardener whether he likes it or not;  usually SOMEthing will start growing there.  Lots of people buy a few flowers and stick them around and mow the lawn.  There are a few, very few, professional garden designers who are true artists and are known around the world.  They may very well be the best gardeners in the world.  But many “amateur" gardeners (and it looks silly to call a serious gardener that, the implication being that they might go “pro") are very good.  We have a small urban lot but have maybe 200 species of plants.  My wife knows them all by their Latin names.  She manages (without pay) an urban native wildflower display garden.  She is certified as a Master Gardener (yes, there are such things) but has never made a penny off of it.  Neighbors and friends ask for advice and in the fall we share plants with neighbors, all for free because we love plants.  “Professional gardeners" would include the world famous garden designers and the kid down the street who mows your lawn, but also runs over and kills all your flowers.  “Amateur gardeners" will include the person who does nothing more than stick some annuals in the ground and real artists who just get satisfaction creating splendid living works of art in their own back yards. Interestingly, gardeners, whether professional or amateur, share in celebrating the love of gardens.

I like to watch.

Love,
Chance

P.S.  Are you Raphael?

If cream rises to the top and the top acts get top billing, then no good model or photographer should lament the existence of TFP.

OK, I'd really like to say something clever here, but you've covered it nicely.  Maybe something will perk into my tiny pea-brain a little later.

Bump.

-Don