SFB’s pictures are good technically and he could probably earn his living as a photographer from what I’ve seen
I really should let this go (‘m not really that argumentative), but I couldn’t disagree more. Although granted, there are a lot of people who are terrible ‘pros’ – they normally shoot weddings…
For me, really good photogs fall into two camps, and both groups have a really good understanding of light and its use. There are those who shoot fairly straight composition and light a scene really well, MrSmith’s site above is a good example to me. Then, there are those who I think really use their camera like an artist, and come up with creative that I only wish I could match. This girl, as a true amateur, is a good example of how inventive some people are (lots of her really good stuff was taken with a compact): http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennipenni/2590423537/in/set-72157604168225201/
The rest of us really are just taking pictures which have personal significance. There is nothing wrong with SFB’s photos as long as you take them for what they are, quick snaps taken with a little bit of thought as memories of an event. Techincally they are not good, but Simon I’m sure would argue that he doesn’t care as they mean something to him, which is entirely fair. And this brings me back to the opening post, those shots by MrNutt are good images that will mean something to him and SFB has absolutely no grounding to critique them in such an obviously crass way.
FWIW, I really like the coffee cup image MrNutt. I think it’s really quite good.