I've gotten so many compliments in the past 24 hours that I'm almost embarrassed. Grateful thanks to everyone for the many responses—comments, emails, contributions, analyses, suggestions, reactions, and praise.
There have been some good suggestions, and I do have some ideas, but by far the consensus is that people like TOP the way it is and just want it to keep on coming. You got it. Thanks again for all the kind words.
Mike
I am glad you're only "almost" embarrassed!
Thanks for the hard work and great entertainment.
dale
Posted by: dale moreau | Tuesday, 17 March 2009 at 08:40 PM
Dear Mike,
You are indeed running a large photography website. Yes it is in journal form. Well read and appreachiated. With this realisation it would be handy for newcomers to be able to access previous posts / articles in other ways than just the cronological archives. Perhaps more categories or a tag cloud would be a most helpful addition to your site.
I regularly go through the articles on lumionous landscape as they are easy to access. Yet here I very rarely, search for something I vaguley remember. Yet I am sure there is so much there that could be accessed.
As this is such a daunting task to do in retrospect, perhaps it is something that you could do from now on.
Mike, this was a sudden thought I had after reading your post... just a suggestion...
I look forward to new posts with enthusiasm, and encourage all my students to also follow your weblog.
Many thanks, keep up the fantastic work.
Oh.. and keep up the print offers with your suitable commissions. I think these are a fantastic thing. And am happy to offer you similar deal if your ever interested. You get a percentage, readers get a discount... limited edition only to those that purchase through your site. A nice photograph that you choose.
Regards,
Len
Posted by: Len Metcalf | Tuesday, 17 March 2009 at 08:54 PM
Just keep it up. I look every day. Perfect combination of science and art. If you go astray (in my opinion) I will say so. You are the Photo mag of the future (and present). Nobody else comes close in scope while keeping my interest even when I'm not interested, if you know what I mean. There are a number of great blogs, but you're where I go every day and click through to Amazon and B&H to buy.
Posted by: John Sarsgard | Tuesday, 17 March 2009 at 09:31 PM
Mike,
What I've noticed more and more of, little by little, is that you seem to have gained quite a loyal fan base, or dare I say, almost a cult following. And you certainly deserve every bit of it. I sincerely hope that you won't let success get into your head and that you'll continue to keep both feet firmly planted on the ground. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Lambert | Wednesday, 18 March 2009 at 12:27 AM
I wanted to say that I really enjoy your site. I am just a low level photo amateur, but I try, and where else would I get suggestions/reviews on photo books to read and learn from?
Seriously, I made T.O.P. a daily destination, and I wish and hope you'll keep working here for a loooooong time!
Keep up the great work!
GVdP
Posted by: GVdP | Wednesday, 18 March 2009 at 05:34 AM
Without T.O.P the day is not complete.
In a prior personal note, I talked about
continuing the gratuity. A carrier pigeon
replica is probably helping it on its way to you.
Posted by: Bryce Lee | Wednesday, 18 March 2009 at 11:30 AM
I just checked my Paypal history, and have noted that my "subscription" expires in July. I plan to renew.
Posted by: Dave Kee | Wednesday, 18 March 2009 at 12:12 PM
There's something bloggish about TOP in that a good part of the reason I come here is for your (Mikes) slant on things; opinions & writing style. And something journalistic in that TOP is more than just opinion pieces, but all about the photo industry. I can't think of any other blog that I visit (present tense - I've been to blog sites, taken a peek, and left). Luminous-landscape is the closest thing I can think of ... I go there, look at "what's new". But I just don't find as much that interests me as I do here. I think Mike, you've been more consistent in what you want to say over the years than Michael R. whose priorities & mission have wavered with his own interests.
I'm not sure how much I'd go back and reread articles if they were tagged and I could find all articles that deal with X, Y or Z. I've done that when I first encounter other blogs.
Posted by: Dennis | Wednesday, 18 March 2009 at 12:40 PM
Mike,
I visit your blog(?) daily. It's like checking in with a good friend, that I share a lot of common interests with, who knows how to write well. Thanks for all you do to keep us informed, entertained, and mentally stimulated.
Rob Griffin
Posted by: Rob Griffin | Wednesday, 18 March 2009 at 02:48 PM
"A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet"
TOP is not longer a true "blog"; its become more of a magazine/newpaper/journal type of entity. It does publishe each article in a blog-like fashion, each as it is written, but the content type is too varied and there are too many different authors for "blog" to be the right term.
Regardless of what you prefer to call it, I call it a "must read at least once daily". The informational content is excellent, the writing is skilled, and the opinions are well expressed. I can find a number of close matches for the first attribute on other photo sites, but the other two attributes are rarely seen elsewhere.
Posted by: Dwig | Wednesday, 18 March 2009 at 07:08 PM