Hello everyone!

So yesterday I've got a long anticipated message from "support" that my photo #1000 has been added to the database.
Here are they all gathered for 10.5 years of my membership: https://www.airliners.net/search/phot...photographersearch=Sergey%20Kustov

However, now I have to tell my recent decision: I stop my uploads since this day.
I will not be raising any topics concerning screening process and so-called "double standards" here. This has already been discussed many times by many members and is well known to everyone who uploads photos.
My decision is dictated mostly by my personal issues. For the recent period I have started to notice that I adhere too much to photo processing flow that is considered a standard process to let a photo be accepted to A.net. However this process cannot be applicable to every photo that I take. I want to leave some freedom for creativeness, searching newer angles, not standard ones, looking wider, not just in the way of tight crop that is good for A.net. Another issue is much advertisement on the site, a thing that gets more and more annoying. I realize this is probably the main way to get some income from A.net for Demand Media however for me, a long-time member who knows what A.net used to be like in the past, it is not a pleasant thing.

My membership has brought much to me - joy when the photos I wanted to publish were finally accepted, disappointment when I was getting rejections. I had many Top 5 photos, a number of Photographer's Choice awards. Many things to remember, actually. Now I want to thank the team for their time. I was one of many photographers but I know much time was spent for screening my works and considering appeals along with others.
I was not an active forum member here but I made many new contacts with very good people from all over the world and this is another reason I want to thank A.net for.
Strictly speaking, I will be a member of A.net in future as I'm keeping my account and photos in the database and I'm going to follow what is going on here from now and on.

Probably I shouldn't make an event from all this but I think it's a good case to share my thoughts with those who wants to read them. If someone thinks in a different way, please feel free to share your opinions. I will not take any offense.

My best regards,
Sergey

Very clearly put. When you realize you are shooting for A.net rather than yourself, its time to move on. Unless you're being paid for it why shoot against your instincts? For some (the majority?) A.net's requirements and their own coincide, but this is not the case for everyone, and A.net may be doing you more harm than good.

Some people do manage to work in both a.net and personal styles at the same time. I found this impossible.

Cheers,

Colin

Sergey,

first of all congratulations to your 1000th acceptance!
Some nice photos in your portfolio.

View Large View Medium

Photo © Sergey Kustov


Your reasons to stop (or maybe pause..?) uploading are very understandable. You shouldn't have to work against your instincts to get photos accepted at A.net. If you feel this is not what you want to do it certainly is best to find an alternative.

That said it's great to hear you'll still visit the site and maybe one day you'll feel like uploading here again.

Cheers,

Thierry

Hi Sergey,

I had the pleasure of giving the final HQ to your 1,000th picture yesterday, congrats!

Absolutely understandable that you want (and probably need) to take a time out from uploading. If there is any comfort in that, we all have been there at least once. Many times other things in life (rightfully) take precedence over uploading pictures, but I have found over and over again that this is a hobby that you can take up again at any time and will be as rewarding and interesting as ever before.

So, enjoy your time off and hope to see you soon back   !

Cheers,
Andres

Congrats, Sergey, and best wishes for the future!

Your "ground-to-cruise-altitude" shots are simply amazing:

View Large View Medium Photo © Sergey Kustov

View Large View Medium Photo © Sergey Kustov

Will you keep uploading photos on the net? If so, where can we find your new photos now?

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for warm words.
I think I will still do some publications of new photos on sources like Jetphotos, Planespotters or Airplane-Pictures, but I'm not sure if they will be frequent and almost everyday as they were here.
We'll see how things will go.

Hi Sergey

Just found your post by chance, but it helped me in my thinking about whether or not to upload to Airliners.net...I have not, so far, uploaded anything...due to lack of understanding criteria for "acceptance" or non-acceptance...and I don't want to subject myself to "views" I might not agree with at all...

For me "appealing realism" is the aim and some sort of "visual drama" if possible...and I think I know now, that that is not "appreciated" at airliners.net...it might be, but only if also combined with "other" – for me unknown – aspects...

So I am grateful for what you said in your post...

This is now my twentieth post on Airliners.net...if it is allowed to stay...

gunnar
LA, CA