Are there any great female aquascapers?

[Mark Evans]

if it haaadnt been for cotton eyed joeeee..." :?

some get through the net, the point is someone somewhere has written, produced distributed that anoying song. and yes some great one hit wonders. theres still a talent there somewhere.

im still trying to find mine in music and scaping :?

 

[a1Matt]

LOL - We've moved from great aquascapers to great scapes... (For which I am partly to blame with my reference to scapes). There's a difference in my mind, despite both being valid.

lol. Yep, I saw the thread veering off and just went with it!

It looks like we've meandered back to aquascapers, then eventually we might get back to female aquascapers

I'm not the man to do it though as I'm off to go and fiddle with my tank in search of that zen like scape........

 

[Garuf]

Lemon jellies album was amazing for a one hit wonder...
I think what makes a good aquascaper is someone that not necessarily has a good eye on the lens because I know a camera can lie, I despise the fact that people feel a photo needs to be photoshopped to represent reality when what they are actually doing is manipulating the truth and not showing reality, I know its to show it at its best but I always find that the setting of the tank photo to show more about the aquascape than a close up edited photo. Someone who can take a raw idea and match it with exactly how they saw it in there head is also a good aquascpaer even if the out come isn't great, it shows that they have the skill to manipulate the hardscape and the plants to the full remit of their imagination. Yes, there will always be compromise but then that's just how things are in the real world. I love Cau but I can't liken myself to them, I've always felt they exude a sense of self superiority that either rightly or wrongly is not necessarily what I think is good. They lack the imperfection and the rule breaking that they actually pride themselves on. Anyone can become stuck in a creative rut, My favourite band pig destroyer haven't done anything radically different in years and I'm now bored of them,that's how I feel with cau, they lack the different elements that has made many western aquascapers in my opinion superior.
my apologies for the incoherence but I think people should get what I mean.

 

[Tom]

I despise the fact that people feel a photo needs to be photoshopped to represent reality when what they are actually doing is manipulating the truth and not showing reality, I know its to show it at its best but I always find that the setting of the tank photo to show more about the aquascape than a close up edited photo

Depends on the extent of the photoshopping. I can't see a problem with colour balance, colour temperature, contrast, saturation, sharpening etc. The problem only comes when people start digitally moving things about in a picture. I have deleted the odd swimming shrimp from a picture, but I don't see the point in doing any more.

There we go, nicely off topic!

I love Cau but I can't liken myself to them, I've always felt they exude a sense of self superiority that either rightly or wrongly is not necessarily what I think is good. They lack the imperfection and the rule breaking that they actually pride themselves on.

If you look through CAU, there are plenty of innovative scapes to look at. They are not all neat and manicured either. They have a right to have pride in what they do. Just look at competition results - they clean up the prizes on their own. I expect the 2008 AGA will be largely dominated once again by the CAU. Having said that, there's plenty of good coming out of non-Asian countries at the moment.

Tom

 

[bugs]

so if a musician writes one hit only, does that make him a bad musician?

One hit wonders! In ten years time everyone laughs at them! Either that or its a classic 🙄 "if it haaadnt been for cotton eyed joeeee..." :?

The debate is not about what makes a bad aquascaper. Taking your example, one "hit" scape does not make a "great" aquascaper. One musical hit does not make a "great" musician. Greatness goes beyond the ability to competently complete the task in hand in a credible manner (IMO...)

On the subject of photoshop... Unless you shoot in RAW it's worth remembering that a digital camera does it's own version of Photoshopping to process the image. Sometimes tinkering can restore the original image.

 

[George Farmer]

I think that there is likelyhood that some aquascapes are 'great', but the aquascaper may not be.

There is an element of luck involved with aquascaping, for beginners at least that may just place their plants/decor here and there without any real foresight or vision. They may accidentally stumble on a wonderful composition without actually realising how it happened until it does, unlikely as it sounds, it does happen.

Also beginners that slowly evolve their aquascapes into something that may be perceived as great in the end, but were average to start. I can think of plenty of examples there. This doesn't make the aquascaper a great one, but the aquascape may well be.

As I pointed out in my last post, a great aquascaper creates top class aquascapes time after time with consistancy. These guys will have their own individual style too, but they also won't be afraid to implement innovative ideas to push the boundries. That makes them great, in my view.

 

[hellohefalump]

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/foru ... scape.html

this might interest you.

I'm a girl, but I'm rubbish because i've only just started so you won't be interested in me. I've kept fish for years, but this is my first attempt at a planted tank. I'd say I'm quite competitive. And I'm also quite handy with tools. When I was 12 my stepfather got me some tools for my birthday (including power tools!) and taught me to use them. I like the technical side of things - I find it all facinating. Science was one of my best subjects at school. And art was what I was best at at school. I paint scenery for theatre now.

 

[Dave Spencer]

I'm a girl, but I'm rubbish because i've only just started so you won't be interested in me.

Us blokes rest our case. Crikey heffalump, or whatever your name is, the more women in the hobby the better, I think. I am sure that with enough women in the hobby, a distinctive style, separate from those done by men could develop. It`s usually easy to distinguish a house furnished by a woman, than that done by a man.

Women seem to have a more fussy, attention to detail style than men. I don`t see why this couldn`t translate itself in to an aquascape.

I find the word "great" to be very subjective, and very overused. When I think of science, I think of Newton and Einstein for being "great" for the way they changed things. There are plenty of geniuses such as Galileo, but only two "greats" IMO. As for aquascaping, I can think of plenty aquascapers that are talented, but only one that can be called "great" for his influence and how he has changed things.

People may be able to dig up some aquascaping names from the past, mentioning how Amano copies them, or was influenced by them, but how often are their names bandied around the hobby? Most great people have stood on the shoulders of those that preceded them, to help them see further.

Dave.

 

[sari]

I'm a female also, used to keep fish for about 5 years until I came to England about 10 years ago and recently came back to the hobby because I just couldn't be without an aquarium anymore. I always had densely planted tanks, but with no extras what so ever. No ferts, co2, ammonia, nitrite or other tests (except pH) and had no algae issues and echinodoruses reaching mammoth sizes. I think the plants saved many a fish lives since the filter sponge got washed in tap water etc so my tanks were mini cycling a lot of the time and NH3 and NO2 spikes were quite inevitable.

I am now getting interested in more high tech aquariums but am not really competitive so I'm aiming to make my tanks pleasing to me and whoever visits me but with lush plants and a healthy mini ecosystem for my fishies. But as time goes by and I'm getting more into this hobby, I feel my mind starting to change and scaping is getting more and more appealing. If I only had a lot of money to fulfill all my desires...