Goodnight, all!

It is now December 14, four months after the last M.A.L.ady post to their blog.

Their main site has "gone dark," and is currently "parked" at a GoDaddy.com generic page. This would indicate that, although the M.A.L.adies (?) retain their domain name, they have taken down the web site itself. Whether they got tired of their efforts, ran out of money for the web hosting charges, or decided to lay low to forestall legal action, I have no idea.

Since blogspot.com sites live forever, their blog is still up, just as this one will remain on-line. However, as I mentioned before, it has now been four months since they posted anything.

Given this, until we get some sign that the M.A.L.adies (?) are returning to action, this blog is going to go dormant as well. I will no longer be updating the counters or posting new comments.

In one sense, I'm sorry that the M.A.L.ady or M.A.L.adies haven't been publicly identified; as I promised earlier, once that were to happen, I would reveal my own identity as well. But, for now, since that hasn't happened, I shall remain merely "Tarzan Wilcox." In another sense, maybe it's just as well that the M.A.L.adies (?) are allowed to slink off silently, and this whole brouhaha fade away as a bit of lunacy from the spring and summer of 2009.

Now, let's all get back to some photography!

While waiting for news from M.A.L.adyland...

...M.A.L.L. would like to congratulate "major thug" Floris van Breugel on having several of his images selected for honors in the B.B.C. Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards. I guess that just goes to prove that "the Beeb" is another part of the Worldwide Adamus-Worshiper Conspiracy. I mean, who are you going to believe when it comes to judging photographic quality -- the B.B.C. or the M.A.L.adies?

I miss a milestone

As of yesterday, it has been two months since the last M.A.L. post. Should I put up another counter?

M.A.L. "pinin' for the fjords"...?

It's not "pinin'," it's passed on! This website is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed it to Blogspot, it'd be pushing up the daisies! Its metabolic processes are now history! It's off the twig. it's kicked the bucket, it's shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-WEBSITE!!

A silence descends upon M.A.L.adyland

For those who haven't noticed, it's been two-and-a-half weeks since the last M.A.L. post. Could the head M.A.L.ady have decided to try to fade away to avoid legal action? Or did Mom and Dad give them an especially-long "time out" from the computer?

A note to my "helper"

Several times, over the past few weeks, I have received comments (presumably from the same person) identifying a certain photographer as the force behind the M.A.L. site. As I've said before, legal considerations prevent me from revealing any unofficial "tips" as to the identity of one or more (if there are more) of the M.A.L.adies. Once the culprit(s) is/are revealed legally, you'll be the first to know.

I would note that my "helper," in making his or her case that "photographer X" is a/the M.A.L.ady, points out that he or she made the accusation in a comment to the M.A.L. blog, and had the comment censored by the M.A.L.adies. Hence, his or her suspicion that "photographer X" must be the guilty party, or else the blog would have published the comment to throw suspicion elsewhere. Unfortunatly for that conclusion, when I went through all the M.A.L. blog comments a few days ago, I found several published comments accusing "photographer X" of being responsible for the site. So, it would seem that the (singular or plural) M.A.L.adies didn't censor some accusations against that photographer -- which leads me to suspect he isn't really the culprit. Close, but no cigar.

One Hundred Days

Yes, one hundred days ago, we issued the M.A.L Challenge, calling on the M.A.L.adies to "put their money where their mouth is" and show us their own photographs, so we could see just how their work compares to that of Marc Adamus and his friends they so despise.

To no one's surprise, the response has been...silence.

I guess the M.A.L.adies realize that, if they had to show their own work, the jig would be up, and the entire photographic world would realize they weren't worthy of carrying a real photographer's tripod case. This way, instead, what we see is that they don't have the guts to stand up and speak for themselves. Again, not a surprise.

I swear, you just can't make this sort of stuff up!

A couple of days ago, the M.A.L.adies offered yet another "proof" of Marc Adamus's supposed lies: This one is such a classic, you really need to go through it bit by bit.

They begin by claiming:

First, Marc starts off his post with an epic amount of bullshit, making this relatively easy hike sound like some epic Himalayan trek. He even throws in gratuitous lies about having a lot of experience hiking "off-trail" in the North Cascades (laughter).

Then a concerned Photosig member calls out some of his shit, and Marc goes into the familiar defensive pattern we're all familiar with (ie, I don't remember what I've said in the past, I do what I want, etc etc). You can clearly tell that Marc is bristling at having been exposed, and he's stomping all over this fellow.

The M.A.L.adies provide a link to this thread, as have I. I strongly recommend you read it, as the actual thread bears absolutely no resemblance to the M.A.L.ady account above. Adamus gives a straightforward account of the taking of the photograph, another member (Tomas Kaspar, by the looks of it) calls it a "beautiful shot," but qualifies that it's not really "wilderness," whereupon Adamus replies that, although a popular hike, it is technically in the Mt. Baker Wilderness area. Then the conversation moves on to other matters. Only in M.A.L.adyland could this civil, mutually-supportive discussion be retold as a near-apocalyptic battle between the forces of light and darkness. But, wait, the best is yet to come!

More importantly, he added another LIE in his little "tirade". He stated that the hike was "about 5 miles in". This is a RIDICULOUSLY transparent lie! The official hike distance is 4.1 miles (USFS, Lake Ann trail).

Yep, you've got that right: In M.A.L.adyland, calling a 4.1-mile hike "about 5 miles" is a grave and unforgivable lie. Most people, of course, would recognize the "about" as meaning it was an approximation, and figure "about 5 miles" was to distinguish between it and, say, a one-mile hike on one hand, and a ten-miler on the other. But not the M.A.L.adies!

Of course, this could be held up as yet another example of the M.A.L.adies making a mountain out of a molehill (except, in this case, it's more like Mt. Everest out of a grain of sand), but I think I've figured out their "logic." You see, you need to ask the question: what sort of person would think the difference between 4.1 and "about 5" miles a huge discrepancy? The only answer I can come up with is "an 'outdoorsman' for whom a 4.1-mile hike is just barely doable, but a 5-mile hike utterly impossible." In other words, someone pretty seriously out of shape, unable to get to locations where much of the best photography can be found. Hmmmm...do you get the feeling we just found out something new about the M.A.L.adies?

Hypocrisy, thy name is M.A.L.ady

Check out the M.A.L.adies' latest (multiple) entries, in which, on the anniversary of the death of Galen Rowell, they capitalize on and exploit Rowell's death in order to criticize Marc Adamus for allegedly capitalizing on and exploiting Rowell's death. Seriously, can they really not see the double-standard in their action?

This just in: M.A.L.adies issue gratuitous insult against Muslims!

In their latest "parody," the M.A.L.adies issue a mock letter from NaturePhotographers.net (an excellent web forum, by the way) supposedly taking to task, in Gestapo-like fashion, someone who declared insufficient loyalty to Adamus. Now, this is pretty innocuous (except for it being a second violation of Godwin's Law), and is even a bit funnier...no, wait, make that a bit less unfunny than their usual slime, except that they take a completely gratuitous swipe against Islam by repeatedly having the NaturePhotographers.net Gestapo refer to "Marc (Peace be upon him)"-- the honorific bestowed on the prophet Muhammed by his followers. I suspect that devout Muslims would not appreciate throwing in a bit of mockery of their religion into a message supposedly coming from a Nazi-like dicatatorial group. So, where's the Ayatollah and his fatwas when we really need them?

And one more thing...

During my survey of comments posted to the M.A.L. blog, I discovered a quite interesting phenomenon: after an early period of time where the M.A.L.adies were controlling the tone of the comments by simply refusing to punish any critical of them, they began to (apparently) back off on the censorship. Since then, the sentiment of the comments has swung wildly against them; leaving off the posts by one of their "staff," the count I came up with was 64 positive, 212 negative.

But there's been an interesting pattern: for the past several weeks, no matter how negative the balance of the comments has been, the first comment on the entry has always been positive. And posted shortly after the blog entry itself. And, of course, anonymous. Boys and girls, can you say "sockpuppet"...? Sure, you can!

A stunning bit of hypocrisy from the M.A.L.adies

Yesterday, we got a plaintive post from M.A.L.adyland, begging their followers to stop posting comments under their own names:

Due to fears of reprisals from THUGS, IDIOTS, & MORONS, we suggest that all fans and supporters post as "anonymous" or under assumed names from now on. The mood of the THUGS & MORONS has become quite ugly, with several threats of violence made in the last several hours.

MarcAdamusLIES.com appreciates your support, but please DON'T compromise yourselves by opening your life to indiscriminate slander and attacks from THUGS & MORONS, by revealing your real names. The first action of a THUG or MORON is to google your name to find any dirt he or she can. Be safe, post anonymously!

And to the THUGS & MORONS, well, you cowards already post anonymously, despite pretending to be innocent victims who were simply minding your own business. No one believes your Marc Adamus worshipping nonsense anymore! Grow up; grow a pair!

I guess they weren't counting on anyone actually going through all the comments on their site. Bad move, guys! (And I use "guys" advisedly.) I decided to check every comment to every post so far, and the results were illuminating, to say the least:

• There has never been a pro-M.A.L. comment on their blog that wasn't anonymous or using a fairly obvious fake name (like simply "Steve," "George," or "G. Pismo Clam") with no link or anything that would reveal their identity. Not one. For their supporters (if any) as well, hiding behind an untrackable identity is the M.A.L. way of life.
  
• As to the anti-M.A.L.adies being "cowards" who "already post anonymously," on the contrary, a considerable number of posts critical of their blog have been signed with the critic's real name. Many of those posters now have their names listed in the M.A.L.L. Honor Roll. Practically all of them have been targets of a M.A.L.ady slander campaign, touching on everything from their competence at work to their relationships with their parents to their sexual orientation. And, in some of those cases, the slander campaign began only after they had posted their negative comments on the blog.

So, when the M.A.L.adies warn people about "...opening your life to indiscriminate slander and attacks from THUGS & MORONS, by revealing your real names. The first action of a THUG or MORON is to google your name to find any dirt he or she can," they aren't talking about anything that's been done by Marc Adamus or his supporters -- they're describing their own despicable modus operandi.

An interesting omission, don't you think?

Over in M.A.L.adyland, while the blog has been full of the usual deranged rants, the main M.A.L. website has been strangely quiet. The same list of supposed "lies" from Adamus (without any evidence to support their claim that they are lies at all, of course), the same lists of "thugs" and "useful idiots" (although they promised that "many more names will be added in the near future," the lists contain the exact same names as when the website was launched), the same list of obviously-fake names of their "team."

There's one item on their page that's notable, though. It's the clickable region reading "what you can do to restore integrity to landscape photography" -- and it's notable because it's the only clickable area that leads nowhere. Even after all these months, it still has no link.

It's nice of the M.A.L.adies to admit that they have nothing at all to say about restoring integrity to landscape photography. If I can help them out here, I would suggest the link should lead to a new page that reads:

Don't believe anything you read on the Marc Adamus Lies website...and don't trust anything you hear from the psychotic clown(s) that run that site and its blog.

With that change alone, the M.A.L.adies could make a key step toward making their website at least partially worthwhile.

Quotes that (almost) don't need comment

Over the past several weeks, the THUGS & MORONS came dangerously close to outing one of our privileged sources. They tried all sorts of disgusting and despicable tactics to paint this person as some sort of lunatic.

Yes, in M.A.L.adyland, I'm sure that telling the truth falls under the category of "disgusting and despicable tactics," since it's something they avoid at all costs.

And the idiocy just keeps on coming...

A few weeks ago, a M.A.L.ady wrote a post deriding Popular Photography and Outdoor Photography (both of which, of course, have notably featured photographs by Marc Adamus) as "loser magazines." Now, that announcement in itself would have been one of the stupidest things written this year in the photographic world, but the M.A.L.ady Code seems currently to be "when you find yourself in a hole, keep digging." And, thus, we get them(?) expanding on that yesterday by declaring Outdoor Photography "a rag" and dismissing Popular Photography as "as low as you can go in photography publishing."

Hmmm....I guess we now know two magazines in which the M.A.L.ady has tried and failed to get published, don't we? (Although I'm sure there are many others.)

Pot, meet kettle... (8/7/09 edition)

After too long of a pause, the psychotic clown(s) is/are back. Presumably Mommy and Daddy finally restored Junior's computer priviliges after suspending them for a couple of weeks after getting their online service's bill. Anyway, his/her/its latest inanity is to claim that Adamus never went on a backpacking trip around Crater Lake, as he claimed to have done, because his famous photo was taken from a location near the hotel. (Note to myself: when returning from a hike, never take a photo within a quarter-mile of the trailhead; otherwise, it will be held up as "proof" that I never went on the hike at all.)

In any event, the M.A.L.ady is "challenging" Adamus to prove him/her/it wrong by releasing other photos from the same trip, taken at locations further along the path.

Now, I'm not going to tell Adamus how to respond, but all I can say is "Are you freakin' kidding me??? You have the nerve to 'challenge' another photographer to show more of their images? Look at the M.A.L. Challenge Counter on this site to see how long you gutless loser(s) have ducked my challenge to show your own photos. Until you've done so, what right do you have to 'challenge' anyone else? Put your money where your mouth is...or shut it."

A new M.A.L.ady Rule

The psychotic clown(s) seem to have a number of interesting and quite...creative rules for photography, such as that you can't be a real photographer if you ever take a workshop from another photographer. Today, they've introduced a new one, stating that Marc Adamus cannot be a "real photographer" because he worked as a part-time bartender two years ago. Apparently, according to The M.A.L.ady Rules, if you've ever worked at some other job in order to support your photography, you are forever excluded from being considered a true photographer.

Let's see how well that rule applies, shall we? While pursuing their photography...

• Ansel Adams worked as a piano teacher
• Minor White waited tables
• Eliot Porter was a biochemist
• Galen Rowell ran an auto repair business
  

...and, as far as we can tell, the M.A.L.adies sit at their computer all day, because we have yet to see any evidence that "they" are real photographers (in any sense of the term).

Another challenge (that the M.A.L.adies will ignore, as usual)

One of the favorite claims of the M.A.L.adies is that Marc Adamus isn't really, as he says, an avid outdoorsman, that he isn't a mountaineer, and that all his claims to go to great extremes of backpacking to get his images are merely more of his supposed "lies."

Well, personally, I'd be delighted to have that proven true! Since I am not an avid mountaineer myself, and am undoubtedly not in the physical condition for multi-week backpacking trips in the wilderness, I'd love to find out that those "remote" locations from Adamus's images are all easily reached by car, and that those spectacular mountain landscapes can, in fact, be photographed from the side of a convenient highway!

So, here's this challenge: Take a look at the following three Adamus landscapes (one, two, and three), all of which certainly appear to have been taken miles from nowhere. Identify where they are located. Let me know the nearest approach by paved road. And give me directions, and tell me the length and elevation gain of any hike to reach that location from the nearest paved roadside pullout or parking lot.

For the sake of fairness, if you can show that each of these is located ten miles or less hiking distance (one-way) from a paved road, and that said hike will have a total elevation gain of less than 1000', I will grant you that Adamus may be exaggerating his wilderness abilities. If, however, you can't show such a thing, you withdraw your claims that Marc Adamus doesn't really go to great distances (literally) to bring home his images. So, how about it? (Oh, who am I kidding? The gutless M.A.L.adies never meet their challenges...just as they never back up their claims....or show their own photographs...or...)

The M.A.L.adies and their sick Adamus obsession

The latest from the psychotic clown(s) -- a screed directed against a charter member of our M.A.L.L. Honor Roll:

The MORON, THUG, CRETIN, and TERMINAL LOSER Mark Metternich has been at it again. This time, he's got a page long, disgusting ode to Marc Adamus on FredMiranda.com

Wow...it sure sounds like Mark Metternich spent a whole post devoted to the praises of Marc Adamus, doesn't it? Imagine our surprise (or, for those who know The M.A.L.ady Way, complete lack of surprise) when we actually look at the series of posts in question (filled, by the way, with more of Mark's absolutely beautiful photographs) and find the "page long, disgusting ode to Marc Adamus" consists entirely of the following line from Mark's commentary on one of his own photos:

I used a twist on the popularized sharpening technique Marc Adamus has written about.

Yes, you read that correctly. The "page long, disgusting ode" consisted of one isolated sentence.

It seems that, in M.A.L.adyland, everyone is always talking about Marc Adamus -- even when they're not. Boys and girls, can you say "sick obsession?" Sure, you can!

(By the way, M.A.L.adies, I see you are now calling your enemies "cowards." May I suggest to you that those who refuse to show us examples of their own photographs, and who seem to have conveniently forgotten about their promised uncensored forum on their website, have no right to consider anyone else a coward, unless they happen to be staring in a mirror at the time?)

Here's how the M.A.L.adies rack up a hundred posts

This evening, the M.A.L.adies posted five "oldies but goodies" to their blog. In other words, exact word-for-word copies of entries from weeks or months before (and, to top it all off, one of these was one of their "PSA"s, and another was the "text version" of the same post).

And these psychotic clown(s) expect people to be impressed by their having more than one hundred entries in their blog??? It's simple, just post the same entries over and over. Unfortunately for my post count, I have this thing called "ethical standards." I know...I don't expect the M.A.L.adies to know what I'm talking about, either.

A dilemma...

For the first time, M.A.L.L. has had to refuse to approve a comment. But not for the reasons you might assume.

We received two e-mails from an anonymous source claiming to know the identity of the M.A.L.ady. A key bit of the primary evidence was that this person had written comments to that effect to the M.A.L. blog, and they had been censored. The author's assertion is that, if it had been a "false trail," the comment would have been approved to throw everyone else off as well. The author may have a point; I have seen other comments approved by the M.A.L.adies suggesting other photographers as the culprits, so censoring this one would be suspicious.

On the other hand, I have to stick to standards of legal and ethical responsibility. If I publish someone's name, and they turn out not to be a M.A.L.ady, my claiming they are would cause damage to their professional reputation. I could get sued; but, more to the point, I have to think about what it would be like if the shoe was on the other foot. If someone were to claim that I (i.e. my real identity, not "Tarzan Wilcox") was behind the M.A.L. site, it would not only be a false accusation, but also damage my standing among professional photographers in ways that might be irreparable, since there would always be some suspicion cast on me, no matter if and when the real culprit was eventually identified.

I would urge you to contact Marc Adamus directly, and reveal the name to him. But, until Adamus himself takes action, or reveals to me the suspected name of his cyberstalker, I'm not going to print hearsay suspicions, no matter how well-thought-out they might be.

By the way...if the person in question turns out to be the M.A.L.ady, I would have to backtrack on one issue: having seen some of this person's photos, I can say he's a very good photographer indeed (which is one of the reasons I remain skeptical). But, he's a photographer whose work could often be mistaken for Adamus's own, especially in terms of moody, saturated color. Indeed, when I put their two names together in a Google search, I found lots of people identifying the two of them as each being among their favorite photographers. This "mystery photographer" clearly processes his images every bit as much as Adamus, and in much the same way. In fact, he even sells Photoshop plug-ins to help others process their images with a more-vivid look! If (and I emphasize the "if") this "mystery photographer" is the chief or only M.A.L.ady, his only motivation would have to be jealousy at Adamus's success, because he has no claim to the high ground in photographic "purity."

The Fox and the Grapes (a fable for our time)

Once upon a time, there lived a photographer named Fox. He was not a very good photographer. His work was drab and ordinary (probably because Fox himself was drab and ordinary). But Fox was convinced he was the equal of any photographer on earth.

One day, Fox saw some beautiful pictures of a bunch of grapes, taken by a photographer named Adam Moose. "Hmmm," thought Fox to himself, "I know where those very grapes are -- I'll go there and take pictures of them myself. They will be beautiful, of course, because I'm the equal of any photographer on earth."

But, when Fox looked at his images, he was disappointed. His pictures looked nothing at all like the beautiful photographs by Adam Moose. Fox tried every technique he read about in magazines and books, to no avail. Worse, while the friends and students of Adam Moose all took beautiful photographs of the grapes, Fox's own pictures continued to look drab and ordinary (because, of course, Fox himself was drab and ordinary).

Fox tried and tried. But, although his credit-card balances jumped higher and higher with each new piece of equipment he bought, a beautiful photograph of the grapes remained just out of Fox's reach.

Finally, Fox gave up. "If I," he said to himself, "the equal of any photographer on earth, cannot take a beautiful picture of those grapes, obviously no one can do so. Those who have taken those other photographs of the grapes are obviously using Photoshop trickery to make them look beautiful. It's an outrage! I shall dedicate my life to a crusade against the lies and deceptions of Adam Moose and his followers!" So Fox stormed off to his basement, where he kept his computer, and disappeared. He, and his photographs, were never seen again.

The moral of the story: If at first you don't succeed, put up a website denouncing those who do as "thugs," "morons," and "unemployed homosexual losers."

Another new Honor Roll member: Rick Lundh

Thanks to the M.A.L.adies, we have a new member of the M.A.L.L. Honor Roll. This time, it's Rick Lundh who gets the honor of "photographer the M.A.L.adies admit is better than they themselves are."

While I am grateful to the M.A.L.adies for introducing me to so many fine photographers, I worry that, at the rate they're going, I'm going to have the longest sidebar on the web before long. Of course, as the Gospel of John might put it, if the name of every photographer more talented than the M.A.L.adies was written down, "I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

Jumping the shark yet again

I swear, sometimes you just can't make this stuff up.

The M.A.L.adies, in yet another spate of uncontrollable posting, devote an entire entry to quoting Ken Rockwell on how one should not be too concerned with Photoshop (which they somehow see as a stinging rebuke of Adamus).

Ken Rockwell???

You mean Ken "the biggest joke in photography" Rockwell? The Ken Rockwell notorious for reviewing equipment he's never used or even seen? The Ken Rockwell who insists that "the camera you use doesn't matter," except that using any camera not on his "recommended" list will be guaranteed to instantly cripple your talent as a photographer? The Ken Rockwell who proclaims that the Nikon D40 is the greatest value in photography, and that no one needs anything else, but only uses it for snapshots of his kid? (When it comes to "serious" photography, for some reason his camera is always a Canon 5D. You know, just like Marc Adamus.)

Anyway, here's an experiment: go onto any major photo forum, and start a thread about whether or not Ken Rockwell gives good advice. You will get a veritable avalanche of replies full of examples of why virtually nothing the massively self-promoting and photographically-ignorant Rockwell says can be trusted. You will soon come to realize that, in photographic circles, Ken Rockwell has zero credibility.

Hmmm...I guess that means that he and you M.A.L.adies have quite a lot in common.

Jesse Estes...welcome to our Honor Roll!

So, it looks like the M.A.L.adies had another bout of their (?) usual verbal diarrhea last night, throwing up five (count 'em! five!) updates within a span of fifty-two minutes after being M.I.A. since the end of June. As usual, it was much ado about nothing, with little except how stupid anyone who takes a Marc Adamus workshop is (which is mighty funny when you consider that the only person I know who has taken a Marc Adamus workshop recently was...them).

Oh, there was one thing worth noting: they added Jesse Estes to their list of "people we hate because they like Marc Adamus's photographs." Therefore, we have added Jesse to our Honor Roll of "people who the M.A.L.adies admit are better photographers than they themselves are." Take a look at Jesse's web site, and I'm sure you'll agree he's deserving of the honor.

Giving the devil his due...

I have to admit, I never thought I'd be saying something positive about the M.A.L.adies, but here it is: it appears that they have either dropped their policy of screening comments to their posts, or accidentally turned moderation off. As a result, the response to their latest "100th" post has been far heavier than their previous, moderated posts. The results speak for themselves:

The problem with your mission is that it full of lies itself. On every page I can pick out BS and clear, blatant lies. You may try to sound all "holier than thou" but any idiot can see right through your crap.

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All you've done is been kicked off every single online forum which you have posted your hate to without exception. The public already knows just how insane you are.

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Attacked, slandered or otherwise defamed? Isn't that your MO?...You can't claim integrity when it's quite clear you have none.

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Is this blog supposed to be serious? It if it, you have way too much free time on your hands.

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You were never a friend of Gary's. Gary Crabbe is an honest and respectable individual with a kind heart and great knowledge of photography. You, on the other hand, are a first class piece of s**t.

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I am honestly wondering if the person who runs this site is mentally disabled, disturbed or something.

As I said, I commend the M.A.L.adies on having the courage to post these responses. Now, I can only hope they also find the wisdom to realize that their actions are accomplishing nothing except to bring themselves into disrepute, and make the smart decision to call off their ridiculous vendetta.

Paging Alan (HaloGLC) and Paul DeCesare...

I've completed adding the photographers mentioned on the M.A.L.adies' blog site (so far -- I'm sure there will be more to come) to our Honor Roll. However, I don't have web sites to link to for two of the members, and I don't even have a full name for one of them. Paul DeCesare (PaulD on PNWNP) and Alan (HaloGLC on FredMiranda.com), if you see this, could you post a link to your web site or gallery in the comments, so I can update the Honor Roll again?

Something New: The "Marc Adamus Lies"...Lies! Honor Roll

One thing that has become obvious over the past few weeks is that the M.A.L.adies (or, far more likely, M.A.L.ady) are/is obsessed not only with Marc Adamus himself, but with an increasingly large number of other photographers they have accused of being "thugs," "morons," and "useful idiots" in Marc Adamus' "reign of terror." Since there is clearly no "reign of terror" (except for a number of photographers admiring the work of someone the M.A.L.adies detest), this is clearly not the reason for the M.A.L.adies' unbelievably-personal animosity toward them.

I tend to suspect that the answer is somewhat simpler. Since the M.A.L.adies obviously are bitter over their own inability to produce landscape work that measures up to Adamus's, so they likewise detest these other photographers for turning out quality work that they themselves can't equal. Hey, if you can't build yourself up, tear those better than yourself down. Right?

Hence, I think it's time this site recognize and honor those photographers whose art has generated such an extreme case of "sour grapes" among the M.A.L.adies. From now on, a M.A.L.L. Honor Roll sidebar will appear on this site, with the names of the honored photographers and (as often as possible) links to their work so visitors can see what great images drove the M.A.L.adies to heights of envy-driven rage.

For the moment, this list is restricted to those originally placed on the M.A.L.adies' "thugs" and "useful idiots" lists on their main site. However, they have singled out many additional photographers for similar treatment on their blog site, and as soon as I have a chance to go through their hundred-whatever posts and record the names, those names will be added as well.

It's long past time that denunciation by the M.A.L.adies become recognized for what it is: a badge of honor.

100 bags of manure = A whole lot of B.S.

Today, "Sam Forman" (another one of the alter egos living in the M.A.L.ady's head) announced proudly that the M.A.L. blog had reached the milestone of 100 posts.

In a related story from Central Park in New York City, "Crazy Bartholomew the Prophet" celebrated his ten-year anniversary of preaching that the world will end tomorrow, but I digress...

Anyway, the fictitious Mr. Forman declared that, although they had been "defamed on multiple venues" (much as Rev. Jim Jones undoubtedly told his followers while mixing the kool-aid), "our mission is true" (much as Rev. David Koresh undoubtedly told his followers while pouring the gasoline) and "just" (much as the "Heaven's Gate" leaders undoubtedly told their followers while passing out the pills and vodka).

By the way, in case you're wondering, here's the M.A.L.ady scorecard for the last four months:

Number of lying, mudslinging posts: 100
Number of photographs good enough to show the public: 0

That just about says it all, doesn't it?

Bad news, M.A.L.adies...

The Photographer You Love To Hate is now a published author as well. Yes, Marc Adamus is a part of the writing team that put together Mountain Trail Photo's just-published The Ultimate Guide To Digital Nature Photography.

I've seen a copy of the book, and, at first glance, it seems one of the best guides currently available. But what makes it especially memorable is, as one might expect, the collection of beautiful photographs accompanying the text -- and those who wish to spread the myth that Marc Adamus's photos are some sort of wild, unrealistic product of Photoshop trickery are going to be in for a rude awakening. Throughout the book, Adamus's images are among the most restrained and realistic. Compared to contributors like Ian Plant, Nye Simmons, or George Stocking, Marc Adamus comes across as pretty much a strict purist of classical nature photography.

So, Marc Adamus is now among the ranks of published authors. As to your own attempts to become widely-read author(s)...well, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you there, too. You see, the janitor down at your local Wal*Mart has just cleaned the graffiti in the men's room stalls. So, I guess you're back at square one on that whole "author" bit. Pity.

A new definition of "Having No Life"...

It appears that the main M.A.L.ady site was down for a couple of days this week. (I was unaware of it, since it's even more petty, ridiculous, juvenile, and boring than their petty, ridiculous, juvenile, and boring blog site.) But there's an explanation! As the M.A.L.adies write (all typos left intact, by the way):

Due to a billing issue that occured while we were at a retreat (discussing the Marc Adamus problem), our site was down for several days. It is now back up and running again!

A "billing issue" -- I believe, in normal English, that means "failing to make your payments." Predictable. But what turns this into a real howler is the notion of a retreat to discuss "the Marc Adamus problem." Leaving aside the obvious attempt to fool people into believing that there really is more than one M.A.L.ady running the show, isn't the notion of spending your time in "retreats" considering the "problem" of how to run an envy-driven, mudslinging campaign against a talented and well-respected photographer pretty much the textbook definition of "having no life?"

Furthermore, the M.A.L.ady continues:

During our discussions, we also received capital commitments sufficient to keep MarcAdamusLIES.com going for a very long time.

Now it becomes clear what this "retreat" was about:

• M.A.L.ady gets disconnect notice from his ISP for failure to pay his bills for several months.
• M.A.L.ady runs to Mommy and Daddy, whining about how meeeeeeeaaaaan old Marc Adamus and all his meeeeeeeaaaaan friends are beating up on him. (M.A.L.ady probably mentions this site as an example, and erroneously claims that Bryan Swan is behind it, as usual.)
• M.A.L.ady gets Daddy to write check for a year's worth of server-space rental for further mudslinging.
• M.A.L.ady returns to the basement to stare at his Hannah Montana poster collection and wonder who else he can call a homosexual for not sharing M.A.L.ady's (lack of) taste in photography.

I think that's probably a pretty good summary of the "retreat," don't you?

We can only wonder what might have happened if M.A.L.ady had taken the "capital commitment" and used it to improve his own photography instead of wasting it sliming those better than himself. On second thought, forget that line of thought: funding an attempt to improve M.A.L.ady's own photographic skills would probably be a textbook definition of a different phrase: "throwing money down a rathole."

Hoisting yourself with your own petard, the M.A.L.ady way

Another classic post from the M.A.L.adies, in which they accuse Adamus of pathological lying for saying that the water in Eagle Creek in early March was "30-something" degrees. Nonsense, snort the M.A.L.adies, for everyone knows that snowmelt water "usually" only reaches the "low forties." Yeah, Marc...being off at estimating water temperature (without a thermometer) by five degrees or so is proof-positive of utter dishonesty and depravity!

Unfortunately for the M.A.L.adies, they provide a link to the post in question. And, if you bother to look at it (and I recommend it), you'll see why Marc Adamus is gaining a reputation as one of America's leading landscape photographers, for it includes four of his latest images, each of them utterly stunning. When you contrast the excellence of Adamus's work versus the total absence of any photographs from the gutless M.A.L.adies, you are left with one unavoidable conclusion: the real reason for their (?) crusade against Marc is jealousy for not being able to figure out how to make photographs that look even half as good as his.

P.S.: And, to top it all off, the M.A.L.adies don't even stop at criticizing Adamus for not knowing the exact water temperature of Eagle Creek; they also claim he wasn't there at all!

...we seriously doubt Marc even waded out in the stream. The water is quite deep there, up to the neck in places, and the current strong, especially with a lot of runoff.

Oh? Then would you care to explain the first of his photos at the link above, taken at the very spot where you claim he never was in the first place?

Keep it up, M.A.L.adies. In this world of war, poverty, and despair, we need all the comic relief we can find...even if that comedy comes from laughing at the ravings of people with obviously diminished mental capacity like you.

With enemies like these...

Too funny! The latest excitement among the M.A.L.adies (in other words, all one of them) is the BREAKING NEWS that "a team member" (in other words, all one of them) practiced a bit of "espionage" by taking a Marc Adamus workshop sometime this spring.

What brilliant thinking! What this means is:

a) Adamus should have a much easier time of identifying at least one (in other words, all) of the M.A.L.adies by simply looking over his attendance sheets from the past several months of group tours, and

b) that particular M.A.L.ady (in other words, all one of them) showed his dislike for and disapproval of Marc Adamus by giving him $600-$800 of the M.A.L.ady's (supposedly) hard-earned money. (Gee, if I start offering Tarzan Wilcox Workshops, will you pay me $800 or so so you can spill the "dirt" about my tours, too? There's this new telephoto I've got my eye on...)

And what was the breathless revelation about what happened at the group tour? Stripped of the usual M.A.L.ady invective, it boils down to, well, the news that group members respected Adamus and sought to learn from his instruction and example. Why, I'm shocked, shocked, I tell ya!

EXTRA! Proof that Marc Adamus lies...except that it actually proves he's telling the truth.

So now the psychotic clown(s) have a new idiocy -- claiming "proof" that Adamus lied about his trip last year to the North Rockies because he said that he had "hiked hundreds of miles of trails." To which the M.A.L.adies gleefully pounce: "there simply aren't hundreds of miles of trails in the Canadian Rockies National Parks, except in the tourism promoting 'guidebooks'."

I hope you caught those last six words.

For, in fact, the guidebooks (you know, written by people who, unlike the M.A.L.adies, actually know what they're talking about) list eight-hundred and fifty miles of trails in the Glacier-Waterton Lakes complex alone. And that's not even talking about the largest series of national parks in the Canadian Rockies, the Banff-Jasper-Yoho complex. "Hundreds" of miles of trails? More like "thousands."

And, by the way, M.A.L.adies, Adamus wrote about the "North Rockies," not just the "Canadian Rockies."

Of course, we can probably cut the M.A.L.adies some slack. For, by "trails," he/she/they/it probably mean "trails that are easy enough for us to hike." And there probably aren't hundreds of miles of quarter-mile-or-less, perfectly-level, paved loops just off the parking lots at various tourist traps.

M.A.L.adies...have I got a job for you!

Dear M.A.L.adies:

As you may have heard, I've managed to get myself in a tight spot with my attempts to "engineer" my re-election, and now half of Iran is calling for my head.

My Ministry of Propaganda has been of no help to me. In fact, some of them have complained that "no one in the world could lie so thoroughly as to justify your position."

For a moment, I thought I was sunk. Then, I remembered your site! Truly, you have a talent for unashamed, bald-faced lying that is unequaled anywhere in my country, if not the entire world. I could certainly use the skills of men like you in fighting off this inconvenient "democracy" movement.

So, how about joining my team? I mean, it's not like you've got anything else (like, you know, photography) going on right now.

Sincerely,
Dr. Mahmood Ahmadinejad
President, Islamic Republic of Iran

P.S.: Can I call Mousavi an "unemployed homosexual loser" too?

The M.A.L.ady Way: When caught it a lie...

...lie some more.

To wit, their trumpeting of the "scandal" that Adamus's photos haven't sold at the Capture Gallery, despite the fact, as I pointed out before, that they were purchased as part of Capture's permanent collection -- in other words, not for sale. But such inconvenient facts won't deter the M.A.L.adies; no, they simply respond to having this pointed out by plugging their ears (can't you just hear them shouting "nyah-nyah-nyah, we can't heeeeeear you"..?) and repeating their disproved lies yet again.

Sorry, M.A.L.adies. While one of the most notorious and evil propagandists the world has ever known is famous for his quote "a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth," in the real world, truth counts for something. Too bad you can't seem to recognize it.

M.A.L.ady "Logic" 2: Did you ever wonder...

...why being mistaken as to which branch of a gallery your photos were being exhibited at is a high crime against truth and integrity, but lying about someone's sexual orientation because they happen to like a photographer you don't is just harmless fun?

M.A.L.ady "Logic" 1: Did you ever wonder...

...how the psychotic clown(s) can target people whose only "crime" is expressing a liking for Marc Adamus's photographs, dig up (or, more often, make up) as much tabloid-style dirt as possible on each of those people, subjecting them to ad hominem attacks on everything from their supposed performance in their day jobs to their relationships with their parents to their sexual orientation (while themselves hiding behind a shield of cowardly anonymity, of course)...and then describe the recipients of their mudslinging as "thugs"...?????

How to make a mountain out of a molehill, M.A.L.ady-style

Last August, Capture Fine Art Gallery, with branches in Sausalito (a tourist mecca in the San Francisco Bay area) and Healdsburg (a tourist mecca in California's wine country) purchased several Marc Adamus photographs for permanent display. Adamus noted this on his website back at the beginning of last August, and said they would be on display at the Sausalito gallery.

Since then, Capture has decided to display Adamus's photos at their Healdsburg gallery instead. So, of course, the M.A.L.adies are claiming that Adamus is intentionally misleading the public into thinking that he has a display at a more prestigious location than he actually has. They mustn't be too familiar with California tourism, or they'd know Healdsburg is anything but a step down from Sausalito, especially during wine-harvesting season, which is when Adamus's photos were put on display there. Needless to say, the M.A.L.adies are building this up into the biggest scandal since Watergate and Monica Lewinsky combined. But wait, there's more...

The M.A.L.adies apparently tracked down the fact that none of Adamus's photos have sold at Capture, and are trumpeting it as "proof" of his artistic failure. Guys (and I use that word loosely), are you familiar with what the term "permanent display" means? You've got it...it means those images are not for sale.

Of course you wouldn't know that, because, although you want to make a mountain out of a molehill in this case, I'll bet you yourselves have never had any photos exhibited in a reputable gallery. Want to prove me wrong? Show us your photos, and tell us where they've been exhibited.

Talk about the sound of crickets chirping...

M.A.L.adies run afoul of Godwin's Law

In a recent screed, the M.A.L.adies display this picture as an example of "people who think Marc Adamus is the best photographer in the world."



So, apparently Nazis from the late 1930s were able to jump forward in time seventy years to see current photographs? Gee, I've always heard rumors about the Nazis trying to harness time-travel; but this is the first I've heard of them actually succeeding.

But there's a bigger problem for the M.A.L.adies (aside from their psychosis and dishonesty, that is): Godwin's Law, which holds that the first person in an Internet dispute to try connecting their opponent to Hitler and/or the Nazis automatically loses that dispute.

So, sorry, M.A.L.adies, but you're the losers. So what else is new?

The M.A.L.adies: liars, cowards...COMPUTER CRIMINALS???

Recently, the M.A.L.adies practiced some of their by-now predictable mudslinging at photographer Mark Metternich, for the sole reason, as usual, that he considers Marc Adamus his "favorite landscape photographer."

Somehow, that name rang a bell. A little research took me back to this post from Metternich on the FredMiranda.com site last year. Talk about an eye-opener!

You see, in the weeks beforehand, someone had hacked their way into Metternich's account on that site and, posing as Metternich himself, posted slanderous attacks on Marc Adamus (sound familiar?) and, moreover, apparently stole other people's images, modified them in Photoshop, and presented them as their own work.

Now, I'm not going to say that the anonymous person(s) who did that is/are the same as the person(s) running the M.A.L. website...but there is a certain similarity to their M.O.s, don't you think?

By the way, unauthorized access of a computer (including assuming another person's identity) is at least a misdemeanor in every state in the nation; in many states, it is considered a felony. If apprehended, the perpetrator of such an act may be facing a long stint where the only "landscape" he gets to see consists of the tattoos on his 400-pound cellmate, "Bubba."

Hmmm...maybe we now have a better idea of why the M.A.L.adies hide behind pseudonyms, and don't want anyone to see (and possibly identify) their own photographs?

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been twenty-four days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

The M.A.L.adies jump the shark

Having drawn nothing but well-deserved ridicule for their juvenile vendetta against Marc Adamus, the psychotic clown(s) have reacted as they usually do: by upping the ante on their obnoxiousness. Now, they're not only devoting a blog to sling mud against Adamus, they are starting new blogs to do the same against other photographers who express admiration for Adamus's work.

You heard that right: if you have said nice things about Marc Adamus, you might reasonably expect a blog will soon appear devoted to personal attacks against you.

(One might wonder where this will all end...maybe with attack blogs against every other photographer in the world except the M.A.L.adies themselves? Oops...my mistake. I called the M.A.L.adies "photographers," while no evidence exists that they even know how to take a snapshot.)

And I would note that, although they seem to be developing their own Nixonian "enemies list," I don't see a blog devoted to this site yet. Come on, M.A.L.adies! Where's your Tarzan Wilcox Watch?

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been twenty-three days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

Wrong again, M.A.L.adies!

It looks like the psychotic clown(s) have woken up from their mental haze long enough to denounce the campaign of "lies and intimidation" supposedly being spread against them by Bryan Swan. The thing is, since I haven't seen Bryan post a single comment about the M.A.L.adies in months (and, of course, the M.A.L.adies stay true to form and refuse to cite any examples for their charges, but merely sling mud without evidence), and virtually every photo site I'm aware of has chosen, after an initial burst of ridicule, to ignore the M.A.L.adies and refuse to dignify their lunacy by acknowledging their existence, I can only assume that the clowns are referring to this site.

Wrong, as usual!

Aside from my pleasure at knowing that "the truth hurts" even psychotic clown(s), I have to point out, once again, that Bryan Swan has nothing to do with this blog. I am the one person running this place, and I have had, at most, a very few e-mail or message-board exchanges with Swan over the past few years. I've never met him (nor any of the other Adamus supporters you single out for attack on your sites, for that matter).

M.A.L.adies, I suggest that you grow up, adjust your attitude, and stop making statements that can be proven false in a court of law; that way lies pretty hefty libel judgments, particularly when you make up lies about a private citizen's sexual orientation to boot.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been twenty-one days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

Really, M.A.L.adies? Jim Zuckerman???

In another of their "let's bash people who think Marc Adamus is good" routines, the M.A.L.adies reach back to find a supporter's post from over a year ago on DPReview, and comment as follows:

Best landscape photographer he has ever seen? Perhaps Daniel Ewert hasn't heard of REAL photographers such as Frans Lanting, Galen Rowell, Jim Zuckerman, or David/Marc Muench, all of whom create stunning images without hours of photoshop manipulation.

O.K. Rowell and the Muenches I can agree with. I'm not as big a fan of Frans Lanting as others, but I'll grant he's a respected nature/landscape photographer. But Jim Zuckerman?

First of all, Zuckerman isn't even a landscape photographer, he's a travel/commercial photographer. And to hold him up as an exemplar of unprocessed images? Would you describe this image as "unprocessed?" What about this one, or this one, or this one? Does this seem unprocessed to you? What about this, or this, or this?

Don't get me wrong -- Jim Zuckerman is a talented conceptual photographer. But he's practically the king of the "create a new reality in Photoshop" school. Compared to him, Marc Adamus (and virtually every other landscape photographer working today) is a strict, monkish purist when it comes to post-processing. Invoking Zuckerman as a role-model for unprocessed landscape photography only proves that the M.A.L.adies know absolutely nothing of what they're talking about.

But, then again, we didn't need this example to know that, did we?

Hey, M.A.L.adies? What happened to your forum?

I had almost forgotten this one. On April 22 (i.e. almost five weeks ago) the M.A.L.adies announced, "coming soon," the M.A.L. Forum!

(Sound of crickets chirping.)

So, what happened to the forum, M.A.L.adies? This announcement came just before you started moderating (in other words, censoring) comments to your blog. Of course, there can't possibly be a connection, can there?

Maybe the forum idea went by the wayside because the M.A.L.adies decided that (to be charitable) "they" didn't have enough time to "sockpuppet" enough positive messages to make it look like their forum had, you know, people that agreed with them?

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been thirteen days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

Pot, meet kettle... (5/20/09 edition)

The psychotic clown(s) continue their current favorite behavior of trashing anyone who dares to say positive things about Marc Adamus on a public forum. Today, they tee off on a poster at FredMiranda.com who commits the cardinal offense of taking a workshop from Adamus, and creating some really nice photos in the wake of doing so. Of course, such a person is a threat to the M.A.L.adies, and must be taken down at once! However, part of the takedown involves this utterly bizarre line:

Where is your website, HaloGLC? Perhaps IloveMarcandadvertiseforhim.com?

"Where is your website"...??? Hey, whichever M.A.L.ady (out of a group, I suspect, of one) wrote that: Where are your photographs??? Until you show us some of your work, and release your real identities, you'll get the respect anonymous cowards like you deserve -- NONE.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been nine days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

M.A.L.adies impersonate...Marc Adamus???

Check out this hysterical thread on NWHikers.net. A M.A.L.ady (posting as "MarcAdamusLIES" and "Eric Hut") starts a thread regurgitating all the insane garbage from their site.

A few posts later, "Marc Adamus" shows up, defending his work in not-very-convincing terms. Then...someone notices that "Marc Adamus" and "MarcAdamusLIES" are posting from the same I.P. (Oops!)

Long story short: in the end, "Eric Hut" admits to having forged the supposed post from Marc Adamus, but says he (?) committed the fraud to "make a point." Sure thing, "Eric"...and the point you made was that you and your M.A.L.adies have no regard for honesty, and feel free to lie as often and as blatantly as possible to get your alleged point across.

But, then, we've known that for some time, haven't we?

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been seven days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

M.A.L.adies: try reading lessons

The latest from the psychotic clown(s) is their "discovery" that Adamus "admits" to taking an hour to edit each photo. Where did they get that impression? Supposedly, from this quote:

I almost never spend more than an hour on an image either (usually around 5-20 minutes on average).

So, five to twenty minutes per image (and practically never more than an hour no matter what the circumstances of the particular image) suddenly translates to "an hour per image?"

M.A.L.adies, I suggest you look into basic reading lessons. Illiteracy is such a handicap in today's world. While you're at it, better look at basic math as well; in particular, counting.

Why "the M.A.L.adies"...?

When I first started this blog, I tried to fit my text both to the psychotic clown(s)'s insistence that there was more than one of them, and my near-certain conviction that the site was the work of one deranged loser. (Although, if you count the voices in his head, you may well see why he claims that there is more than one of him.) But, in the long run, it became way too complex to have to continually refer to "his/their" and the like. It was only when I hit upon the "M.A.L." acronym for that website that the path became clear. Although I'm still sure that M.A.L. is run by one person, I will grant him and his imaginary friends the right to be thought of as plural...and "M.A.L.adies" had such a nice ring to it, both for its intrinsic meaning and what it says about the, uh, testicular fortitude of the anonymous coward (or, less likely, cowards) behind the monstrosity.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been six days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

Make that the HOMOPHOBIC Psychotic Clown(s)...

I see that the M.A.L.adies are at it again. This time, they've renewed an attack on another Northwest photographer -- who shall remain nameless -- whose sexual identity they had already questioned (then pulled the comment from their website after admitting they couldn't prove their charge). But, then again, when has a lack of facts ever stopped the M.A.L.adies before? Now, they are once again describing said photographer as "an unemployed loser...and worse, a homosexual unemployed loser." (That "worse" really is telling, isn't it?)

Somehow, all this reminds me of is a right-wing talk show host in the 1960s, who asked the publisher of an "underground" magazine of the time "isn't it true your magazine is full of homosexual pornography?" The publisher's reply: "Why? Did you see something that interested you?"

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been five days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

Announcing...The M.A.L. Challenge

The clown(s) over at MarcAdamusLies display one common trait (well, aside from insanity and dishonesty): a contempt for everyone else's photographs. It goes without saying that they dismiss Adamus's own work -- including mocking early images that were selected for inclusion in magazines such as Outdoor Photographer as "bland" and "clichéd." But, if you have ever expressed support for Marc Adamus on a blog or website, you can probably count on a blog entry from the clown(s) about how terrible, amateurish, and downright embarrassing your own photographs are, and what a failure you are as a photographer (and productive human being).

There's one thing missing. You guessed it: photographs by the clown(s) themselves. Despite the criticism leveled at everyone else, the M.A.L.adies have not posted a single image to establish their credentials to judge anyone else's work.

Thus, the M.A.L. Challenge. I dare the clown(s) at M.A.L. to put their reputation where their mouth is, and show us images they (?) have taken, so we can see how their work compares with that of Adamus and the "thugs and morons" they attack on a daily basis. And, considering how the M.A.L.adies specifically go after Adamus and the others for supposedly over-processing their photos, I'd be especially interested to see how little processing is used in the M.A.L.adies' own images.

Failure to meet this challenge only proves the M.A.L.adies are gutless wonders, cowards with no right to comment on anyone else's work, and a disgrace to the world of photography.

I'm waiting.

Pot, meet kettle...

This is priceless...the psychotic clown(s) at M.A.L. are now calling a poster a "coward" for posting anonymously. You heard that right: the site whose owner(s) has been hiding behind a pseudonym ("Jane Wilcox") for months now believes that it is cowardly for other people to hide behind a pseudonym!

I'm reminded of the traditional definition of "chutzpah" -- someone who kills their mother and father, and then pleads for mercy because, after all, they're an orphan.

And, as the capper on this idiocy, the clowns misidentify the anonymous poster as Bryan Swan. Here's a bulletin for the clowns: those weren't from Bryan. I wrote those posts. And, if you want me to identify myself, I have two words for you: you first.