[shuttertalk]

I think it's good to evaluate your work once in a while and remind ourselves to be more critical of what we produce. I'm not saying that the link below is the be all and end all of photography but it does give some helpful analysis of what you should be trying to achieve in your portfolio.

http://improvephotography.com/4695/give-...io-review/

Note too that he's talking about your portfolio, i.e. your best photos or your "keepers", although I suppose it may be characteristic of your general shooting style as well.

[Pavel]

very interesting Julian. I liked very much the definition of categories 1-4. 5 and 6 were a little vague for me.

[enviroguy]

It is a good article. I agree with Pavel about the categories.
I tried to place myself in a category, but that's hard to do subjectively. I'll need an outside opinion.

[NT73]

As Matthew said, for a lot of us it is a hobby, not a profession.
And I don't think anywhere near 6 levels covers photography. I understand the technicalities, but do not always wish to practise what I know.

[Toad]

Its an interesting read, but stages 5 and 6 descend into personal artistic style bias, in my opinion. For example, do all stage 5 photographers start streamlining their kit to the essentials? Are all stage 6 photographers "bored" with taking professional quality photographs? ...or is just the author's personal style?

[NT73]

I suppose you could compare cameras with cycles. we start with anything and learn how to ride it. Only then do you decide if you want to compete, or just ride it for fun. Or buy a car and dump the cycle in the garage for if the weather is nice..
Similar, but not exactly.

[shuttertalk]

Another similar article, this time more on how aware you are of techniques and technical details and how they influence your photography.

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/07/25/the-...tographer/

I think I'm a 3, although the spending time on the internet bit of 4 has me pegged...