Something that i have really noticed in the 1.3 that i have posted photos here is that people most of the time 1-star my Contrail Spotting Photos, my camera has 18x zoom, most of the time to get a good contrail photo rating you need P900 type zoom and really good quality, my photos can be really good but some people do not care and just 1-star them, sometimes the VERY first view is a 1-star, yes i admit that i have some shots that i am not proud of, but most of the time, i post my really good shots, i don’t have a P900, i have an S9100, so anyone reading who 1-stars my photos, please stop, it gives me less motivation, and i always post my Good photos, i don’t have a P900, i don’t have a tri-pod, i don’t have expensive photo editors, i have a nice little camera with 18x zoom and acceptable quality, yes its not the best, but it is good enough, i can be outside ALL day because i love what i do, i am not in any way trying to act mean, im just asking for all of the 1-star ing on my Contrail Spotting Photos to please stop
have a good day, and may the spotting gods be good to you
-Vincent
Vincent, I know your just a younger kid (I have a couple boys of my own around your age) but I think FA is pretty burned out on contrail photos due to your buddy Chris Collinsworth’s constant spamming us with thousands of them. Additionally contrail photos (in my opinion) add nothing to FlightAware as the aircraft are almost always indistinguishable from one another and the image could have been taken anywhere as its just a plain blue background. Now if they are doing something interesting like passing the moon, intersecting another aircraft, have a neat background like a storm, or have a rainbow in the contrail then you are on to something. But otherwise rather than complain that people don’t appreciate your photography, check out the photos that are getting higher star ratings and see if you can emulate those. Most folks on here like photos where you can see the aircraft, usually in transition at takeoff or landing. See if your parents will take you to an airshow, or out to the nearest larger airport. It looks like you are near BWI and IAD so go out and get some shots there. And please clean the lens/sensor on your camera as you can see a ton of trash on it in your photos, which definitely doesn’t help your star rating.
True 
BWI takes about an hour to get to, i have only been there once, which is why i suddenly uploaded so much BWI shots, its pretty hard since the S9100’s design, all i can do is clean the glass, getting inside is a challenge and i don’t want to risk damage, i currently do not have any camera since my current S9100’s focus slowly deuterated and it got so bad that it would NOT focus, it will probably be around 1.30-2 weeks before i can go spotting again, i also upload shots if the type of aircraft is rare, like a Kalitta B747, i also upload shots if the contrail is unique, like it is spinning around and it last so long and stuff like that, Chris is very cool but yes he does upload a little bit too much, i on the other hand filter out the bad and only upload the good.
by the way, i think i will upload a contrail shot of an AC-130, its not 100% perfect, but i have been constantly outside for over 1.5 years and i have NEVER seen an AC-130, therefor i feel that it is rare enough
Vincent,
Sorry to hear about your camera. If I were you’d I try to save up or ask for a present or money for a DSLR. Specifically I would look for a lower or midrange crop sensor camera like a Nikon D5XXX, D7XXX, etc and then try and find one of the 70-300mm lenses. This combo is a great way to start shooting aviation photography and you can find some great deals going for used equipment. My previous camera body was used and my current main aviation lens (Sigma 150-600mm) was also second hand. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to shoot some really great photos, but I would recommend going to a camera store to test a lens/body out before buying it. If you are near DC you have access to some great shooting locations and variety with BWI, DCA and IAD. You can sit in the park at the end of the runway at DCA and get planes going overhead all day long and don’t even need a long lens for great shots. Dulles has all sorts of widebody aircraft coming in constantly, including the A380. BWI has a regular 787 plus some other cool stuff too. You have tons of places that you can hang out and work on capturing great aviation photos.
Seldom is a contrail an interesting photograph. There are a few with something in the background – but few. There’s lots to learn about photography but contrails will not take you very far. Suggest other subjects would be more interesting for everyone.
I disagree. I’d much rather see a contrail than a kimtrail